How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings (Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religion)

201 Pages·1998·0.65 MB·English

by  Richard Gombrich

HOW BUDDHISM BEGAN
This book, the second edition of How Buddhism Began, takes a
fresh look at the earliest Buddhist texts and offers various
suggestions how the teachings in them had developed. Two
themes predominate. Firstly, it argues that we cannot understand
the Buddha unless we understand that he was debating with other
religious teachers, notably Brahmins. The other main theme
concerns metaphor, allegory and literalism. By taking the words
of the texts literally – despite the Buddha’s warning not to –
successive generations of his disciples created distinctions and
developed doctrines far beyond his original intention. This
accessible, well-written book by one of the world’s top scholars
in the field of Pali Buddhism is mandatory reading for all serious
students of Buddhism.
Richard F. Gombrich is Academic Director of the Oxford
Centre for Buddhist Studies, and one of the most renowned
Buddhist scholars in the world. From 1976 to 2004 he was
Boden Professor of Sanskrit, University of Oxford. He has
written extensively on Buddhism, including How Buddhism
Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings (1996);
Theravada Buddhism: A social history from ancient Benares to
modern Colombo (1988); and with Gananath Obeyesekere,
Buddhism transformed: Religious change in Sri Lanka (1988).
He has been President of the Pali Text Society and was awarded
the Sri Lanka Ranjana decoration by the President of Sri Lanka
in 1994 and the SC Chakraborty medal by the Asiatic Society of
Calcutta the previous year.
Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism
General Editors:
Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown
Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism is a comprehensive study of the
Buddhist tradition. The series explores this complex and extensive tradition
from a variety of perspectives, using a range of different methodologies.
The series is diverse in its focus, including historical studies, textual
translations and commentaries, sociological investigations, bibliographic
studies, and considerations of religious practice as an expression of Buddhism’s
integral religiosity. It also presents materials on modern intellectual historical
studies, including the role of Buddhist thought and scholarship in a contemporary,
critical context and in the light of current social issues. The series is expansive
and imaginative in scope, spanning more than two and a half millennia of
Buddhist history. It is receptive to all research works that inform and advance
our knowledge and understanding of the Buddhist tradition.
A SURVEY OF VINAYA IMAGING WISDOM
LITERATURE Jacob N. Kinnard
Charles S. Prebish
PAIN AND ITS ENDING
THE REFLEXIVE NATURE OF
Carol S. Anderson
AWARENESS
Paul Williams
EMPTINESS APPRAISED
David F. Burton
ALTRUISM AND REALITY
Paul Williams
THE SOUND OF LIBERATING
BUDDHISM AND HUMAN TRUTH
RIGHTS Edited by Sallie B. King and
Edited by Damien Keown, PaulO.Ingram
Charles S. Prebish, Wayne Husted
BUDDHIST THEOLOGY
WOMEN IN THE FOOTSTEPS
Edited by Roger R. Jackson and
OFTHE BUDDHA
JohnJ. Makransky
Kathryn R. Blackstone
THE GLORIOUS DEEDS OF
THE RESONANCE OF
PURNA
EMPTINESS
Joel Tatelman
Gay Watson
AMERICAN BUDDHISM EARLY BUDDHISM – A NEW
Edited by Duncan Ryuken Williams APPROACH
and Christopher Queen Sue Hamilton
CONTEMPORARY BUDDHIST ACTION DHARMA
ETHICS Edited by Christopher Queen,
Edited by Damien Keown Charles S. Prebish and
DamienKeown
INNOVATIVE BUDDHIST
WOMEN TIBETAN AND ZEN
Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo BUDDHISMIN BRITAIN
David N. Kay
TEACHING BUDDHISM IN
THEWEST THE CONCEPT OF THE BUDDHA
Edited by V. S. Hori, R. P. Hayes and Guang Xing
J. M. Shields
THE PHILOSOPHY OF DESIRE
EMPTY VISION IN THE BUDDHIST PALI CANON
David L. McMahan David Webster
SELF, REALITY AND REASON THE NOTION OF DITTHIIN
INTIBETAN PHILOSOPHY THERAVADA BUDDHISM
Thupten Jinpa Paul Fuller
IN DEFENSE OF DHARMA THE BUDDHIST THEORY OF
Tessa J. Bartholomeusz SELF-COGNITION
Zhihua Yao
BUDDHIST PHENOMENOLOGY
Dan Lusthaus MORAL THEORY IN
SANTIDEVA’S
RELIGIOUS MOTIVATION
SIKSASAMUCCAYA
ANDTHE ORIGINS
Barbra R. Clayton
OFBUDDHISM
Torkel Brekke BUDDHIST STUDIES FROM
INDIA TO AMERICA
DEVELOPMENTS IN
Edited by Damien Keown
AUSTRALIAN BUDDHISM
Michelle Spuler DISCOURSE AND IDEOLOGY IN
MEDIEVAL JAPANESE
ZEN WAR STORIES
BUDDHISM
Brian Victoria
Edited by Richard K. Payne and
THE BUDDHIST Taigen Dan Leighton
UNCONSCIOUS
BUDDHIST THOUGHT AND
William S. Waldron
APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL
INDIAN BUDDHIST THEORIES RESEARCH
OF PERSONS Edited by D. K. Nauriyal,
James Duerlinger Michael S. Drummond and Y. B. Lal
The following titles are published in association with the Oxford Centre for
Buddhist Studies
TheOxford Centre for Buddhist Studiesconducts and promotes rigorous
teaching and research into all forms of the Buddhist tradition.
EARLY BUDDHIST METAPHYSICS
Noa Ronkin
MIPHAM’S DIALECTICS AND THE DEBATES ON EMPTINESS
Karma Phuntsho
HOW BUDDHISM BEGAN
The conditioned genesis of the early teachings
Richard F. Gombrich
How Buddhism Began
The conditioned genesis of the
early teachings
Second edition
RichardF. Gombrich
First published 1996
by The Athlone Press
1 Park Drive, London NW11 7SG and
165 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716
School of Oriental and African Studies
Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religion XVII
Second edition published 2006
by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 1996 School of Oriental and African Studies. 2006 Richard F. Gombrich
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0–415–37123–6(Print Edition)
For Maria Gerger and Ernst Steinkellner

CONTENTS
Introduction to the second edition xi
Preface xvii
Abbreviations xix
I. Debate, Skill in Means, Allegory and Literalism 1
II. How, not What: Kammaas a Reaction to Brahminism 27
III. Metaphor, Allegory, Satire 65
IV. Retracing an Ancient Debate: How Insight Worsted 96
Concentration in the Pali Canon
V. Who was Akgulimala? 135
Bibliography 165
General Index 170
Index of Texts Cited 179