History of Buddhism

Deriving primarily from India over several centuries through the efforts of a large number of teachers and translators, Tibetan Buddhism gradually evolved into four main traditions.

Muara Jambi is an ancient center of knowledge in Sumatra that spreads over more than 2,000 hectares and encloses 84 red-brick “temple complexes,” with a similar layout to those of Nalanda University.

A short introduction to how Buddhism spread from its beginnings in northern India to become the major belief system across much of Asia.

Shantideva was born in the eighth century as the son of the king of a land in the Bengal region of East India. When he was about to ascend to the throne, he had a dream of Manjushri, who said, “The throne is not for you.” Heeding Manjushri’s advice, he renounced the throne and...

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama invokes the spiritual masters of the Nalanda tradition.

The general principle regarding sexual ethics is to try to minimize any problematic and compulsive aspects of our sexual behavior, motivated by disturbing emotions.

Overview of the three waves of Buddhism reaching Mongolia from Central Asia and then Tibet, the subsequent exploitation of Buddhism by the Manchus, its suppression under the communist regime and the initial efforts at its revival.

The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE) was the first Arab empire in the Middle East. It was the first Muslim empire to interact with Buddhists in parts of Central Asia and the western regions of the Indian subcontinent.

The Pali literature of the Theravadins reveals the struggle the Buddha had to establish and support his ever-growing community of disciples and followers under extremely difficult circumstances, such as political intrigues and several wars.

Selected bibliography of Western secondary literature on the spread of Buddhism in Asia, with special emphasis on its spread to Central Asia.