This collection of essays examines ten core themes from a comparative perspective and thus provides an integrated introduction to the social and spiritual values at the centre of Buddhist thought. Following an introductory chapter, the themes covered are moral decision making, worship, myth and history, the role of women, attitudes to nature, sacred writings, beliefs about human nature, rites of passage, sacred place and the depiction of the divine. Each chapter concludes with a list of recommended further reading.
Peter Harvey is Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Sunderland. He is author of An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues (Cambridge University Press, 2000) and The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvāna in Early Buddhism (1995). He is editor of the Buddhist Studies Review.