Comparative Studies in Buddhism (Encyclopaedia of Buddhist World)

Buddhism is spreading rapidly around the world now. There are Buddhist centers in many European countries, North America, South America, South Africa, Australasia, and so on. We find Buddhists in Europe not only in the Western capitalist countries, but also in the socialist countries of the East. For example, Poland has about five thousand active Buddhists. Buddhism appeals very much to the modern world because it is reasonable and scientifically based. Buddhism has an extremely open attitude in examining what is true. For example, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that if scientists can prove that something Buddha or his followers taught is incorrect or just superstition, he would be happy and willing to drop it from Buddhism. lt was revived in the late nineteenth century with the help of British scholars and theosophists. As a result, Sri Lankan Buddhism is sometimes characterized as "Protestant" Buddhism, with the emphasis on scholarly study, pastoral activities by monks for the lay community and direct meditation practice for laypeople, not just for those with robes. The lay householder community has great faith, but sometimes complain of the scarcity of monks with a balance of study and practice. Volumes of the book cover every aspects of Buddhism. The wide range of matter dealt with in these volumes present the panoramic view of the civilization and culture of the Buddhists in its different facets and in different periods of history.

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