Buddhism in China - New Editorial Release
The book that completes the trilogy on the history of Buddhism
The Life of the Buddha, Buddhism-The First Millennium and Buddhism in China are the three books in which Daisaku Ikeda traces the essential stages in the history of Buddhism, leading us to discover the most significant historical steps in its development.
This volume, the third in the series on the history of Buddhism published by the Soka Gakkai, describes the fascinating journey of Buddhism's transformation into a world religion through its spread from India, the Buddha's homeland, to China and beyond. Author Daisaku Ikeda, president of the International Soka Gakkai, recounts, through a lively narrative, the events of the traders and monks who first brought Buddhism to China along the Silk Road, as well as the lives of the Chinese Buddhist masters of that time, the development of the various Buddhist schools-especially the Tiantai school, which later exerted great influence in Japan-and the subsequent decline of Buddhism in China after the bitter persecutions that struck it in the 10th century.
In the text, the wisdom and vision of key figures such as the great translator Kumarajiva and the Buddhist master Tiantai Zhiyi are brought to the forefront, and in doing so the author offers significant reflections on the role of Buddhism in Chinese society and, by extension, as a whole, and charts the course the religion should follow to meet the needs of the times, then and now.