Studies in History of Buddhism : Papers Presented at the International Conference on the History of Buddhism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, August, 19-21, 1976 Book

Contents: Preface. Introductory: toward a new history of Buddhism/A.K. Narain. 1. Motivations of social action in Theravada Buddhism : uses and misuses of traditional doctrines/Harvey B. Aronson. 2. The background to the rise of Buddhism/A.L. Basham. 3. The structure of the Sangha in Burma : a comparative view/Heinz Bechert. 4. Theravada Buddhism and the aims of Buddhist studies/G.D. Bond. 5. Early Buddhism and the Brahmanas/Balkrishna Govind Gokhale. 6. The disappearance of Buddhism and the survival of Jainism : a study in contrast/Padmanabh S. Jaini. 7. The rise and fall of Buddhism in inner Mongolia/Sechin Jagchid. 8. Shingon Mikkyo Buddhism: its concept of Tathata and problematics concerning Dharmakaya Mahavairocana/Minora Kiyota. 9. The writing of Buddhist history in the Sherpa area of Nepal/Alexander W. Macdonald. 10. Tradition and innovation in contemporary Indian Buddhism/Joanna Rogers Macy and Eleanor Zelliot. 11. Views of women's roles in Buddhist Tibet/Beatrice D. Miller. 12. Tracking levy-strauss along the eight-fold path : the message of the Mahavamsa/Robert J. Miller. 13. The architectural tradition in Buddhist monasticism/Godjin Nagao. 14. Portraits of the feminine : Buddhist and confucian historical perspectives/Diana Paul. 15. Vinaya and Pratimoksa : the foundation of Buddhist ethics/Charles S. Prebish. 16. Buddhism in ancient and early medieval Nepal/Theodore Riccardi, Jr. 17. Four great thinkers in the history of modern Chinese Buddhism/Bhiksu Chang Sheng-Yen. 18. Polonnaruva as a ceremonial complex : Sinhalese cultural identity and the dilemmas of pluralism/Bardwell L. Smith. 19. The interaction of Jainism and Buddhism and its impact on the history of Buddhist monasticism/N. Tatia. 20. Shin Buddhism in modern Japan : an examination of the thought of Manshi Kiyozawa/Shunsho Terakawa. 21. Voidnesses and totalities : Madhyamika and Hua Yen/Robert A.F. Thurman. 22. The impact of the bhakti movement on the development of Mahayana Buddhism/K.N. Upadhyaya. 23. Observations on the history and influence of the Buddhist Tantra in India and Tibet/Alex Wayman. 24. Some political factors in the early history of Tibetan Buddhism/Turrell V. Wylie. 25. Premises and implications of 'Interdependence' (Pratityasamutpada)/Isshi Yamada. 26. Buddhism in a pre-modern bureaucratic empire: the Chinese experience/E. Zurcher. 27. On Bhaisajyaguru and his cult/Leonard Zwilling.

This book consists of papers presented at the first international Conference on the History of Buddhism held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI USA, in 1976, the purpose of which was to study the course of the history of Buddhism in a global perspective. These papers are edited by Professor A.K. Narain, who organized the conference, and included his introductory paper. The papers in the volume deal with various aspects of the history and historiography of Buddhism in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan, Mongolia and other parts of the world. (jacket)