The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhism

Contents: Preface. Introduction. I. Inaugural address : 1. The relevance of the Bodhisattva concept for today/Peter Slater. II. India : 1. The evolution of the concept of the Bodhisattva/Arthur L. Basham. 2. The Bodhisattva returns to this world/Gadjin M. Nagao. III. Tibet : 1. Influence of the Bodhisattva doctrine on Tibetan political history/Turrell V. Wylie. 2. The view of Bodhicitta in Tibetan Buddhism/Lobsang Dargyay. 3. Bodhisattva – the ethical phase in evolution/Herbert V. Guenther. IV. China : 1. The Bodhisattva idea in Chinese literature : typology and significance/Yun-hua Jan. 2. The Bodhisattva concept: a study of the Chinese Buddhist canon/Lewis R. Lancaster. V. Japan : 1. The Bodhisattva doctrine as conceived and developed by the founders of the new sects in the Heian and Kamakura periods/Hisao Inagaki. 2. Japan’s new religions (1945-65) : secularization or spiritualization?/Minoru Kiyota. 3. The Myokonin : Japan’s representation of the Bodhisattva/Leslie S. Kawamura. Index.

"Heretofore studies of the Bodhisattva doctrine in Buddhism – the basis of Mahayana Buddhism – have concentrated on Sanskrit sources. The distinctiveness of the present volume lies in the variety of languages and cultures in which research has been done. Traditionally, a Bodhisattva has been understood in view of the Buddha’s former lives or as a superhuman making his way toward the enlightened state. The eleven studies making up this volume indicate a need to question uncritical acceptance of such interpretations of the Bodhisattva doctrine. Although the studies are scholarly, they are nonetheless accessible to laypersons as well as scholars and should prove to be instructive for both." (jacket)