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Buddhism and Asian History, edited by Joseph M. Kitagawa and Mark D.

Cummings (New York: Macmillan, 1987);


and

Buddhism: A Modern Perspective, edited by Charles S. Prebish (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press,
1975).

The former book, composed of articles drawn from The Encyclopedia of Religion, gives a good sense of the recent state
of scholarship on nearly all the Buddhist traditions in Asia. The articles range from solid to brilliant. The latter book,
written by former students of Richard Robinson, has summaries of almost all major topics in Buddhist history and
thought, and is organized as a series of lectures in an introductory "course" on Buddhism. Both books include useful
bibliographies as guides to further reading, although some of their recommendations have since become dated.

The following works, almost all available in paperback editions, should provide beginning students with sufficient
materials to supplement what has been presented in BR. On occasion, this bibliography identifies a book by an
incomplete reference (lacking place, publisher, or date) or lists a book that may have been reprinted at a later date.
Readers can ascertain the book's availability with the author and title citation.

Auboyer, Jeannine, Buddha: A Pictorial History of His Life and Legacy. New York: Crossroad, 1983. Beautifully
produced pictorial survey.

Bapat, P. V., ed., 2500 Years of Buddhism. New Delhi: Government of India, Publications Division, 1956. Issued to
commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's Final Nirvana, this book is a good source of information on the
whole of Buddhism.

Basham, A. L., The Wonder That Was India. New York: Grove Press, 1959. Many reprints. A survey of the culture of
the Indian subcontinent before the coming of the Muslims; a many-splendored classic. Contains much historical
information on the background and context of Buddhism in India, comparisons with Hinduism, and material on
Buddhism itself. Includes examples of art and literature.

Bechert, Heinz and Richard Gombrich, eds., The World of Buddhism: Monks and Nuns in Society and Culture. London:
Thames and Hudson, 1984. Looks like a coffee-table book, with gorgeous pictures of Buddhist art and practice, but the
articles, covering most aspects of the Buddhist tradition, are all by established scholars, ranging from mediocre
(Bechert's article on Burma) to brilliant (Carrithers on Sri Lanka).

Cabezon, Jose Ignacia, ed., Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender. Albany: SUNY Press, 1992. Essays focusing mainly on
gender issues, with an added section on gay issues, drawing on Buddhist traditions in South and East Asia. [W]

Conze, Edward, Buddhism: Its Essence and Development. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1965. Succinct introduction
to major Buddhist ideas; mixes insight with controversy.

-----, ed., Buddhist Texts through the Ages. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1964. Collection of texts, including
translation of Pali excerpts by I. B. Horner, of Mahayana texts by Edward Conze, of Buddhist Tantra by David
Snellgrove, and of Chinese and Japanese texts by Arthur Waley. Excellent translations, but somewhat difficult to use
due to lack of continuity and introductory materials.

-----, Buddhist Thought in India. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1967. A good survey of Indian Buddhist
thought. A detailed, more advanced source than others; should be of interest to those who like philosophy.

de Berval, Rene, ed., Presence du bouddhisme. Saigon: France-Asie, 1959. Articles of varying quality in French and
English on Buddhism in most countries. Now somewhat dated. Many photographs, maps and charts.

Gyatso, Janet, ed. In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan
Buddhism. Albany: State University Press of New York, 1992.

Horner, I. B., The Living Thoughts of Gotama the Buddha. London: Cassell, 1948. Good anthology from Pali sources.
Miss Horner has also written a succinct summary of Theravada Buddhism, "Buddhism: the Theravada," in R. C.
Zaehner, ed., The Concise Encyclopedia of Living Faiths, pp. 267-295 (Boston, Beacon Press, 1967). In the same
source, Edward Conze summarizes Mahayana, pp. 296-320; and Richard H. Robinson describes Buddhism in China
and Japan, pp. 321-347.

Keown, Damein et.al., eds. Buddhism and Human Rights. London: Curzon, 1998.

Kohn, Michael H., trans., The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. Boston: Shambhala, 1991.

Lamotte, Etienne, History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Saka Era. Louvain-La-Neuve: Institut
Orientaliste, 1988. (Hereafter: Lamotte, History.) An authoratative work, strong on history but weaker than Warder on
doctrine.

Lopez, Donald S., Jr., ed., Buddhism in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995. Focuses on non-elite
forms of Buddhist belief, ritual, and practice in general, with some sections on monastic practice. By "non-elite," the
editor presumably means everything but systematic doctrine. Best read in conjunction with an anthology--such as
Conze, Buddhist Texts through the Ages or Beyer, Experience--that provides more of the doctrinal background. [W]
[M]

____, ed., Buddhist Hermeneutics. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1988. Good range of articles on how
Buddhists regard the process of communicating the Dharma.

Malalasekera, G. P., ed., Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Colombo: Government of Sri Lanka, 1961. Compehensive range
of articles, many of very high quality. (hereafter referred to as EoB).

Morgan, Kenneth W., ed., The Path of the Buddha. New York: Ronald Press, 1974. Good survey of Buddhism
throughout Asia written by prominent Asian Buddhist scholars. Similar to, but less complete than, P. V. Bapat, cited
above.

Prebish, Charles S., ed. Buddhist Ethics: A Cross-Cultural Approach. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt, 1992.

-----, Historical Dictionary of Buddhism. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1993.

Queen, Christopher and Sallie B. King, eds., Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia. Albany:
SUNY Press, 1996. Essays discussing the growth of socially active Asian Buddhist movements resulting from the
interaction of Buddhist and Western Enlightenment ideals.

Schober, Juliane, ed., Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University
of Hawai'i Press, 1997. Essays discussing the structure and function of biographical narrative in Indian and Theravadin
Buddhist tradtions, starting with the narratives of the Buddha's lives, and extending up to narratives of modern
Theravadin figures.

