Comparative Studies in Society and History · 1975 · 33 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesReligionReligious StudiesBuddhist StudiesHistory Of ReligionsReligious HistoryBuddhismBuddhist HistoryBuddhist Literary TraditionBuddhist Textual StudiesSacred NarrativeSacred TextsBuddhist Karma TheoryBuddhist Literary HistoryBuddhist Scriptural InterpretationBuddhist Textual TraditionsBuddhist TraditionsSacred HistorySacred Text HistoriographySacred Textual Traditions
The contents of sacred texts are not simply reproduced in the doctrines of the religions which venerate them; there must be interpretation and selective emphasis. This is most obviously true when the corpus of sacred literature is large, as in Christianity and Buddhism. Historians of these religions may therefore ask why certain doctrines and certain scriptures have been emphasized at the expense of others.