Dharma (Dimensions of Asian Spirituality): 3

DharmaAuthor(s): Alf Hiltebeitel\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: University of Hawai'i Press, United States\nImprint: University of Hawai'i Press\nISBN-13: 9780824834869, 978-0824834869\nSynopsis\nThis introductory work proposes a fresh take on the ancient Indian concept dharma. By unfolding how, even in its developments as \""law\"" and custom, dharma participates in nuanced and multifarious understandings of the term that play out in Indias great spiritual traditions, the book offers insights into the innovative character of both Hindu and Buddhist usages of the concept. Alf Hiltebeitel, in an original approach to early Buddhist usages, explores how the Buddhist canon brought out different meanings of dharma. This is followed by an exposition of the hypothesis that most, if not all, of the Hindu law books flowered after the third-century BC emperor Asoka, a Buddhist, made dharma the guiding principle of an entire realm and culture. A discussion built around the authors expertise on th.