Reconstructing Early Buddhism

This book explores the controversial and contested aspects of Buddhist origins and teachings, including the development of early Buddhist texts and the likely original path of meditative practice taught by the Buddha. It offers fresh perspectives on the Buddha himself and his Enlightenment, based on the author's years of meditative experience as a Buddhist monk. It is considered a landmark work in Buddhist Studies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 20 October 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Buddhist origins and the discussion of the Buddha's teachings are some of the most controversial and contested areas in the field of Buddhist Studies. This bold and authoritative book delves head-on into some of the key questions regarding early Buddhism and its primary canon of precepts. It is important to note that the earliest texts in Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese belong to different Buddhist schools. Therefore, Roderick S. Bucknell addresses the development of these writings during the period of oral transmission between the Buddha's death and their initial redaction in the first century BCE. A meticulous comparative analysis reveals the likely original path of meditative practice applied and taught by Gautama.

Fresh perspectives now emerge on both the Buddha himself and his Enlightenment. Drawing on his own years of meditative experience as a Buddhist monk, the author offers remarkable new interpretations of advanced practices of meditation, as well as of Buddhism itself. This book is a landmark work in Buddhist Studies.

Weight: 598g
ISBN-13: 9781009236522