Buddhism For Dummies [Paperback]

Remember - this is Buddhism For Dummies - and it delivers exactly that - as the book itself says "Your easy-to-understand guide to Buddhist traditions, beliefs and practices"

This is a perfect book for the person looking into Buddhism for the first time - it gives a general overview - and a closer look into specific areas - from history to practices to traditions to a general understanding of the what, how's and why's of Buddhism - in easy to read and understand steps - nothing too "out there" or overwhelming

This is also a great book for the person revisiting Buddhism - it reminds you of what you found interesting or drawn to in the first place and I found it to be refreshing through the eyes I have now

Most importantly - this is a book for your head - on a spiritual scale - it's not particularly moving or spiritual - again this is Buddhism For Dummies - it's more for your brain - it's a general look and explanation geared towards an intellectual understanding (Buddhism 101) - not the heart/mind understanding - there is some of that, but Buddhism For Dummies is for your brain

This book is written by Stephan Bodian, an American Buddhist monk, and Jonathan Landaw, who has led meditation courses at Buddhist centers for over twenty-five years.

Despite its cheesy title, this book answered most of the questions I had about Buddhism:

Why the heck does the Buddha have so many names? He was born Prince Siddhartha, but once he became enlightened, he was called Shakyamuni Buddha. Bodhi, the tree under which he meditated, means enlightenment. Shakyamuni means enlightened sage of the Shakyas, the clan to which he belonged.

Was Buddha God? No, he was a real human thought to have lived between 563 and 483 BCE. When you see Buddhist monks prostate before a statue of Buddha, they are praying to their inner Buddha. They believe each of us has the ability to achieve enlightenment (nirvana).

What is karma? Sort of credits you build up, both bad and good. Buddhists believe in reincarnation; karma credits transfer from life to life. So if you're dealt a bad hand; it's because you were naughty in a previous life.

What's the difference between Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism? The way I understand it, Theravada emphasizes individual enlightenment; whereas, the Mahayana's proponents are more worried about helping everyone achieve spiritual awakening. A Buddha becomes a Bodhisattva, sort of a savior like Shakyamuni. Theravadas also emphasize compassion and kindness which is pretty much the same thing. Zen Buddhism and Vajrayana (Tibetan) are offshoots of Mahayana Buddhism.

What about heaven and hell? This is where they lost me. Shakyamuni taught that suffering resulted from something called the "Wheel of Life." A diagram shows a pig (ignorance) giving birth to a rooster (desire or attachment) and a snake (aversion or hatred). There are also six realms of existence: God, anti-God, Human, Animal, hungry ghost, and hell being. Primarily through meditation and compassion, an entity can build up enough karma to work its way up to God. But the gods can be demoted if they run out of karma and they are always fighting the jealous anti-gods, so apparently they are not Buddhas. This wheel of life has existed in infinity; one of the authors says to remember that an enemy was probably at one time your mother, so it should be easy to forgive.

At times Landaw and Bodian take their transcendental philosophy a bit too far. The last section deals with "uninvited house guests." By this they mean insects. According to Buddha killing mosquitoes and other pests is bad karma. If a mosquito makes its way into your house, you're supposed to catch it and take it outside. Obviously these guys haven't experienced a humid, Minnesota evening in July down by the lake.

In fact, its attempt to be comprehensive is a bit of a drawback. It might be easier for the newcomer had the authors chosen to promote a specific line or school, rather than offer a meandering potpourri of all aspects of Buddhist thought, hisotry and practice.

This book requires the reader pay attention and sift through this material more carefully than many of the practical guides - Awakening the Buddha Within, the Art of Happiness, etc. It's quetionable whether the novice reader needs to work through various myths surrounding the Buddha's life or the details of monastic practices in order to understand the basic concepts of Buddhism.

This is a somewhat encyclopedic approach, and less of a hand-on roadmap for core belief and practice. It's a good book, but the depth may easily overwhelm the person seeking some basic information or answers to simple questions. It would work best when read in parallel with other works.