Introduction to the History of Indian Buddhism

The most influential work on Buddhism to be published in the nineteenth century, "Introduction a l'histoire du Buddhisme indien", by the great French scholar of Sanskrit Eugene Burnouf, set the course for the academic study of Buddhism – and Indian Buddhism in particular – for the next hundred years. First published in 1844, the masterwork was read by some of the most important thinkers of the time, including Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in Germany and Emerson and Thoreau in America.

Katia Buffetrille and Donald S. Lopez Jr'. s expert English translation, "Introduction to the History of Indian Buddhism", provides a clear view of how the religion was understood in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Burnouf was an impeccable scholar, and his vision, especially of the Buddha, continues to profoundly shape our modern understanding of Buddhism. In reintroducing Burnouf to a new generation of Buddhologists, Buffetrille and Lopez have revived a seminal text in the history of Orientalism.


Contents:

Acknowledgments
Introduction to the Translation, by Donald S. Lopez Jr.
A Note on the Translation

INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF INDIAN BUDDHISM
Table of Contents
Analytical Table of the First Two Memoranda
Foreword

First Memorandum: General Observations
Second Memorandum: Description of the Collection of the Books of Nepal

Appendixes
Index