This accessible volume covers both the teachings of the Buddha and the integration of Buddhism into daily life. What are the distinctive features of Buddhism? What or who is the Buddha, and what are his teachings? How has Buddhist thought developed over the centuries, and how can contemporary dilemmas be faced from a Buddhist perspective? Words such as "karma" and "nirvana" have entered our vocabulary, but what do they really mean? Keown has taught Buddhism at an introductory level for many years, and in this book he provides a lively, challenging response to these frequently asked questions.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Short and sweet.:
This is a great series I discovered while studying at Oxford. The books are short (hence the title) overviews written by scholars for a lay audience. They are in no way simplistic, however. A great place to start if you are interested in Buddhism. It provides both a historical and doctrinal overview of Buddhism.
Lives up to its title, fluently and accessibly:
Finishing Damien Keown's "Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 1996), I compared his understanding to the book immediately prior that I had reviewed on Amazon, "god Is Not Great," by Christopher Hitchens. The latter writer fails to note the Dalai Lama's own insistence that if scientific inquiry proved false the words of the Buddha, he'd abandon the words; he also keeps, as Pico Iyer reported in his "Time" cover story (Mar. 31, 2008), a model of the human brain on his desk. Certainly the Dalai... more info
Brief Introduction to Buddhism:
Buddhism is a subject that has spawned a huge and bewildering number of books, all meant to encourage the Westerner in understanding its message and way. Like the other volumes in the VSI series, this book provides a succinct introduction into a field in general, highly readable outlines. There is a short bibliography for further study, as well as a timeline; both of these help in placing the historical and religious aspects in perspective. It is also very clear in setting out the demands of Buddhism on... more info
Buddhism: a Very Short Recruitment Tract:
"Buddhism" started off very well, giving the parable of the blind men and the elephant as an example that Buddhism could appear to be many different things depending upon your perspective. Then Keown moved on, giving a "life" of Buddha and an overview of the evolution of the various schools of Buddhism. But the further I read into the book, the elephant looked less and less like an unbiased work of scholarship and more and more like a thinly veiled attempt to convert the unbelievers to Buddhism. By the last... more info
The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind by Sid Brown (Paperback) - Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.
