New Book: Analayo's "The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal"

[Michael Zimmermann]

New Book Series started by the Center for Buddhist Studies at Hamburg  
University


Buddhism has enjoyed a prominent place in the study of Asian religious  
ideas at Hamburg University for almost 100 years, ever since the birth  
of Buddhist Studies in Germany.

With the publication series "Hamburg Buddhist Studies," the Center for  
Buddhist Studies at Hamburg University aims to honor this  
long-standing commitment to research and share the results of this  
tradition with the community of scholars and the wider public.

The new series of "Hamburg Buddhist Studies" will also contribute to  
opening up Buddhist Studies to those who are not necessarily trained  
in the classical languages of the Buddhist traditions but want to  
approach the field with their own disciplinary interests in mind.

Vol 1: Analayo: The Genesis of the Bodhisattva Ideal
( http://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/index.php?id=105&L=1 )

In this book, Bhikkhu Analayo investigates the genesis of the  
bodhisattva ideal, one of the most important concepts in the history  
of Buddhist thought. He brings together material from the corpus of  
the early discourses preserved mainly in Pali and Chinese that appear  
to have influenced the arising of the bodhisattva ideal. Analayo  
convincingly shows that the early sources do not present compassionate  
concern for others as a motivating force for the Buddha's quest for  
awakening. He further offers an analysis of the only reference to  
Maitreya in the Pali canon, showing that this reference is most likely  
a later addition. In sum, Bhikkhu Analayo is able to delineate a  
gradual genesis of central aspects of the bodhisattva ideal by  
documenting (1) an evolution in the bodhisattva concept reflected in  
the early discourses, (2) the emergence of the notion of a vow to  
pursue the path to buddhahood, and (3) the possible background for the  
idea of a prediction an aspirant to buddhahood receives from a former  
buddha.

179 pages, ISBN 978-3-937816-62-3, Hamburg University Press.

The volume is freely available online or can be ordered by mail (EUR 22.80).



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Michael Zimmermann
Barbara Schuler
Center for Buddhist Studies
University of Hamburg
Alsterterrasse 1
20354 Hamburg, Germany
phone: +49-(0)40-42838-4831
www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de