Worldwide Survey of Buddhist Studies

Description

With about 400 million followers, Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the world. Unlike Christianity and other monotheistic and polytheistic religions, Buddhism does not worship a deity. Nevertheless, Buddhism is a religion according to today's understanding. Buddhism is considered to be a historical religion, that is, a religion with a founder who appeared at a specific moment in human history. This founder is, of course, the Buddha, who lived for some eighty years in what is today northern India and southern Nepal, sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries ace. Buddhism spread rapidly because its teachings were very simple and it was taught in the language of the people. The patronage of two great emperors Ashoka and Kanishka made it a world religion. Its opposition to the caste system made it popular among the castes that were considered low. This book “Worldwide Survey of Buddhist Studies” strengthen your knowledge and practice of Buddhism by understanding its varied traditions—how they came to be, what makes them different from each other, and what they have in common.