Buddhism in Five Minutes

Elizabeth Harris is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow within the Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, University of Birmingham, UK. Before this, she was an Associate Professor at Liverpool Hope University. She specializes in Buddhist Studies and inter-faith studies, and has published widely in both disciplines. Her publications include: What Buddhists Believe (Oneworld, 1998): Theravada Buddhism and the British Encounter: Religious, missionary and colonial experience in nineteenth century Sri Lanka (Routledge, 2006): Buddhism for a Violent World: A Christian Reflection (Epworth, 2010/now published by SCM).

• Table of Contents Preface Preface Cathy Cantwell Introduction Elizabeth J. Harris Buddhism as a Religion 1. Is  Buddhism a Religion? Denise Cush 2. What is the Role and Focus of Faith in Buddhism? Asanga Tilakaratne 3.  What is the Role of Ritual in Buddhism? Asanga Tilakaratne 4. Are Relics Important to Buddhists? Kevin Trainor 5. What are the Holy Texts of Buddhism? Asanga Tilakaratne 6. What is the Place of Images in  Buddhism? Sarah Shaw 7. What is the Role of Narrative in Buddhism? Brian Black 8. Is Buddhism Atheistic, Non-theistic or Theistic? Peter Harvey The Buddha 9. What do we Know about the Historical Buddha? Dhivan Thomas Jones 10. How is the Nature of Buddhahood to be Understood? Christopher V. Jones 11. How does one “Read” a Buddha-image? Ronit Wang 12. Who is the Fat Buddha Figure? Paulina Kolata 13. What is a Bodhisattva? Ven Jianchengshi 14. How do Buddhists Show their Devotion to the Buddha? Paulina Kolata What the Buddha Taught (1) 15. Can we Know what the Historical Buddha Taught? Rupert Gethin 16. What Part does Belief in Rebirth Play in Buddhism?  Peter Harvey 17. Does Buddhism See the Mind as Separate from the Body? Peter Harvey 18. Do Buddhists See All that Happens to One as Due to Karma? Peter Harvey 19. What is Seen as Reborn, According to Buddhism? Peter Harvey 20. To what Extent does Buddhism “Deny the Self”? The Non-Self Teaching Christopher V. Jones 21. What are the “Four Noble Truths” About? Arjuna Ranatunga 22. What is Non-attachment in Buddhism? Dhivan Thomas Jones 23. What is Nirvana? Arjuna Ranatunga 24. What is it to be “Enlightened” or “Awakened”? Peter Harvey 25. What Kinds of “Saints” does Buddhism have? Arjuna Ranatunga What the Buddha Taught (2) Meditation 26. Why do Buddhists Meditate? Sarah Shaw 27. What is “Mindfulness” in Buddhism, and does it Differ from Modern Secular “Mindfulness”? Tse-fu Kuan 28. What Kinds of Meditation are there in Buddhism? Dhivan Thomas Jones 29. What is the Role of Chanting in Buddhism? Ven Renru Tang Monasticism and Lay People in Buddhism 30. What is the Role of Monasticism in Buddhism? Ann Heirman 31. How does One become Ordained? Ann Heirman 32. What Rules do Monastics Follow? Alice Collett 33. What is the Position of Nuns in Buddhism? Ann Heirman 34. What is the Role of Lay Buddhists?Alice Collett 35. Does Buddhism Support Gender Equality? Alice Collett 36. What is the Role of Preaching in Buddhism? Mahinda Deegalle Development of Buddhism: Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism 37. How did Buddhism Relate to the Brahmanism of the Buddha’s Day, and Later Hinduism? Christopher V. Jones 38. What Splits were there in Buddhism in the Early  Centuries? Peter Harvey 39. What are the Main Contemporary Divisions in Buddhism: Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna? Christopher V. Jones 40. What is the ‘Hīnayāna’? Elizabeth J. Harris 41. What is Zen  Buddhism? Hiroko Kawanami 42. What is Pure Land Buddhism? Wendy Dossett 43. What is the Role of the Dalai Lama? Cathy Cantwell 44. What is the Bodhisattva Vow? Nick Swann 45. What is Buddha-Nature?  Christopher V. Jones 46. What are the Meanings of “Emptiness” in Mahāyāna Buddhism? Christopher V. Jones 47. Is Tantric  uddhism Just about Sex? Nick Swann 48. Why are There so Many Different Celestial Beings in Tibetan  uddhism? Cathy Cantwell Buddhist Art and Material Culture 49. What are the Main Buildings and Symbols of Buddhism? Arjuna Ranatunga 50. Why do Buddhists Make Art? Christian Luczanits 51. What is a  Mandala?  Christian Luczanits 52. How is Buddhism Influencing Contemporary Art? Tim Stephens Buddhism and Other Religions 53. How has Buddhism been Influenced by Other Religious Traditions?  Sophie Barker 54. How  do Buddhists View Other Religious Traditions and What Kind of Interreligious Encounters are Buddhists Involved  in Now? Elizabeth J. Harris Buddhism and Ethics 55. What Vows do Buddhists Take? Nick Swann 56. Are  Buddhists Pacifists? Peter Harvey 57. Are Buddhists Vegetarian? Dhivan Thomas Jones 58. Does Buddhism have  Rules for Marriage and Family Life? Alice Collett 59. How do Buddhist View Suicide and Self-immolation? Peter Harvey 60. What is Engaged Buddhism? Tim Stephens 61. What is the Relationship between Buddhism and Politics? Brian Black 62. How Important is Compassion in Buddhism?  Pyi Phyo Kyaw 63. Is Non-attachment Compatible with Compassion? Elizabeth J. Harris Buddhism and Contemporary Issues 64. What do Buddhists Think about Sex?  Amy Langenberg 65. What do Buddhists Think about Those who are LGBTQI? Sal Campbell 66. Should Buddhism be Taught in Schools? Denise Cush 67. Are Alcohol and Drugs ever Acceptable to  Buddhists? Wendy Dossett 68. Are Human Rights Compatible with Buddhism? Damien Vincent Keown 69.  What does Buddhism have to Say about Race? Tim Stephens 70. Are Buddhists Active in Ecological Movements and Protecting the Environment to Mitigate Climate Change? Alex Owens 71. How do Buddhists Relate to the  Methods of Science? Tim Stephens 72. What is the Buddhist Attitude to Modern Technology? Nick Swann Emergent Buddhism 73. What is Secular Buddhism? Tim Stephens 74. How do Buddhists View Artificial  Intelligence? Ralph Quinlan 75. Is Western Buddhism a New Form of Buddhism? Sarah Shaw Index Elizabeth J. Harris