SESSION 1 – RENUCIATORY BUDDHISM

DESCRIPTION

The first of the Eight Schools is the tradition of renunciation, Buddhism as a path focused on transcending of the material world through monasticism. In the contemporary world there are many Buddhist monastic traditions and communities, with the Southeast Asian Theravada, ‘Way of the Elders,’ preserving some of the oldest aspects of the renunciatory path from the lifetime of the Buddha, circa 500 BC.

Suggested Reading

1. Paul Williams, Buddhist Thought; A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition

2. Hirakawa Akira, A History of Indian Buddhism, from Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana. Translated from the Japanese by Paul Groner ( Honolulu; University of Hawai'i Press, 1990)

3. Andre Bareau, The Buddhist Schools of the Small Vehicle. Translated from the French by Sara Boin-Webb (Honolulu; University of Hawai'i Press, 2013