This interdisciplinary study is the first book to provide a complete survey of Śrī Nālandā Mahāvihāra from the perspective of its educational curricula as well as its religious influence. It provides detailed descriptions of the origin, growth, management, and academic and cultural life of Nālandā, with particular attention to its pedagogy, curriculum, teachers, and students. It also presents an alternative interpretation of nationalist and popular notions about Śrī Nālandā as an international university and proves that it was, at its core, a Buddhist monastery and an institution of Buddhist learning focused on the study and promotion of Buddhism.
Much Has Been Written On Nalanda By Scholars And Historians Who Have Based Their Studies On The Actual Archaeological Material So Far Published Such Scholars Have Also Made Extensive Use Of The Rich And Varied Accounts Left By Foreign Travellers, Specially Chinese And Tibetan, Who Had Visited The Establishment And Had Occasion To Spend Considerable Time At This Place. This Book Gives Details Of The Development Of The Nalanda Mahavihara From Its Very Ancient Stage To The Period When It Has Attained Its Zenith And Try To Formulate An Assessment Of The Importance Of Nalanda In The Indian Culture, Particularly Of Cultural And Artistic Tradition Of Buddhism.
Nalanda as a monastic institution in the time of Buddha emerged into the greatest academic and spiritual centre of Asia in the early medieval times. This alludes to successive stages of development in Buddhism from naive realism of the early monastic order to developed metaphysic of the Prajnaparamita and Yogacara philosophies which revolutionized the capacity of thinking of men. The Tibetan and Chinese histories aver five sciences taught at the Mahavihara as had been prescribed by Asanga. These have been enumerated as (i) Sabda-vidya (grammar, lexicography); (ii) Silpasthana-vidya (arts); (iii) Cikitsa-vidya (medical science); (iv) Hetu-vidya (logic, meta-physics); and (v) Adhyatma-vidya (the cosmic sciences, philosophy). A mass of secret teaching and modes of worship are contained in Tantric texts. Nalanda also ushered in a new school of art. It is acceded that Indian art in the earliest stage was based in six centres as Gandhara, Mathura, Sanchi, Sarnath, Ajanta and Amaravati. If the Gandhara school has analogies with the antique-Etruscan intermixed with the Greco-Roman, from which the art of Italy flashed in Christian art and similarly other centres flourished with composite features, the Nalanda school like the other five schools, being purely Indian in conception, traces its roots into the sculptures of Sarnath and Mathura. It has its own ethos and historical development. The book, an outcome of the research papers presented in the International Conference on `The Heritage of Nalanda` held at Nalanda (February 12 to 14, 2006), a landmark in the field of scholarship, in its six parts with its critical delineation, has a veritable coverage as: (i) History, (ii) Art and Archaeology, (iii) Early Medieval Scholasticism: Logic, Philosophy and Esoterism, (iv) Literature, (v) Monastic Education: Ideals of Nalanda Mahavihara, and (vi) Nalanda Experience. The strikingly illustrated book is a significant contribution to the field of Buddhist studies and is valuable for a general interest reader as well as an academician.
EDITORS' INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND There have been major changes in world today and that the term Global Leadership and Sustainable Development is no longer taken for granted as a point of reference for understanding the contemporary chaotic situation. These disruptive changes mean that it is now arguable as to whether we still live in a world of justice, egality, peace and prosperity. The nature of these changes and the concepts of the Buddhist approach are central to the whole project of this book. In this light, we place great emphasis on understanding Buddhist teaching in dealing with this matter. We argue that any investigation of the changing character and context of the present time, needs to take account of the Buddhist philosophy. We focus on providing a thorough and critical understanding of change taking place as a starting point of discussion. In doing so, we attempt to clarify the nature of the Buddhist approach. It may be more productively understood as the result of a complex contested and fragile set of arrangements, which in this book we term as “approach”. We do not imply that the frameworks based on the Buddhist teachings are fully fixed and agreed by everybody. Rather it would refer to a set of arrangements that need to be further discussed. Given the above, this volume collects together papers presented at the international workshop on Buddhist Approach to Harmonious Families, Healthcare and Sustainable Societies which took place on 13 May 2019 at International Conference Center Tam Chuc, Ha Nam, Vietnam on the occasion of THE 16TH UNITED NATIONS DAY OF VESAK CELEBRATIONS 2019. The participants in this workshop were not representative of the mainstream thinking or conventional wisdom of this field, although this volume reflects this richness and diversity. Treating the Buddha teachings as a basic theoretical reconstruction, we examine the relationships between the societies and Buddhist responsibilities. We combine analyses of the conflicts, trends and dynamics affecting future development with more focused studies on a range of policy areas: migration, education, leadership, climate change, etc… Two of our most crucial presumptions are that making Buddhism great again at the time of disruption is our first and foremost duty and the Buddhist responsibility can contribute to creating a new foundation for Global Leadership and Sustainable Development.
"The volume thoroughly examines the origins and principal types of Buddhist architecture in Asia primarily between the third century BCE-twelfth century CE with an emphasis on India. It aims to construct shared architectural traits and patterns alongwith the derivative relationships between Indian and Asian Buddhist monuments. It also discusses the historical antecedents in the Indus Civilization and the religious and philosophical foundations of the three schools of Buddhism and its founder, Buddha. Previously obscure topics such as Aniconic and Vajrayana (Tantric) architecture and the four holiest sites of Buddhism will also be covered in this comprehensive volume. The author further investigates the influences of Buddhist architecture upon Islamic, Christian, and Hindu architecture that have been overlooked by past scholars."
Contributed articles presented at the Seminar and Exhibition, Nalanda: Interface of Buddhism and Environment held on Nov. 25th, 2003 at Royal Banquet Hall, Thimphu.
