Book Description

Buddhism is a religion practiced by an estimated 495 million in the world, as of the 2010s, representing 9% to 10% of the world's total population. China is the country with the largest population of Buddhists, approximately 244 million or 18.2% of its total population. They are mostly followers of Chinese schools of Mahayana, making this the largest body of Buddhist traditions. Mahayana, also practiced in broader East Asia, is followed by over half of world Buddhists. The second largest body of Buddhist schools is Theravada, mostly followed in Southeast Asia. The third and smallest body of schools, Vajrayana, is followed mostly in Tibet, the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia, but has been disseminated throughout the world. Buddhism was almost entirely unknown in western countries until the 19th century. European diplomats and scholars who travelled and lived in Asia collected Buddhist texts to have them translated into English, German and French. Awareness of Buddhism arrived in the United States around the 1840's when the first Chinese immigrants settled in the western part of the country. Still, in general Buddhism remained poorly understood in the west until the 1960's when the first Buddhist teachers started arriving and quickly found thousands of followers. However curious westerners without serious study tended to view Buddhism as more of a mystic movement, rather than an encompassing spirituality involving meditation. Buddhism gained more popularity across Western culture by the end of the 20th century, when celebrities and other well-known people like Steve Jobs, Richard Gere or Phil Jackson openly talked about the positive influence Buddhism has had on their lives. The author of this book has joined the debate and examines the issues bringing fresh insights on the subject. In this book the author seeks to prove that the consciousness of the individual and individuality, which at the empirical level involves the rise of private property, family and the state, finds its most sophisticated and rational expression in early Buddhism.