Pye/Lay Buddhism, 1. Introduction

Early issues of The Eastern Buddhist contain short translations from various Buddhist texts, some of them quite important and all of considerable interest. Since they are set unobtrusively between modern statements and arguments about the nature of Buddhism, and in any case are difficult to locate, they have often gone unnoticed by students. Assembled here is a selection of those texts which have stood the test of time. Drawn from Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese originals, they mainly reflect the Zen and Shin Buddhist traditions, though in the wider context of early Mahāyāna Buddhism. Drawing them together into one volume brings out the fact that these varied Buddhist traditions are intricately related to each other. The result is an unusual and fascinating reader which would grace many a course in Buddhist studies. This volume presents a variety of texts which express some of the spirituality of the Buddhist tradition in generally accessible forms. For this very reason, and sometimes intentionally, these texts point to a transcending of any distinction between monastic and lay persons. It is in this perspective that we are able to refer to “Lay Buddhism and Spirituality” in the title of the book.