ABSTRACT
While the term Buddhist “theology” may pose multiple problems, as noted by almost all the contributors to this volume, 1 the intent of the editors, Roger Jackson and John Makransky, to undertake a constructive reappraisal of Buddhist thought in a new direction is to be welcomed. Buddhist Studies in the West is maturing and may enter a new stage, a stage marked by self-critical awareness among practicing scholars who propose to address critical issues of universal concern from the Buddhist standpoint. The collected essays cluster around a “double movement,” described by the editors as follows:
Buddhist theology involves two types of critical reflection: 1) As contemporary Buddhist scholars trained in the Western academy, to reflect upon implications for Buddhist self-understanding, of the academy’s historical, cultural, and critical findings. 2) At the same time, standing within the Buddhist tradition, and thus recognizing a trans-historical and trans-cultural significance of Buddhism which speaks to every place and time (as Christian theologians recognize for their tradition), to reflect critically upon the contemporary world from the perspective of Buddhist tradition, and thereby to offer something important to contemporary understanding. 2
