Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Buddhism
(2,069 words)

1. The European perspective

The religion of Buddhism, named for its founder Buddha (6th-5th centuries BCE) is the oldest of the great so-called world religions, and currently the most widespread religious tradition in Asia. The European view of Buddhism in the early modern period was conditioned primarily by two circumstances. First, Buddhism became known in Europe through missionary reports. Secondly, these accounts were mainly based on the situation of Buddhism in …

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Gentz, Joachim, “Buddhism”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_017862>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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