Warder, A. K., Indian Buddhism, 2nd ed. rev. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980. Authoritative. Especially good on
philosophical and literary issues; excellent bibliography and index.

Warren, Henry C., Buddhism in Translations. New York: Atheneum, 1963. Judicious, comprehensive selections from
Pali texts in graceful but dated translations.

Zürcher, Erik, Buddhism, Its Origin and Spread in Words, Maps, and Pictures. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1959; New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1962. Very useful for tracing the spread of Buddhism from its beginnings in India throughout the rest of
Asia. The maps, in particular, are excellent.

Emperor Ashoka
The great Indian emperor, Ashoka, was born in 265 B.C. The grandson of the great
Changragupta Maurya, Ashoka ruled over an empire that covered two-thirds of ous of the Mauryan kings
and was one of the greatest Hindu rulers of India, who later got embraced Buddhism.

The capital of the Ashoka's Empire was located in the city of Pataliputra (now known as Patna, the capital
of Bihar in the eastern region of India).

A very brave ruler and a good administrator, Emperor Ashoka was the younger son of the King Bindusara
and was given the throne soon after the kings death because he was loved and respected by his subjects and
by his ministers. His grandfather, Chandragupta, had set out to conquer the weaker kingdoms around his
kingdom to expand the territory of his people in 324 BCE, and was the first to rule over a unified India.
Ashoka's father, Bindusara, established a reign much the same as his father's, controlling a larger kingdom
than ever before known. It was in 268 BCE, when Ashoka was crowned the king of Magadha.

The Turning Point


After 8 years of his rule, King Ashoka decided to annex Kalinga (Orissa) into his kingdom. This was the
first and last battle that Ashoka ever fought. Though Ashoka won the battle he was horrified by the loss of
life and death of so many soldiers.

This incidence changed him and it was then he pledged that he would never wage war again. He embraced
Buddhism, and he promised to practice only righteous actions in the future. Under the guidance of many
Buddhist gurus of the Buddhist community, Ashoka began to be like an ideal leader, spreading peace &
prosperity within society. He religiously followed the principles of Buddhism - that of truth, charity,
kindness, purity and goodness.

A firm believer of non-violence, King Ashoka banned the sacrifice of animals and asked his followers to
take the path of virtuous action. Besides all these, he opened clinics for birds and animals too. It was his
good works, which earned him the name of Devanamapriya Priyadarshi.
During the rule of Ashoka, India reached achieved numerous heights in the history of the world.

By Tom Plate
investments than any country in the world, including China.

But there is one bad thing about Japan: its political system. Let me explain.

You may have noticed that they talk a lot about the need for ``consensus" in Japan, before any major
political change or innovation can occur. One reason, among many, for all the talk is that in Japan, true
political leadership is often hard to find.

During the last decade or so the country has seen more prime ministers entering and then being hurled back
out on the street from the revolving door of power than people could almost count.

In the high echelons of the Clinton administration, there was this running joke: ``Hey, we just figured out
how to pronounce the name of the new Japanese prime minister _ and now he's gone!"
For about five years, though, one giant political figure arrested this distressing development. His name was
Junichiro Koizumi, and he was the Houdini of Japanese politics.

This master of image-politics held together the long-running, dominant but fatally flawed Liberal
Democratic Party by the perverse but amazingly effective tactic of attacking it, challenging it and at times
purging it of its most dinosaur-like elements.

Super-K could get away with this approach because his leadership functioned within a very clear public
consensus. The consensus of the people of Japan was that this prime minister probably knew what he was
doing.

It was a very opposite consensus that triggered the resignation of his successor as prime minister after less
than a year on office. The general view on the street about Shinzo Abe _ patrician, young (relatively at 52)
and seemingly nearly always out of it _ was that the new prime minister probably did not know what he
was doing.

``Abe was under extraordinary strain, and it was showing," commented The Oriental Economist, the sharp-
eyed monthly that offers a most reliable insider-look at Japan. ``Usually amiable and pleasant to be around,
Abe in recent days had become somewhat short-tempered and curt with aides."

Now he is out, having resigned in abject political decline, having checked into a Tokyo hospital for fatigue
and other ailments, and having virtually nothing to say about who is to become his successor.

On the contrary, those in the Cabinet who were known to be closest to Abe, such as Foreign Minister Taro
Aso, would seem to have lost ground. And those who have been well removed from the Abe loop, such as
semi-retired old hand Yasuo Fakuda, are suddenly back in the limelight.

The succession issue is important to the world and to the United States. Japanese prime ministers do their
friends and allies no favors when they insensitively insult neighbors by denying well-known horrors like
the reality of World War

world Economic Forum sees growing importance of Asia


Last Updated(Beijing Time):2007-09-07 13:51

The World Economic Forum (WEF) sees growing importance of Asia, especially countries like China
and India, and will help build the relationship and understanding between Asia and the West, the forum
said in its annual report released on Thursday.

"We have continued to work closely with our members and partners as well as with other key stake
holders from government and civil society in our mission to shape the global agenda in a positive way,"
said WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab in the report.

"As part of this mission we have all had to address the increasing prominence of Asia in the global
economy and polity," he said.

He added that the rising economies of Asia are poised to equal those of the West, revolutionizing the
traditional economic order.

Building the relationship and understanding between the "old" and "new" economies and business
leaders is essential for the future prosperity and stability of both, he said.
He noted that the forum has a long engaged in Asia, helping integrate China and India into the global
system.

"We are therefore perfectly placed to be a powerful platform for interaction and cooperation between the
emerging and established economies," he added.
Two comfort-women atrocities.

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