|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Amazon
Beneath the enormous umbrella of Buddhism, there is a diverse galaxy of customs and beliefs, but there is also a kernel of truth that every sect holds dear. Rahula Walpola, scholar and monk, discovers this foundation of Buddhism for us first through straightforward explication, never skipping over a point that has yet to be substantiated, then through translations from key scriptures. Logical and focused, these are the essentials of Buddhism; know them first, then move comfortably on to other Buddhist works.
From Library Journal
Rahula is a scholar monk who trained in the Theravadan tradition in Ceylon. His succinct, clear overview of Buddhist concepts has never been surpassed. It is the standard.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Among the founders of religions the Buddha (if we are permitted to call him the founder of a religion in the popular sense of the term) was the only teacher who did not claim to be other than a human being, pure and simple. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Among the founders of religions the Buddha (if we are permitted to call him the founder of a religion in the popular sense of the term) was the only teacher who did not claim to be other than a human being, pure and simple. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A competent and brief introduction,
By Brad4d "bb" (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition With Texts From Suttas and Dhammapada (Paperback)
It's difficult to think of a better brief introductory text to classical or Theravada Buddhism. The author gives a short introduction and then discusses the Four Noble Truths, the value of meditation, and some ideas on the modern relevance of Buddhism. The writing style is reasonably good, and the index and glossary are excellent if a bit out of date (one excellent source of modern text translations is accesstoinsight.org). This book can be recommended for beginners and to experienced meditators or Buddhists who would like a good "memory refresher."One caveat: Mr Rahula seems to argue that the Buddha's views were atheistic. In my opinion, given the Buddha's admonition to investigate-for-yourself, his non-dogmatic statement that he had simply not seen a transcendent deity (rather than saying he knew there was no such deity), and his acceptance of some revelation and authority in addition to his reliance on analysis, I would argue the Buddha's views were probably agnostic rather than atheistic.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Answers,
By A Customer
This review is from: What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition With Texts From Suttas and Dhammapada (Paperback)
If you have basic questions about Buddhism, chances are this book will answer them once and for all. Even after reading many books on the subject there were still some things that I was unclear on. "What The Buddha Taught" addressed every one of them in a way that laid to rest my doubts and confusion. There are some wonderful gems of insight scattered throughtout as well. Such as this from the chapter on Meditation: "Mindfulness, or awareness, does not mean that you should think and be conscious 'I am doing this' or 'I am doing that'. No. Just the contrary.The moment you think 'I am doing this', you become self-conscious, and then you do not live in the action, but you live in the idea 'I am', and consequently your work too is spoilt.You should forget yourself completely, and lose yourself in what you do." How different this is from the way I had previously thought about mindfulness! Another example: "According to Buddhism, the Absolute Truth is that there is nothing absolute in the world, that everything is relative, conditioned and impermanet, and that there is no unchanging, everlasting, absolute substance like Self, Soul, or Atman within or without." Now, I had read or heard all that before, but never stated with such certainty and authority. This book is chock full of such wisdom. Though sometimes a bit dry, Walpola Rahula covers the basics of Buddhism clearly and concisely and in a way that I found encouraging. I gave the book only 4 stars because of the paper it was printed on and the very dated black and white pictures. I feel this book is definitely deserving of an upgrade in this respect. But please don't let such trivialities deter you from buying this book. I only wish I had found it sooner.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Place to Start,
By
This review is from: What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition With Texts From Suttas and Dhammapada (Paperback)
This book is about the 4-5 book I have read on the general topic of "Buddhism". I must say it is very through, and contains all the fundamentals, with great analogies and metaphors for complex ideas. I highly recommend this book, and would ask you to ignore the other reviews which complain the ideas in the book are false. This is a great purchase.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Religious Studies > Buddhism
- Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Buddha
- Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Dhammapada
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Dhammapada
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Buddhism > Buddha
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
