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List Price: $12.95 | | Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Salesrank: 1244838
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| Our Price: $5.50 |
| Used Price: $5.50 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
Discover Buddhism and its role in our world
Covering all aspects of this fascinating religion from the life of the Buddha and his teaching to the different Buddhist schools and the practicalities of pursuing a Buddhist way of life, Teach Yourself Buddhism is a comprehensive and informative guide. It explores the diversity of Buddhism and how it has adapted to its growing global presence and new cultural environments as well as the relevance of Buddhist teachings in our world today. This fully updated new edition also considers what is undoubtedly the greatest challenge facing the faith--how Buddhism is to be transmitted to a new generation.
Teach Yourself Buddhism (Teach Yourself: Philosophy & Religion) Reviews:
A goofy, left-wing rant disguised as philosophy 
2007-12-21 - This horrible book is a left-wing political rant disguised as philosophy. Since I can't give zero stars, I give it one, the lowest possible in the Amazon system.
After starting off on solid enough turf, this book veers into a hectoring and pompous semi-manifesto that is more about politics than Buddhism. When he's not using Buddha to cheerlead for feminism and environmentalism (which are fine with me, but this shows that the book is just a thinly disguised political polemic), he's firing complaint after complaint about his objection to free markets and how they have ruined the world. And his "delightful" anecdote about British murderers in prison finding enlightenment and then fasting in order to provide food for Rwanda (this part of his anti-capital punishment rant) is one of his many pathetic contrivances.
Using Buddhism as a thin wrapper for a political book means that he utterly ignores many historical and contemporary aspects of Buddhism, which is to say, those that wouldn't support his political agenda. This book is worse than bad, it's obnoxious. And, after five minutes, tedious.
It's not the socialist political theme that bugs me, I don't care at all about that stuff or anything related to it. But it's cynical bait-and-switch that this book represents that is objectionable, as it merely invokes Buddhism as a structure on which to hang his left-wing manifesto and hector his readers. I'm sure there are plenty of well-written books on socialism and related politics out there, but this sure doesn't qualify.
And there are many good books on Buddhism out there. This isn't one of them, and is, in summary, a cheesy attempt to sell us one topic (politics) disguised as another (Buddhism). A total rip-off.
Not a bad beginner book 
2003-06-02 - This book, in my opinion, concentrates too much on the Western view of Buddhism. It leaves the reader (especially the begginer) with the feeling that England (as well as some of the organizations mentioned in the book) is the authority in Buddhism. However, this book does serve as a begginer's guide to Buddhism. It gives a basic rundown of Buddhism as a whole. What I found most useful was the section on customs and festivals but the book is useful overall. For the reader who is expecting "enlightenment" or just a comprehensive look into Buddhism, this book will not prove very helpful. However, the general reader will find it a valuable foundation. I recommend the book by Donald S. Lopez, Jr., "The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History & Teachings" for readers who are seeking further knowledge of Buddhism.
try to teach yourself buddhism 
2003-01-30 - Not bad but they spent way too much time on western Buddhism. I was trying to learn more about Buddhism but hearing about Buddhists in England doesn't really teach you much. If anyone knows of a Buddhist book that talks about the religion and how it is practiced in Southeast Asia (not North America), please recommend.
good intro 
2001-07-26 - This book gives more of a historical and informational account of Buddhism, rather than teachings and beliefs. It talks of Buddha himself, the different flavors and divisions of Buddhism, Buddhism as it exists in different countries, Buddhist practices and ceremonies, and a basic introduction to beliefs centered around the precepts Buddhist monks follow. Again, it doesn't go too deeply into beliefs, and really only gives a few passages from notable belief texts. What other reviewers say about the FWBO is true, indeed the whole of the last 5 pages or so is a complete sales pitch on the organization. However, it certainly didn't pervade the book or cloud the information being presented.
Check the facts
2001-02-28 - After reading the book, I became interested in finding out more about one of the groups mentioned there. The FWBO is implied to be the representative of Buddhism in the west. Go to your favorite search engine and type in "FWBO". After reading some of the results none of which I'll repeat here, you may think differently about this group as I now do. This might also generate some new opinions about the book, its author, and its editors. Long live freedom of speech and freedom of religion but buyer beware.
