A History of Buddhist Philosophy: Continuities and Discontinuities

David Kalupahana's History of Buddhist Phiosophy has taken on new and deepening perspectives for me over the past six years since I first purchased the book. Kalupahana covers the development of Buddhist Philosophy from it's early days of oral tradition, Councils and Schisms through to the Vajrayana's Tantra and, lastly, on silent meditation and Ch'an. Included is a fascinating appendix on the role that the Lankavatara Sutta may have played in early efforts to establish a Mahayana school in Sri Lanka. I have had experience in the Vajrayana (Tantric Empowerments), Zen and Insight Meditation (Vipassana), and maybe that's why Kalupahana's book rings true to me. It is a shame that his more recent writings are not readily available in the U.S..

This is an excellent work for anyone who wishes to understand the complex evolution of buddhist understanding. It is both precise and thorough in taking the reader through the earliest of buddhist thought through the much later manifestations of buddhism. I highly recommend it.