Summary and Comments on "Invitation to Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhism" - Recommended for learning about Southeast Asian Buddhism, which is different from Japan!
The book introduced here is "Invitation to Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhism" by Rihiro Wada, Takahiro Kojima, Kanako Otsubo, Yoshiyuki Masuhara, Takashi Shimojo, and Yoshio Sugimoto, published by Kaze Kyosha in 2021.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Similar but not the same? Another Buddhism! The beliefs, practices, and society of the people as told through extensive field research and ordained experience. A long-awaited introductory book.
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This book is a recommended reference to learn about Buddhism in Southeast Asian countries. In Southeast Asia, Buddhism, which is completely different from our Japanese Buddhism, has taken root. To know the difference is not only to know "Japanese Buddhism" but also to think about "what is Japanese".
The beginning of this book states the following about the book
What is Theravada Buddhism? How do Southeast Asian monks (monk) differ from Japanese monks? When do Theravada Buddhists go to temples and how do they interact with monks? This book will try to answer these simple questions.
There are two main ways to study Buddhism. One is to study Buddha's teachings and their historical development through the Buddhist scriptures (when we refer to "Buddha" in this book, we are referring to Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism). The other is a study that reveals what kind of Buddhism is actually practiced by Buddhists today. This book uses the latter style to convey a picture of Theravada Buddhism as practiced by the people of Southeast Asia.
Kaze Kyosha, Rihiro Wada, Takahiro Kojima, Kanako Otsubo, Yoshiyuki Masuhara, Takashi Shimojo, and Yoshio Sugimoto, Invitation to Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia, p. 1
Rather than taking a detailed look at the Buddhist doctrines of each Southeast Asian country, this book takes the form of a look at what the lives and faith practices of Buddhists in those countries are like.
Of course, the first chapter of this book provides an easy-to-understand explanation of what Theravada Buddhism is in the first place, so it is designed to be friendly to those without specialized knowledge. In Japan, "Mahayana Buddhism" was introduced and continues to this day, but in Southeast Asia, a completely different lineage of Buddhism is practiced. This work is extremely valuable because it explains the differences between the two in an easy-to-understand manner. Moreover, since it is taught in a narrative style that even beginners can easily read, it is highly recommended for those who want to learn not only about Buddhism but also about the culture itself.
This book was very exciting to learn about Theravada Buddhism and what it is and what it is like at the level of the lives of the people living there. It was very interesting to read it while thinking about the differences and similarities with Japanese Buddhism.
This is a book I would highly, highly recommend. Why not pick up a copy?
This is "Invitation to Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhism" - Recommended to learn about Buddhism in Southeast Asia, which is different from Japan! This is the last issue of the book.
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