Buddhism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Buddhism - Essay Example This essay examines the main aspects of the South Asian Buddhism and the author reviews the following books, â€Å"The experience of Buddhism,† by John strong and â€Å"The South Asian Buddhism,† by Berkwitz. The work concentrates not only on the logical Buddhism thinking but also the South Asian cultural history. Berkwitz tries to spread some light on the Buddhist restoration in South Asia and the socio-cultural history of South Asian Buddhism of the modern and past. The first chapter re-examines the development of asceticism in prehistoric India and Buddhist monasticism. The third chapter surveys the origins and development of Mahayana Buddhism and commemorates Mahayana legendary and literary accomplishment. A Berkwitz note on the enduring struggle in Buddhist study is to reach a distinct conclusion regarding the origins of Mahayana Buddhism. The fourth chapter looks at the sequential or chronological development of Buddhist reflection and the later integration of Buddhist scholasticism, whereby the heritage of Santideva, DharmakÄ «rti, Buddhaghosa and Vasubandhu, and their relevant works are briefly described. The chapter also describes the development of Buddhist Tantra and VajrayÄ na. In chapter five and six, Berkwitz surveys the recurrent Buddhism developments in South Asia. This review entails Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan Buddhism, as well as the monastic organizations, local Buddhist literatures and ritualism, in those particular countries (Stephen 165).