| Acknowledgements | |
| Technical Note | |
| Introduction: Digesting the Dharma | |
| Further Reading | |
| The Buddhist Universe | |
| The Realms of Rebirth | p. 3 |
| A Call to Practise | p. 19 |
| Karma Tales | p. 24 |
| A Lesson from a Ghost | p. 34 |
| A Scripture that Protects Kings | p. 37 |
| One Buddha per Universe | p. 46 |
| Two Buddhas Seated Side by Side | p. 51 |
| Rebirth in the Land of Bliss | p. 60 |
| Avoiding Hell, Gaining Heaven | p. 69 |
| A Chinese Pilgrim in India | p. 78 |
| A Sacred Peak | p. 84 |
| Maitreya Describes the Future | p. 90 |
| The Buddha | |
| The Three Jewels | p. 101 |
| The Noble Search | p. 105 |
| A Life of the Buddha | p. 116 |
| Maya, Mother of the Buddha | p. 129 |
| Why the Buddha Had Good Digestion | p. 136 |
| A King Gives Away His Head | p. 142 |
| Rupyavati Gives Away Her Breasts | p. 159 |
| How the Buddha Became a Bodhisattva | p. 172 |
| Proving the Buddha | p. 185 |
| Enshrining a Relic | p. 193 |
| The Consecration of a Buddha Image | p. 200 |
| A Hymn to the Buddha | p. 212 |
| Monastic Life | |
| The Evolution of Ordination | p. 223 |
| Making Men into Monks | p. 230 |
| A Murderer Becomes a Monk | p. 252 |
| The Ascetic Ideal | p. 262 |
| Monks in the Mahayana | p. 269 |
| Making New Monastic Rules | p. 278 |
| Lives of Eminent Monks and Nuns | p. 285 |
| The Nine Patriarchs of the East | p. 297 |
| Taking the Vinaya Across the Sea | p. 306 |
| Zen for National Defence | p. 318 |
| How a Monk Freed his Mother from Hell | p. 329 |
| Living in the Degenerate Age | p. 335 |
| Meditation and Other Rituals | |
| The Direct Path to Enlightenment | p. 343 |
| Wisdom and Compassion | p. 350 |
| Serenity and Discernment | p. 361 |
| On the Relation of Study and Meditation | p. 370 |
| Both Sudden and Gradual Enlightenment | p. 375 |
| Reciting the Name of the Buddha | p. 379 |
| The Bodhisattva Vow | p. 388 |
| Freeing Birds and Fish from Bondage | p. 394 |
| Against Animal Sacrifice | p. 402 |
| Feeding Hungry Ghosts | p. 416 |
| A Sutra for Long Life | p. 423 |
| Transforming Death into Buddhahood | p. 430 |
| Enlightenment | |
| A Lay Master of Meditation | p. 441 |
| Nuns Triumph over Evil | p. 445 |
| The Perfection of Wisdom | p. 450 |
| In Praise of Reality | p. 464 |
| Songs of the Siddhas | p. 478 |
| The Ultimate Couple | p. 488 |
| Buddhahood in this Lifetime | p. 495 |
| The Practice of No Thought | p. 504 |
| Finding Enlightenment in the Final Age | p. 513 |
| The Gift of Faith | p. 522 |
| A Zen Master Interprets the Dharma | p. 531 |
| Dedication of Merit | p. 540 |
| Glossary | p. 549 |
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