Buddhist Scriptures, Library, Theology

Buddhist Scriptures – by Donald S. Lopez, Jr. (2004)

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While Buddhism has no central text such as the Bible or the Koran, there is a powerful body of scripture from across Asia that encompasses the dharma, or the teachings of Buddha. This rich anthology brings together works from a broad historical and geographical range, and from languages such as Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese. There are tales of the Buddha’s past lives, a discussion of the qualities and qualifications of a monk, and an exploration of the many meanings of Enlightenment. Together they provide a vivid picture of the Buddha and of the vast nature of the Buddhist tradition.

About the Author: Donald S. Lopez, Jr., is a professor of Buddhist and Tibetan studies at the University of Michigan. His publications include The Story of Buddhism and, as editor, Buddhism in Practice.

Main contentsSee all

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 6: One Buddha per Universe

The selection below is drawn from the famous Questions of Milinda (Milindapanha), a dialogue between a Bactrian Greek king named Milinda and a Buddhist monk

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 5: A Scripture that Protects Kings

The word of the Buddha is said to possess extraordinary power, and there are many stories told of miracles that occurred when a sutra, or

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 4: A Lesson from a Ghost

Ghosts are one of the six types of beings that populate the Buddhist universe. Although they have their own underground realm, some of them venture

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 3: Karma Tales

The doctrine of karma is one of the foundations of Buddhist thought and practice. The sufferings that beset humans (and all sentient beings), as well

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 2: A Call to Practise

It is a common tenet of Buddhist traditions that human life, or more specifically rebirth as a human born with access to the dharma, is

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 1: The Realms of Rebirth

The doctrines of karma and rebirth are fundamental to Buddhist theory and practice. Karma is the law of the cause and effect of actions, according

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 12: Maitreya Describes the Future

Perhaps the best-known story in all of Thai Buddhism tells of the arhat monk Phra Malai, who one day encountered a poor grass cutter who

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 11: A Sacred Peak

Pilgrimage has long been regarded as a meritorious practice in Buddhism. As he was about to pass into nirvana, the Buddha is said to have

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 10: A Chinese Pilgrim in India

Buddhism is a religion that extended over much of Asia. It did so not through a disembodied dharma descending on one culture after another, but

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 9: Avoiding Hell, Gaining Heaven

In the first centuries of Buddhism in Japan, the recitation of the homage to Amitabha (in Japanese namu amida butsu) as recommended in the longer

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 8: Rebirth in the Land of Bliss

Rebirth in an auspicious realm is a ubiquitous concern in the Buddhist traditions, with practice directed towards avoiding a sorrowful rebirth and assuring a happy

The Buddhist Universe – Chapter 7: Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side

We saw in the previous chapter that there is only one buddha for each age, that indeed, the universe cannot sustain more than one buddha

The Buddha – Chapter 18: A King Gives Away His Head

In Buddhism, no deed is more universally praised than the act of giving (dana). It is, of course, the charity of the laity towards monks

The Buddha – Chapter 17: Why the Buddha Had Good Digestion

The Buddha was remarkable in mind and body. He was said to be endowed physically, for example, with the thirty-two major marks and eighty secondary

The Buddha – Chapter 16: Maya, Mother of the Buddha

In Chapter 14, the Buddha recounted how he left his weeping parents and went off in search of a state beyond suffering. In Chapter 6,

The Buddha – Chapter 15: A Life of the Buddha

As noted in the previous chapter, the earliest accounts of the life of the Buddha are those found in the collections of discourses traditionally attributed

The Buddha – Chapter 14: The Noble Search

Given the importance of the Buddha for Buddhism, it is noteworthy that biographies of the Buddha, that is, chronological accounts of the events of his

The Buddha – Chapter 13: The Three Jewels

The recitation of the formula I go for refuge to the Buddha. I go for refuge to the dharma. I go for refuge to the

Monastic Life – Chapter 28: The Ascetic Ideal

Buddhism has long been famous for its celebration of the virtues of solitude and renunciation of the world. One of the most famous, and one

Monastic Life – Chapter 27: A Murderer Becomes a Monk

The sangha grew through the Buddha’s encounters with all manner of persons, to whom he taught the dharma. Not all listened. Among those who did,

Monastic Life – Chapter 26: Making Men into Monks

The procedures for the ordination of monks evolved over time. At the beginning of the process, it was the Buddha’s simple instruction, ‘Come, monk’, that

Monastic Life – Chapter 25: The Evolution of Ordination

The sangha came into existence when the group of five who heard the Buddha’s first sermon requested his permission to go forth and be ordained.

