The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy

The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy is a school-by-school exposition of Indian and East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy by Junjirō Takakusu (1866–1945), the Japanese Buddhist scholar who led the compilation of the 100-volume Taishō edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon. Takakusu prepared the material in Tokyo and delivered it as lectures at the University of Hawai'i in 1938–39; the book was first published in Honolulu in 1947, edited by Charles A. Moore and Wing-tsit Chan. Fifteen chapters move from an Indian Background and Fundamental Principles through the six Nara schools — Kusha (Abhidharma), Jojitsu (Satyasiddhi), Hosso (Yogācāra), Sanron (Madhyamaka), and Kegon (Avatamsaka) — and on to the Tendai, Shingon, Zen, Jodo (Pure Land), Nichiren, and Ritsu schools.

Takakusu's organizing principle is that Japan alone has preserved the whole of Buddhism — every doctrine of both the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna schools — and that the Japanese schools therefore give the most complete view of the tradition. His treatment is sympathetic and insider-facing rather than critical: he presents each school's own understanding of its position in the historical development of Buddhist thought. The result is a compact survey that was for several decades the standard English-language university introduction to Mahāyāna philosophy. Later scholarship has updated its dates and attributions, but Takakusu's school-by-school architecture remains the model many later textbooks follow.

First lines

A discourse on Buddhist philosophy is usually begun with the philosophy of Indian Buddhism, and in this respect it is important to trace the development of Buddhist thought in India where it thrived for 1,500 years.

Contents

Reception

The Essentials filled a long-standing gap in English-language Buddhist philosophy textbooks and was for several decades the standard university introduction to the Mahāyāna philosophical schools. Later scholarship — Paul Williams's Mahāyāna Buddhism, Peter Harvey's Introduction to Buddhism, the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism — has superseded its breadth and updated its dates and attributions, but Takakusu's school-by-school structure remains the model many later textbooks follow. The book is also read as a primary document in the modern Japanese Buddhist studies tradition: Takakusu's own Tendai-rooted reading of the schools is now sometimes flagged as a Japanese-Buddhist lens on the Indian and Chinese material.

Frequently asked

What does The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy cover?

It surveys fifteen Buddhist schools school by school, moving from Abhidharma realism through Yogācāra idealism and Madhyamaka dialectics to the distinctively Japanese schools — Tendai, Shingon, Zen, Jodo (Pure Land), Nichiren, and Ritsu — in 235 pages.

Who was Junjirō Takakusu?

Takakusu (1866–1945) studied Sanskrit at Oxford, became Professor of Sanskrit at Tokyo Imperial University, and led the editorial team that compiled the Taishō edition, the 100-volume standard scholarly canon of East Asian Buddhism. He delivered the lectures behind this book at the University of Hawai'i in 1938–39.

Is The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy still relevant?

It remains useful as a compact period overview and as a document of early twentieth-century Japanese Buddhist scholarship. More recent works — Paul Williams's Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism — have updated its dates and attributions, but Takakusu's school-by-school architecture is still widely imitated.