The First Western Book on Buddhism and Buddha by Urs App

The First Western Book on Buddhism and Buddha by Urs App

Although the Western encounter with Asia's largest religion may be the vastest and most consequential spiritual encounter in human history, its protagonists and historical development are still barely known. Thus it comes as no surprise that even specialists have hitherto failed to appreciate the earliest Western book about Buddhism: Michel-Jean-Fran ois Ozeray's Recherches sur Buddou ou Bouddou, instituteur religieux de l'Asie orientale (Paris, 1817). To commemorate Ozeray's pioneering work on the 200th anniversary of its publication, it is here presented in the original French with Urs App's English translation on facing pages.

In his 73-page introduction App, the prize-winning author of books on the Western discovery of Asian religions, presents and analyzes Ozeray's view of Buddhism and its founder. Tracing the author's main sources, he explains why his book deserves to be recognized as a pioneering contribution to Western knowledge about Buddhism and to global-scale comparative religion. Published just before the onset of academic research on Buddhism in Europe, Ozeray's work relied not on Christian missionary literature or romantic speculation but rather on figurative representations and reports furnished by ambassadors, travelers, and long-time residents in Asian countries. Due to its focus on living Buddhism as practised in numerous Asian countries, Ozeray's pioneering study is--in spite of its inevitable flaws--in many respects more congruent with modern field work than the majority of popular books on Buddhism that bend the spiritualism and esotericism shelves in today's bookstores.

Urs App, PhD, is a Swiss scholar of Buddhism and of the history of religions and ideas, specializing in Zen. He was, for many years, professor of Buddhism at Hanazono University in Kyoto and Associate Director of the International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism. He has since devoted himself to writing books and producing documentaries while engaging in research at various academic institutions in Asia and Europe.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9783906000275
ISBN 10	3906000273
Title	The First Western Book on Buddhism and Buddha
Author	Urs App
Series	East-West Discovery
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Universitymedia
Year published	2017-10-21
Number of pages	318
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.