The Buddha – Chapter 24: A Hymn to the Buddha

The Buddha seems to have been an object of devotion, praise and homage from the beginning of the Buddhist tradition in India. As the tradition

The Buddha – Chapter 23: The Consecration of a Buddha Image

One of the most common objects of veneration in Buddhism is an image of the Buddha, whether it be in the form of a statue

Monastic Life – Chapter 34: Zen for National Defence

The various schools and sects that have developed and, in some cases, disappeared over the history of Buddhism have not occurred in a simple linear

Monastic Life – Chapter 33: Taking the Vinaya Across the Sea

Buddhist nations have long counted the ordination of monks and the founding of monasteries among the significant moments in their histories. The rules of monastic

Monastic Life – Chapter 32: The Nine Patriarchs of the East

For a tradition that traces its origins to an enlightened master, the notion of the transmission of the master’s teachings is crucial. What is the

Monastic Life – Chapter 31: Lives of Eminent Monks and Nuns

Stories of renowned monks and nuns are told throughout the Buddhist world, but it was in East Asia (beginning in China) that compilations of the

Monastic Life – Chapter 30: Making New Monastic Rules

Some Buddhist texts and doctrines travelled from India to other parts of Asia more easily than others. One genre of texts that did not make

Monastic Life – Chapter 29: Monks in the Mahayana

The Mahayana has sometimes been portrayed as a kind of revolution in the history of Buddhism, in which the narrow monastic goal of nirvana was

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 40: On the Relation of Study and Meditation

Each of the traditions of Buddhism in Asia has thousands of texts, some originating in India and translated into the local language, others produced locally

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 39: Serenity and Discernment

Throughout the history of Buddhism in India, expositions of meditation typically grouped practices under two headings: those with the goal of deep concentration and those

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 38: Wisdom and Compassion

Modern descriptions of the Mahayana sutras, a huge collection of texts that began to be composed in India around the beginning of the Common Era,

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 37: The Direct Path to Enlightenment

Buddhist meditation classically is divided into two forms, which might be referred to as stabilizing meditation and analytical meditation. The former involves the development of

Monastic Life – Chapter 36: Living in the Degenerate Age

The Buddha had said that, whether or not buddhas appear in the world, the nature of the dharma remains the same. He also said, however,

Monastic Life – Chapter 35: How a Monk Freed his Mother from Hell

It is sometimes assumed that when a Buddhist renounces the world to become a monk or a nun all communication and concern with his or

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 46: Feeding Hungry Ghosts

As described in Chapter 1, ghosts suffer from hunger and thirst. They are constantly seeking food and drink, and when they find it they encounter

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 45: Against Animal Sacrifice

Contrary to common assumptions, not all Buddhists are vegetarians. The consumption of meat was not prohibited even for monks and nuns in the early tradition.

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 44: Freeing Birds and Fish from Bondage

Much Buddhist practice is the practice of restraint, especially the restraint of body, speech and mind in order to avoid the performance of negative deeds

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 43: The Bodhisattva Vow

A bodhisattva is someone who vows to achieve buddhahood in order to free all beings in the universe from suffering. In the early tradition, the

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 42: Reciting the Name of the Buddha

It is prophesied in numerous texts that the teachings of the Buddha will one day disappear from the world. The prophecies differ on how long

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 41: Both Sudden and Gradual Enlightenment

The question of sudden versus gradual enlightenment was a sustained concern in East Asian Buddhism. One of the more sustained elaborations of the problem was

Enlightenment – Chapter 52: In Praise of Reality

Buddhism is renowned for the doctrine of no-self, the assertion that among the constituents of the person there is nothing that is permanent, independent, or

Enlightenment – Chapter 51: The Perfection of Wisdom

The rise of the movement referred to as the Mahayana, some four hundred years after the Buddha’s death, is sometimes marked by the appearance of

Enlightenment – Chapter 50: Nuns Triumph over Evil

The Buddha had many female disciples, and many of them joined the order of nuns (bhikkhuni in Pali). These included his own stepmother, as well

Enlightenment – Chapter 49: A Lay Master of Meditation

Despite the fame of the monks, the majority of the Buddha’s followers did not become monks or nuns, but remained in lay life. In the

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 48: Transforming Death into Buddhahood

The famous Tibetan Book of the Dead sets forth a technique for using death and rebirth to progess on the path to enlightenment. Here, death

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 47: A Sutra for Long Life

As we have seen in chapters 5 and 38, it is typical for a Mahayana sutra to conclude with a description, often of considerable length,

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 46: Feeding Hungry Ghosts

As described in Chapter 1, ghosts suffer from hunger and thirst. They are constantly seeking food and drink, and when they find it they encounter

Meditation and other Rituals – Chapter 45: Against Animal Sacrifice

Contrary to common assumptions, not all Buddhists are vegetarians. The consumption of meat was not prohibited even for monks and nuns in the early tradition.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; First Edition (August 31, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 608 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014044758X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140447583
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.78 x 5.04 x 1.09 inches

2 thoughts on “Buddhist Scriptures – by Donald S. Lopez, Jr. (2004)”

  1. marizon ilogert says:

    Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing some research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile Therefore let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!

    Reply

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