Smith, the dean of religious studies in America, and his former student, philosophy and religion professor Novak, offer a concise, readable, enlightening introduction to Buddhism. They present the history of the man Buddha, born about 563 B.C.E. in what is now Nepal, and of the religion, which they compare with its Hindu roots. They examine Buddhism's original teachings and what Buddhism was (an empirical, pragmatic, therapeutic, and egalitarian response to the world of its founding) and what it was not (a religion devoid of authority, ritual, and tradition). They discuss such Buddhist essentials as the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path and such other basic concepts as nirvana, the three marks of existence, and emptiness. They devote a goodly portion of the book to Zen Buddhism and Buddhism's increasing popularity in the West and to its remarkable resiliency, especially evident in the meditation-centered New Buddhism of America.
- ISBN10 144610866X
- ISBN13 9781446108666
- Publish Date 18 November 2010
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 6 July 2012
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Lulu.com
- Format eBook
- Language English