Mahayana Buddhism arose in criticism of the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism from the post-A.D. period, became a major force, and eventually came to Japan via China. We tend to think of Mahayana Buddhism in these terms, but it is a surprising fact that there is no evidence that the Mahayana cult itself existed until the 5th or 6th century. Although the Mahayana scriptures themselves date from the first century A.D., according to Schopen, there is no evidence of a separate Mahayana cult from the Small Vehicle cult.

What do you mean there is a scripture but no cult?" You may be wondering, "How is it that there is a scripture but no cult? I was wondering the same thing.

But Schopen vividly reveals how it works in this book. I can honestly say that I am shocked.

The Series on Mahayana Buddhism is unique in that it reflects the latest research findings.

It was published in 2011, which may seem like more than a decade ago now, but compared to Buddhist studies in the 1900s, its theories have changed a great deal.

The changes were also introduced in "History of New Asian Buddhism 02 India II: The Formation and Development of Buddhism," which was previously published on this blog, and there is a lot of overlap with this book, but since this is a collection of articles by different authors from the "History of New Asian Buddhism" series, a broader perspective can be gained from this book.

The book also contains a wealth of information about current Buddhist studies and reference books. So, as can be said here, this work is a "sure guidepost" for those who wish to study Mahayana Buddhism in the future.

It is impossible to approach the real picture of Buddhism of 250 years ago by relying on the descriptions in the scriptures now available to us, and even through the filter of objective and critical research, the task is extremely difficult."

We have all seen and heard about the life of Buddha in various places. However, as discussed here, there are many historical facts about Buddha that we do not actually know.

This is what this book looks at carefully using sutras and documents. I found the commentary on the Buddhist tradition in the first half of this book particularly stimulating.

Every time I read this "New Asian Buddhist History" series, I am always surprised by new discoveries. Moreover, the reference materials in the book give me a guideline for future study. This is another point I appreciate very much.

The "Buddhist studies" that we took for granted and enjoyed were born completely unrelated to Japanese Buddhist thought and culture.

This book will give you a clear understanding of how "Buddhist studies" came into being and how it was brought to Japan and applied to Japan.

The most common criticism of Japanese Buddhism is that "compared to primitive Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism is corrupt," and we will consider the reasons for this criticism. We readers will also become aware of the problems with this criticism.

This book is a wonderful work that gives us a bird's eye view of the discipline of "Buddhist Studies" itself.

In this work, you can learn about the thought of Mahayana Buddhism, which is directly related to Japanese Buddhism, and the process of its establishment and development. Gen Nakamura's characteristic is that he not only discusses the thought but also intertwines it with the historical background of the time. In this book, too, he looks at Buddhism from a wide range of perspectives, including the historical background of the time, the local climate, and ethnicity.

From the very beginning of this book, a point is suddenly made that is very exciting. As the title of the article says, this is a great book full of very interesting points to consider about what Buddhism is.