Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations

Some here may be thoroughly familiar with the landmark book published in 1989 by Paul Williams. This second edition has been thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded to reflect the scholarship of recent years. The initial publication of this work, 20 years ago, was highly acclaimed by Buddhist scholars across the board; widely regarded as the best overall introduction to Mahayana Buddhism in English (and several other languages). This new edition, with its total revision and expansion, brings its information up to date with the latest discoveries and revelations of modern scholarship. In my view, it is by far the best book available for English readers seeking a comprehensive overview of Mahayana Buddhism's doctrinal foundations. Having said that, this book is a work of scholarship, an "Introduction" to the major schools and doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism and does not claim to be an "interpretation" of Buddhism. Williams' contribution, for the most part, consists of organizing the literary, archeological, and historical facts from the wide field of scholarly research in Buddhist studies. When Williams does offer his own views, he follows the highest standards of scholarship, explaining his reasoning and presenting the alternative or opposing views of others. The multitude of long end-notes (especially in the new edition), as well as the vast annotated bibliographical section of the book testify to the meticulous care utilized by Professor Williams in his presentation of the doctrinal foundations of Mahayana Buddhism. The following excerpt from the Introduction to this milestone book, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations (Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices), offers us all a profound reminder on the importance of maintaining an awareness of the fact that Mahayana Buddhism (which includes Zen) is not, and never was, an overall single unitary phenomenon. ### From the Introduction: There is a Tibetan saying that just as every valley has its own language so every teacher has his own doctrine. This is an exaggeration on both counts, but it does indicate the diversity to be found within Buddhism and the important role of a teacher in mediating a received tradition and adapting it to the needs, the personal transformation, of the pupil. This diversity prevents, or strongly hinders, generalization about Buddhism as a whole. Nevertheless it is a diversity which Mahayana Buddhists have rather gloried in, seen not as a scandal but as something to be proud of, indicating a richness and multifaceted ability to aid the spiritual quest of all sentient, and not just human, beings. It is important to emphasize this lack of unanimity at the outset. We are dealing with a religion with some 2,500 years of doctrinal development in an environment where scholastic precision and subtlety was at a premium. There are no Buddhist popes, no creeds, and, although there were councils in the early years, no attempts to impose uniformity of doctri

Some here may be thoroughly familiar with the landmark book published in 1989 by Paul Williams. This second edition has been thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded to reflect the scholarship of recent years. The initial publication of this work, 20 years ago, was highly acclaimed by Buddhist scholars across the board; widely regarded as the best overall introduction to Mahayana Buddhism in English (and several other languages). This new edition, with its total revision and expansion, brings its information up to date with the latest discoveries and revelations of modern scholarship. In my view, it is by far the best book available for English readers seeking a comprehensive overview of Mahayana Buddhism's doctrinal foundations. Having said that, this book is a work of scholarship, an "Introduction" to the major schools and doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism and does not claim to be an "interpretation" of Buddhism. Williams' contribution, for the most part, consists of organizing the literary, archeological, and historical facts from the wide field of scholarly research in Buddhist studies. When Williams does offer his own views, he follows the highest standards of scholarship, explaining his reasoning and presenting the alternative or opposing views of others. The multitude of long end-notes (especially in the new edition), as well as the vast annotated bibliographical section of the book testify to the meticulous care utilized by Professor Williams in his presentation of the doctrinal foundations of Mahayana Buddhism. The following excerpt from the Introduction to this milestone book, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations (Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices), offers us all a profound reminder on the importance of maintaining an awareness of the fact that Mahayana Buddhism (which includes Zen) is not, and never was, an overall single unitary phenomenon. ### From the Introduction: There is a Tibetan saying that just as every valley has its own language so every teacher has his own doctrine. This is an exaggeration on both counts, but it does indicate the diversity to be found within Buddhism and the important role of a teacher in mediating a received tradition and adapting it to the needs, the personal transformation, of the pupil. This diversity prevents, or strongly hinders, generalization about Buddhism as a whole. Nevertheless it is a diversity which Mahayana Buddhists have rather gloried in, seen not as a scandal but as something to be proud of, indicating a richness and multifaceted ability to aid the spiritual quest of all sentient, and not just human, beings. It is important to emphasize this lack of unanimity at the outset. We are dealing with a religion with some 2,500 years of doctrinal development in an environment where scholastic precision and subtlety was at a premium. There are no Buddhist popes, no creeds, and, although there were councils in the early years, no attempts to impose uniformity of doctrine over

