The present study aims to examine the modern Chinese Pure Land thought and movements, which are part of the general context of reforms that involved the whole Chinese Buddhist community starting from the beginning of the 20th century. In this study, I examine (1) the socio-political context of modern China when Chinese Buddhist communities began to re-think their traditions and reform monastic education, under the influence of socio-political chaos and Western culture; (2) Ven. Yinguang's (1861--1940) syncretism of Pure Land thought with Confucian ethical teachings, which promoted a more secular and lay movement in response to Western influence; (3) Ven. Yinshun's (1906--2005) critical Pure Land thought which went back to early Indian Buddhism to clarify some teachings which had been corrupted during the transmission of Buddhism to China; (4) modern movements influenced by their thought. According to Robert Bellah, there are two kinds of response of Asian traditional elites to modernization: neotraditionalism and reformism. Based upon my analysis of modern Chinese Pure Land thought and movements, I argue that this dichotomy is not mutually exclusive; the two categories can overlap. Yinguang and Yinshun were both neotraditionalist and reformist.

Although Buddhism denies the existence of a permanent individual entity, the tradition nevertheless makes frequent use of the "aggregate" scheme when asked to explain the elements at work in the individual. Through a detailed analysis of each of these five aggregates (pancakkhandha). I first intend to establish how the Theravada tradition views their interaction, with each other and with the external world. Secondly, I will attempt to offer strong evidence that the traditional order systematically used for the enumeration of the five aggregates is significant. This will be evidenced by establishing a correlation between the five aggregates and the eight middle links of the theory of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada). The results of my research will not only explain the psychosomatic workings of the individual--as viewed by the Theravada tradition--, but will clarify the mental process which, according to the Pali suttas, constitutes the grounds of transmigration.

A notion of free-will is as indispensable a concept to the philosophical principles of the Buddhist tradition as it is to the tenets of Christianity. The primary undertaking of this thesis has been to test this hypothesis through an analysis and evaluation of the notion of free-will as it pertains to the belief systems of both traditions. Critical evaluation has permitted me to establish how central and vital the issue of free-will is in both theory and practice. I have reflected upon this centrality and what it has revealed about the status of human free-will within the context of each tradition's understanding of reality. The methodology has been through the principle of analogy of proportion. The approach has also been Wittgensteinian in emphasis, mindful of the need to appraise words used within the context of religious language in their native environment. Although concerned to present the emic meaning of the tradition, this has not precluded speculative enquiry by extending the analogous correlation. From the evidence of my research it is apparent that only a partial endorsement of the original hypothesis can be sustained as a genuine statement. Within the Christian theistic tradition, a notion of free-will qualifies as an indispensable function within its philosophical framework. Given a priori significance, theological doctrines and dogma have been articulated and constructed to sustain metaphysical speculation and presumptions. The reality of free-will is maintained as an ontological imperative. The Buddhist tradition does not seek to preserve a view in which God exists as the primal being of the created order. Regarded as an intrinsic part of human nature nevertheless, a notion of free-will certainly functions as an indispensable concept to support their doctrinal principles of the experiential world. Within a Buddhist frame of reference all concepts at an ultimate level of truth have to be recognised as conditioned, relative and empty. This is the crucial and significant distinction that separates Christian theological ontology and Buddhist philosophical thought.

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The Tibetan Buddhist approach to healing, health and death is rooted in the sacred. Its teachings and techniques create a road map guiding the practitioner through the process of purification called sacred healing. It encompasses foundational Buddhist teachings, sacred Buddhist medicine, and the esoteric healing pathways found in tantra and yoga, which together constitute a detailed and technical guide to healing. The mind is central to all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. The ability to focus the mind through meditation during life enables the practitioner to prepare for death by experiencing the subtle aspects of the body and mind through the chakras. Both Tibetan spiritual teachers and doctors practise healing and help practitioners learn to focus their minds in preparation for death. The moment of death presents the greatest opportunity for attaining sacred health, but healing can also occur after death. The objective of this thesis is to present the Tibetan Buddhist understanding of sacred healing in relation to life, death, the bardos and suicide through its texts, teachings and techniques.

The current study examines the agnostic Buddhism of contemporary scholar and practitioner Stephen Batchelor. The main question under examination is whether the essence of Buddhism is undermined when interpreted through Batchelor's agnostic and "belief-free" lens. In an attempt to answer this question, Batchelor's main philosophical texts---Alone With Others, The Faith to Doubt, and Buddhism Without Beliefs---are analysed, as are three critiques of his work written by Bhikkhu Punnadhammo, Bhikkhu Bodhi, and Sangharakshita. It is concluded that while Batchelor is discarding many of the conventional trappings of Buddhism, he is not placing its integrity at risk.