ha (while not ignoring the historical and epistemological problems involved with knowing just what they were) and on the beliefs and practices of Theravada or Vajrayana Buddhism, which is historically the older form. The chapter makes clear that it is this form of Buddhism which often appears to Westerners to be a ôphilosophyö rather than a ôreligion,ö since it makes few compromises with the Western need to ôknow about the unknowable.ö It also attempts to make clear to the newcomer how the followers of this path understand it as a religion.
Chapter 2, ôThe Life of Buddha as a Way of Salvation,ö has been compiled by Hakeda and de Bary. It focuses on the traditional texts that describe the life and activities of the Buddha. The editors emphasize that it is the life of the Buddha that continues to be the link between Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
(The latter has often been called ôHinayanaö in the West, but this is an impolite misnomer. ôMahayanaö means ômajor vehicle,ö and ôHinayanaö means ôminor vehicle;...