Introduction To Buddhism |
A book discussing the Buddhist philosophy written by Dr L Ibempishak Devi, Published by N Parmanda Singh of Guwahati, Price Rs 60/-, Page 91. Reviewed by: Konsam Kulladhwaja |
Dr Ibempishak's book is a very good book. In this commendable book the author tries to go into the details of the early Buddhist philosophy, which is the foundation of Buddhism in general. She singles out Theravada and Sarvastivada for especial treatment because these two schools were the most important schools of early Buddhism. Chapter (I) contains the background of Buddhism. It discusses some philosophical viewpoints and literature of the Mahayana school. The important texts of the Mahayana literature are (i) Lalitavistara (ii) Lankavatara, (iii) Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita and (iv) Samadhiraja etc. The second chapter discusses the similarity between the Upanisadic and Buddhistic thoughts. It also gives a short life-history of the Buddha. Buddha was born in Lumbini garden at Kapilavastu of the present Nepal in 563 BC. He died at Kusinagar (astern UP) at the age of eighty. The third chapter deals with the origin of Theravada and the philosophies and doctrines of the Theravada school. The fourth chapter contains the origin of Savastivada school, its development, the philosophies and the doctrines of this school. The Sarvastivadins defined that the universe is made of different elements. They believed that there were seventy five different kinds of existence of these basic elements. The seventy-five elements are chalked out in the 4th chapter. The fifth chapter is the conclusion. It summarizes the previous chapters. It also discusses the comparison between the Theravada and the Sarvastivada school. The goal of Theravada is to attain Arhathood that one can strive for Nirvana. |
Courtesy: The Sangai Express |
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