Religious Motivation and the Origins of Buddhism

Torkel Brekke holds a DPhil in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford on the politics of religious identity in colonial South Asia. He is currently a research fellow funded by the Norwegian Research Council. His main research interest is the interaction between religions ideas and processes of political and historical change.

• 1. The Skandhaka of the Vinaya Pitaka and its Historical Value  2. The Early Samgha and the Laity  3. Conversion in Buddhism  4. Contradiction and the Merit of Giving in Indian Religions  5. The Role of Fear in Indian Religions with Special Reference to Buddhism  6. The Religious Motivation of the Early Buddhists