After a few years of practicing Buddhism and reading Dharma books, I am reading this as my first scholarly text, and I'm very impressed by it. It certainly is NOT an introduction for beginners, but Williams is careful to include just enough explanation to keep me reading without feeling a need to resort to Wikipedia (heh!). His footnotes (endnotes) are amazing -- the book proper is only 266 pages, followed by 121 pages of endnotes. I'm skipping most of these, but when I do dip into them, I'm even more impressed by Williams's unusual ability to stick to a central idea and successfully separate out the interesting surrounding ideas (which need not muddy up the main text). I also appreciate his ability to steer clear of Western philosophy. He is presenting the history, central texts and teachings, and disputes of the Mahayana with well-focused discipline. He does this with clarity, occasional stunning insights, and sometimes even a touch of humor! (I especially like it when he refers to "old and basic" ideas of Buddhism; he seems to have a particularly good sense of his audience for this book.) It's very nice to get a sense of how certain issues were divisive (or not) without being lost in excessive detail about each and every school's (or lineage's) take on the matter. That is not to say Williams is treating the subject superficially but rather another indication of his clear focus. Don't consider this book if you know very little about Buddhism at present. But if you are well-grounded in the teachings and have some idea of the "place" of Mahayana, and you want to experience an academic approach to the subject, this book will not disappoint you. P.S. I'm reading (more than halfway through) the new second edition.

I found this book extremely helpful on mutiple levels. Beyond the fact that Mahayana Buddhism suffers from a lack of cohesive literature combined, Williams counters this problem in his gathering of doctrine and his own insight on the history, evolution, and spread of Mahayana. He shows great detail to the evolution of each "school" and how it was affected by the geographic, ethnic, and cultural environments that fomred each branches specifics.A historical paper trail is fomed for many of the major works attributed to Mahayanist thought, so that we see roots formed. This grants immense clearity to many misunderstanding about certain school ideologies that might appear completely unrelated until all the details are shown within Williams book.Although there are no actual sutras translated, the book is a perfect starting point for philosophies, history, and a listing of many of the great Mahayana sutras, which one could then find available to start forming an actual library for practice and reference.As a Priest in the Pure Land tradition and trained in both Mahayana and Theravadin, this book stands apart in my findings of authors that spread knowledge in quanity and quality instead of minute chunks for only lineage lip service.

Mr. Williams has done a fantastic job of clearly and effectively laying down the foundations of the Mahayana movement. This movement, arguably the most colorful of the incarnations of Buddhist thought and theory, has a convoluted past, and Mr. Williams has expertly shown the reader the origins of the Mahayana and the origins of modern Buddhism. The only criticism that would in any way deter the reader from thinking this work to be one of the definitive in the doctrine is William's unfortunate tendency to mix his opinions which are for the most part religiously based, with philosophical quandries. Mr. Williams is the European Secretary for the International Association of Buddhist Studies, and I feel as such his opinion surfaces on several issues, most notably in the chapter on the Saddharmapundarika Sutra. The educated reader, or at least the reader able to assimilate William's position, can, however, easily overcome the minor references to academia based on faith rather than empirical knowledge. All minor biases aside, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations is a superior work when compared to many mainstream texts used in Buddhist study, which tend to be more esoteric, or treat only specific facets of the huge diaspora that spawned Buddhist practice in so many countries. Mr. Williams has produced a great work of fantastic merit in regards to understanding Mahayana Buddhism, and should be lauded for his work which makes, in my humble opinion, a stupendous read.