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Book Series

Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

Series Editor: Stephen C. Berkwitz

Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism is a comprehensive study of the Buddhist tradition. The series explores this complex and extensive tradition from a variety of perspectives, using a range of different methodologies. The series is diverse in its focus, including historical, philological, cultural, and sociological investigations into the manifold features and expressions of Buddhism worldwide. It also presents works of constructive and reflective analysis, including the role of Buddhist thought and scholarship in a contemporary, critical context and in the light of current social issues. The series is expansive and imaginative in scope, spanning more than two and a half millennia of Buddhist history. It is receptive to all research works that are of significance and interest to the broader field of Buddhist Studies.

Some of the titles in the series are published in association with the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, which conducts and promotes rigorous teaching and research into all forms of the Buddhist tradition.

Editorial Advisory Board:

James A. Benn, McMaster University, Canada; Jinhua Chen, The University of British Columbia, Canada; Rupert Gethin, University of Bristol, UK; Peter Harvey, University of Sunderland, UK; Sallie King, James Madison University, USA; Anne Klein, Rice University, USA; Ulrich Pagel, School of Oriental and African Studies, UK; John Powers, Australian National University; Juliane Schober, Arizona State University, USA; Donald Swearer, Harvard University, USA; Vesna A. Wallace, University of California-Santa Barbara, USA; Paul Williams, University of Bristol, UK

New and Published Books

1-10 of 60 results in Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism
  1. Self, Reality and Reason in Tibetan Philosophy

    Tsongkhapa's Quest for the Middle Way

    By Thupten Jinpa

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    The work explores the historical and intellectual context of Tsongkhapa's philosophy and addresses the critical issues related to questions of development and originality in Tsongkhapa's thought. It also deals extensively with one of Tsongkhapa's primary concerns, namely his attempts to demonstrate...

    Published January 21st 2013 by Routledge

  2. Emptiness Appraised

    A Critical Study of Nagarjuna's Philosophy

    By David F. Burton

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    Emptiness means that all entities are empty of, or lack, inherent existence - entities have a merely conceptual, constructed existence. Though Nagarjuna advocates the Middle Way, his philosophy of emptiness nevertheless entails nihilism, and his critiques of the Nyaya theory of knowledge are shown...

    Published December 14th 2012 by Routledge

  3. The Refutation of the Self in Indian Buddhism

    Candrakirti on the Selflessness of Persons

    By James Duerlinger

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    Since the Buddha did not fully explain the theory of persons that underlies his teaching, in later centuries a number of different interpretations were developed. This book presents the interpretation by the celebrated Indian Buddhist philosopher, Candrakirti (ca. 570–650 C.E.). Candrakirti’s...

    Published November 25th 2012 by Routledge

  4. The Notion of Ditthi in Theravada Buddhism

    The Point of View

    By Paul Fuller

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    The notion of 'view' or 'opinion' (ditthi) as an obstacle to 'seeing things as they are' is a central concept in Buddhist thought. This book considers the two ways in which the notion of views are usually understood. Are we to understand right-view as a correction of wrong-views (the opposition...

    Published November 14th 2012 by Routledge

  5. New Buddhist Movements in Thailand

    Towards an Understanding of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke

    By Rory Mackenzie

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    Vastly different in belief and practice, two new Buddhist religious movements in Thailand, namely the Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke emerged in Thailand in the 1970s at a time of political uncertainty, social change and increasing dissatisfaction with the Thai Sangha and its leadership....

    Published September 12th 2012 by Routledge

  6. Tibetan Rituals of Death

    Buddhist Funerary Practices

    By Margaret Gouin

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    This book describes and analyses the structure and performance of Tibetan Buddhist death rituals, and situates that performance within the wider context of Buddhist death practices generally. Drawing on a detailed and systematic comparative survey of existing records of Tibetan funerary practices,...

    Published March 28th 2012 by Routledge

  7. Environmental Ethics in Buddhism

    A Virtues Approach

    By Pragati Sahni

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    Environmental Ethics in Buddhism presents a logical and thorough examination of the metaphysical and ethical dimensions of early Buddhist literature. The author determines the meaning of nature in the early Buddhist context from general Buddhist teachings on dhamma, paticcasamuppada, samsara and...

    Published November 17th 2011 by Routledge

  8. The Spread of Tibetan Buddhism in China

    Charisma, Money, Enlightenment

    By Dan Smyer Yu

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    Focusing on contemporary Tibetan Buddhist revivals in the Tibetan regions of the Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces in China, this book explores the intricate entanglements of the Buddhist revivals with cultural identity, state ideology, and popular imagination of Tibetan Buddhist spirituality in...

    Published September 28th 2011 by Routledge

  9. Buddhist Monasticism in East Asia

    Places of Practice

    Edited by James A. Benn, Lori Meeks, James Robson

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    The area of Buddhist monasticism has long attracted the interest of Buddhist studies scholars and historians, but the interpretation of the nature and function of monasteries across diverse cultures and vast historical periods remains a focus for debate. This book provides a multifaceted discussion...

    Published September 15th 2011 by Routledge

  10. Mindfulness in Early Buddhism

    New Approaches through Psychology and Textual Analysis of Pali, Chinese and Sanskrit Sources

    By Tse-fu Kuan

    Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism

    This book identifies what is meant by sati (smrti), usually translated as ‘mindfulness’, in early Buddhism, and examines its soteriological functions and its central role in the early Buddhist practice and philosophy. Using textual analysis and criticism, it takes new approaches to the...

    Published September 15th 2011 by Routledge