A History of Buddhist Philosophy: Continuities and Discontinuities

by David J. Kalupahana

Book Overview

David J. Kalupahana's Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis has, since its original publication in 1976, offered an unequaled introduction to the philosophical principles and historical development of Buddhism. Now, representing the culmination of Dr. Kalupahana's thirty years of scholarly research and reflection, A History of Buddhist Philosophy builds upon and surpasses that earlier work, providing a completely reconstructed, detailed analysis of both early and later Buddhism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824814029
• ISBN13: 9780824814021
• Release Date: March 1992
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An enlightening work,

David Kalupahana's History of Buddhist Phiosophy has taken on new and deepening perspectives for me over the past six years since I first purchased the book. Kalupahana covers the development of Buddhist Philosophy from it's early days of oral tradition, Councils and Schisms through to the Vajrayana's Tantra and, lastly, on silent meditation and Ch'an. Included is a fascinating appendix on the role that the Lankavatara Sutta may have played in early efforts to establish a Mahayana school in Sri Lanka. I have had experience in the Vajrayana (Tantric Empowerments), Zen and Insight Meditation (Vipassana), and maybe that's why Kalupahana's book rings true to me. It is a shame that his more recent writings are not readily available in the U.S..

Regarding Kalupahana's "A History of Buddhist Philosophy"

This is an excellent work for anyone who wishes to understand the complex evolution of buddhist understanding. It is both precise and thorough in taking the reader through the earliest of buddhist thought through the much later manifestations of buddhism. I highly recommend it.