Product Details
What Do Buddhists Believe?: Meaning and Mindfulness in Buddhist Philosophy

What Do Buddhists Believe?: Meaning and Mindfulness in Buddhist Philosophy
By Tony Morris

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Product Description

A concise, informative, and fascinating short book that explains the how and why of Buddhism.

Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest and most widespread religions, with a history spanning some 2,500 years. It has nearly 400 million adherents and there are Buddhists today in almost every country in the world.

In What Do Buddhists Believe?, Tony Morris gives readers a sense of the most important and interesting facets of Buddhism and some of the reasons why, in an age that seems increasingly disenchanted with traditional ethical and religious teachings and organized religion, Buddhism appears to be thriving.

The teachings of Buddhism are vast and various. At its core, though, is a simple set of propositions and practices. Its emphasis has always been, and remains, how to live a wise, happy, compassionate, and fulfilled life. Complete with a useful time line, further suggested reading, and a list of contacts, What Do Buddhists Believe? is the ideal book for anyone wishing to acquaint themselves with this ancient and fascinating religion.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1956847 in Books
  • Published on: 2008-02
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: .21 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 96 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This book, meant to be a short and understandable introduction to Buddhism in a series about the world's belief systems, succeeds in many respects. It contains plenty of instructive material, including maps, a chronology and a relatively lengthy glossary. It sorts the four noble truths, the five precepts, the three poisons and all the other numbered teachings that Buddhism offers, and generally covers a lot of ground. The author bravely treats the subjects of rebirth and karma, two central Buddhist teachings often overlooked by those who want to flatten Buddhism into a system of ethics and introspection. Some of the book's weaknesses are almost inevitable. Books that simplify easily shade into oversimplification; the four noble truths are dispatched in six swift pages. The author, a British Buddhist, tends to idealize Buddhism as a perfectly rational system of practices, giving short shrift to its elaborate and esoteric side, especially the deities and practices to be found in Tibetan Buddhism. The book's final chapter about the future of Buddhism is particularly weak and speculative. If it offered more contextual information about other world religions, the ending would be more informative with less guesswork. Still, as beginner books go, this is one of the better ones. (Feb.)
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About the Author

Tony Morris is a history publisher, dedicated walker, and former board director of the Theatre de Complicité. He grew up in Belfast, studied at Cambridge, and now lives in London with his wife and their young daughter.