The Sociology of Early Buddhism

by Greg Bailey and Ian W. Mabbett

Book Overview

Early Buddhism flourished because it was able to take up the challenge represented by buoyant economic conditions and the need for cultural uniformity in the newly emergent states in north-eastern India from the fifth century BCE onwards. This book begins with the apparent inconsistency of Buddhism, a renunciant movement, surviving within a strong urban environment, and draws out the implications of this. In spite of the Buddhist ascetic imperative,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521831164
• ISBN13: 9780521831161
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"