Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern ColomboWritten by the leading authority on Theravada Buddhism, this up-dated edition takes into account recent research to include the controversies over the date of the Buddha and current social and political developments in Sri Lanka. Gombrich explores the legacy of the Buddha's predecessors and the social and religious contexts against which Buddhism has developed and changed throughout history, demonstrating above all, how it has always influenced and been influenced by its social surroundings in a way which continues to this day. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
accept ancient Anuradhapura ascetic Asoka ātman Bāhu Bechert brahmins Buddha Buddha’s death Buddhaghosa Buddhist monks Buddhist tradition Burma called Canon Carrithers century bce ceremony Ceylon Christian chronicles Colombo commentaries communal religion culture Dhamma Dharmapāla doctrine early Enlightenment ethical evidence formal gods Gotama Hindu Hinduism important India individual inscriptions Jain kamma karman king kṣatriya laity language layman living Mahā Mahāvaṃsa Mahāyāna Mahinda Malalgoda means meditation missionaries modern monastery monastic monks moral nibbāna nikāya nuns one’s ordination tradition Pali Canon Parakkama Parinibbāna pātimokkha practice preached probably problem Protestant Buddhism R.F. Gombrich Rahula rebirth relics religious renouncers ritual rules salvation Sangha Sanskrit Sāsana scriptures sects seems sermon Sinhala Sinhalese Sinhalese Buddhist social society soteriology Sri Lanka śruti Sutta Tamil teaching Ten Precepts term theory Theravāda Theravāda Buddhism Theravādin Theravādin tradition translated Upaniṣads uposatha varṇa Veda Vedic vihāra village Vinaya Vinaya Piṭaka Wijayaratna word