This volume deals with the Sarvāstivāda school of Buddhism, the major philosophical school of Hīnayāna. First a general outline is given of the school's origin in the (Indian) Buddhist synods. Part one ends with a general survey of Sarvāstivāda Literature.
In the actual corpus the philosophical texts of Sarvāstivāda are treated in detail. The organization of the work follows the geographical spread of Sarvāstivāda. In these Parts special emphasis is laid on the Central Asian history of the school, as well as on how the school eventually reached China ('Abhidharma and Kosa Schools'). Treatment is based on the Chinese versions of the major works of the school (Sūtrapiṭaka, Abhidarmapiṭaka and Vinayapiṭaka).
All in all, this major work throws a new light on the relationship between Sarvāstivāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda and provides an innovative view on the Dārsṭtantika and Sautrāntika Schools.

Contributions by: James M. Robinson, , Sebastian Brock, Joel Delobel, , Eldon Jay Epp, Jan Helderman, Pieter W. van der Horst, Henk Jan de Jonge, Marinus de Jonge, Helmut Koester, Andreas Lindemann, Gerard Mussies, Johan Vos,