3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Suitable for both the scholar and the laity, July 6 2007
By Douglas Robinson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide. Meditation and Philosophy, Truth and Enlightenment, Sacred Art and Architecture (Hardcover)
Written by some of the most respected scholars in the field, Buddhism the Illustrated Guide is both highly accessible and sophisticated. The authors have managed to present the vast and complex array of beliefs, practices, and relationships constitutive of this world religion with the brevity of exceptional scholarship. Yet, astoundingly, throughout the entire compendium, one is never deprived of the rich texture and depth of lived Buddhism, which is quite rare in objective scholarship. This debasing of religion to trite, and often insipid, historical outlines is, unfortunately, often characteristic of most erudite attempts to impartially summarize religions. On another note, this work also represents a paradigmatic shift in contemporary Buddhist studies away from the western presupposition of Buddhism as primarily a rational quest and a new attempt to "rematerialize" Buddhism by emphasizing the role of ritual, image, and relic. This introduction is simply unmatched in its treatment of Buddhism, and it has enough flavor to get anyone excited about learning. From its exquisite high quality images which adorn almost every page and regular sidebar commentaries, to its easily accessible chapter sections, Buddhism practically comes to life as you flip the pages.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good modern intro to Buddhism for Western readers, Sep 24 2005
By Michael K. Smith - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide. Meditation and Philosophy, Truth and Enlightenment, Sacred Art and Architecture (Hardcover)
My first exposure to Buddhist ideas was in the 1960s, in California, in what I later realized was a rather self-conscious, thoroughly Westernized form that viewed Buddhism as a philosophy rather than a "religion," compared to Christianity. American and European scholarship regarding Buddhist thought and its application in eastern social systems has changed considerably in the past few decades, however, and this recent volume is a very good introductory overview. Each section is written and edited by a different scholarly authority, beginning with Buddhism's historical and political origins, progressing to its principals and practices and a discussion of its evolved holy writings, and concluding with a section on "Buddhism Today" that points up its diversity from Indian to China to Japan to southeast Asia. The narrative is smooth and frequent sidebars offer more detailed explanations of doctrinal or historical points as needed. The illustrations are numerous and mostly in color. My only gripe, really, is an editorial one: On nearly every page, it seems, there is at least one in-text cross-reference ("see pp. 20-21") which encourage the reader to jump around, which leads one to lose track of what are often very alien ideas.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buddhism, Feb 1 2011
By Spider Monkey - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide (Paperback)
This book is a stunning look at most aspects of Buddhism. It allocates a 2 (and occasionally 4) page spread to each topic and has beautiful imagery and photography to illustrate the various topics. This looks at such wide areas as Origin, Principles and Practise, Holy Writings and Buddhism Today, with each of these sections further broken down into chapters exploring the ideas of Buddhism in greater depth. This is a wonderful place to turn to learn more about this religion and the images alone more than make up the purchase price. This book covers more topics than most other 'introduction' books i've read and in a way that renders the idea clear and coherent. I highly recommend this in your explorations of this religion and the ideals it teaches.
Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.