Buddhism : a concise introduction / Hurston Smith and Philip Novak.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Huston.

Contributor:

Novak, Philip.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Buddhism--History.

Buddhism.

History.

Physical Description:

xiii, 242 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

[San Francisco] : HarperSanFrancisco, [2003]

Summary:

Beginning with the life of the Buddha and continuing through the current emergence of Buddhism in the West, the internationally revered world religions authority Huston Smith and award-winning teacher Philip Novak -- an expert in historical and contemporary Buddhism and a longtime Buddhist practitioner himself -- explore all aspects of this 2,500-year-old religious tradition in all its rich variety: its history, the central doctrines and practices, and its evolution and continuing development. With consummate expertise and respect for Buddhism in all its manifestations, Huston Smith and Philip Novak reveal the vital wisdom that makes Buddhism so appealing not only throughout Asia but increasingly in the Western world.

Going well beyond the masterful presentation of Buddhism in the bestselling The World's Religions, Huston Smith and his premier student Philip Novak offer an expert, contemporary, yet highly readable and incisive guide to the heart of this vibrantly diverse and rapidly growing tradition, one that has an increasing presence and importance on the American scene. Smith is universally regarded as the leading authority on the world's religious traditions, and Novak is an award-winning professor of world religions and a Buddhist practitioner immersed in the contemporary worlds of American and Asian Buddhism.

Smith and Novak respectfully cover the essential teachings, practices, and historical development of Buddhism in all its rich variety. Beginning with the life and legend of the Buddha, Buddhism explores core Buddhist doctrines such as the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, nirvana, and emptiness. The authors go on to discuss the split between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, Vipassana -- the Theravadin Way of Insight, the continued divisions of Mahayana into Pure Land, Zen, and the quite distinct Vajrayana/Tantric tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The second half of the book follows the global migration of Buddhism and its continuing diversification and development in the West, especially in America. This compelling work by two great scholars -- a legendary teacher and his long-time student and colleague -- is the most insightful, up-to-date, and accessible introduction to this great and immensely appealing religious tradition available today.

Contents:

Part I The Wheel of The Dharma 1

1. The Man Who Woke Up 3

2. The Silent Sage 14

3. The Rebel Saint 21

4. The Four Noble Truths 31

5. The Eightfold Path 38

6. Other Core Buddhist Concepts: Nirvana, Anatta, the Three Marks of Existence, Dependent Arising, and Emptiness 50

7. Theravada and Mahayana: The Great Divide 63

8. Vipassana: The Theravadin Way of Insight 74

9. Zen Buddhism: The Secret of the Flower 88

10. Tibetan Buddhism: The Diamond Thunderbolt 105

11. The Image of the Crossing 112

12. The Confluence of Buddhism and Hinduism in India 117

Part II The Wheel Rolls West 121

13. The New Migration 123

14. America the Buddha Full 136

15. Adaptations: The New Buddhism 143

16. America Starts Meditating I: The Ways of Zen 150

17. America Starts Meditating II: Tibetan Buddhism in Exile 161

18. America Starts Meditating III: The Vipassana Movement 172

Afterword: The Flowering of Faith: Buddhism's Pure Land Tradition 185.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0060506962

OCLC:

51973917