Early Buddhist Society : The World of Gautama Buddha /
Xinru Liu.
- First SUNY Press edition.
- Albany : State University of New York Press, (c)2022.
- 1 online resource
Includes bibliographies and index.
Intro -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgements -- Glossary -- 1 The Time of the Buddha -- South Asia from the Buddha to Ashoka -- Sakyamuni and the Sakya People -- The Buddha's Supporters in Cities -- Forests, Mountains, and Waters -- The Sangha of the Buddha and His Society -- 2 Ahura and Asura: Persians and Indians in the Time of the Buddha -- The Presence of the Persian Empire -- Zoroastrianism in Persia and India -- Persians in Greater Gandara -- Looking from the Ganges -- Asuras Among the Buddhists -- 3 The Maladies of Urban Life: Epidemics, Asava, and the Problem of Addiction Jivaka the Physician in the New Cities -- Health Conditions: Personal Hygiene and Environmental Sanitation -- Drugs as Medicine and Addiction -- Soma, Haoma, Asava -- 4 Supporters in the Cities: Gahapati, Setthi, Visakha, and Women Who Fed the Sangha -- 5 Bimbisara, Pasenadi, Ajatasattu, and the Vajji Rajas -- 6 Queens and the Buddhist Sangha -- Ambapali, Stateswoman of the Vajji Ganasangha -- Maha Pajapati, Matriarch of the Sakya Ganasangha -- Khema, a Queen of Magadha -- Mallika, Queen of Kosala -- Samavati, Queen of Kosambi -- 7 Patacara and Refugees Who Fled from Cities 8 Newcomers from Forests, Mountains, and Waters -- 9 From Aryans to Candalas: A Mobile Hierarchy in the Buddhist Universe -- The Realm of the Devas -- The Realm of Humans -- The Realm of Asuras -- The Realm of Animals -- The Realm of Ghosts and Hell -- 10 Sanchi and Bharhut: Visual Memories of Early Buddhist Society -- Bibliography -- Pali Canon Referred to in the Text -- Inscriptional Sources -- Visual Sources of Ancient Indian Monuments -- Secondary Sources -- Index
A richly scholarly yet accessible and imaginative account of society in the time of the Buddha.