Buddhist Knowledge Reader

Author: Yang Zengwen
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2000-07-01
Features: Since the reform and opening-up, religious studies have achieved unprecedented and abundant results as a field of humanities and social sciences in China. Monographs, translations, papers, and reference books are practically countless, truly encouraging. However, there are also some issues that have not been sufficiently addressed in the past. One such issue is the lack of works that systematically, accurately, and concisely introduce religious knowledge in an accessible manner. For example, to this day, there are still no readers written for grassroots cadres to introduce the basic knowledge of religious doctrines. In this sense, the author expresses appreciation and support for the publication of a set of Grassroots Cadres' Religious Knowledge Readers organized by the Religious Culture Press.
This book adopts an objective descriptive approach and selects content with historical significance based on the development patterns and characteristics of religion itself, providing an in-depth yet accessible introduction to the basic knowledge of Catholicism, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Chinese religion, and related religious laws and policies. The book is divided into four parts, briefly and asly as possible, introducing the founding and fundamental doctrines of Buddhism in India, the introduction and sinicization of Buddhism into China, representative figures and schools of thought in the history of Chinese Buddhism, and the Buddhism of three countries: Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. The book strives to be both concise and systematic, explaining important issues by citing necessary materials while also providing popular explanations.