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Introduction

• Buddhism covers a large number of sub-religions and a long religious and philosophical tradition that is two and a half millennia old.

• It has included the largest parts of Asia, Afghanistan, parts of Persia to Japan, to Sumatra and Java and Mongolia and Russia.
• Today Buddhism can be divided into three traditions.

• The Theravada tradition of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia, or "Southern" Buddhism.

• The Mahayana Buddhism or "Eastern Buddhism," the tradition found in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

• Tibetan Buddhism, sometimes called "Northern" Buddhism, is closer to Mahayana but is actually a form of Tantric Buddhism.
• All three traditions maintain connections to ancient Buddhism

• This volume is intended to introduce the reader with no knowledge of Buddhism to this tradition without totally separating the three traditions; instead, it looks for what is common between these traditions.

• This book is scholastically distinct in its exposition of Buddhist...

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