Introduction

Community, Culture, Authority and Power – identity, community, interaction with societies, sources of authority, politics and inter-religious encounter

This section looks at Buddhism as a social phenomenon, rather than a set of ideas about life, an individual spiritual path, an ethical way of life, or a number of diverse literary and artistic traditions. Right from the start, Buddhists have had to interact with wider society and culture, both influencing and influenced by the world in which they find themselves. The historical Buddha himself was born into a particular time and place, and his teaching had some things in common with, and used the concepts and vocabulary of, the surrounding culture, as well as challenging other received ideas, assumptions, customs and practices.