Buddhist Ideas and Rituals in Early India and Korea

by Kwangsu Lee

The present work deals with the historical progress of Buddhism in socio-economic dimension which, we believe, is the most decisive factor forming religious tradition. This work is based mainly on literary sources ranging from early Buddhist texts like Nikayas and Dhammapada to tantric texts. Valuable information with regard to the Buddhism in early Korean society and Indo-Korean contacts comes from the Samgukyusa in which the narrative is more and more transformed into myth and legend. The study would be found useful by those studying ancient India, ancient Korea, transformation of Buddhism, Buddhist mechanism for worldly matters and cultural contacts between India and Korea in the early times.

About the Author:

KWANGSU LEE is Associate Professor of Indian History, Department of South Asian Studies, Pusan University of Foreign Studies, Pusan, Korea.