"The author provides a lucid, comprehensive summary of the Buddha's psychology of liberation, clearly explained, capable of being practiced—his book is an epitome of rational Dhamma."
Description
A clear, elegant clarification of the basic teachings of early Buddhism, ideal for both general readers and scholars.
Discover the birth of Buddhism and the essentials of Buddhist teachings with this clear, comprehensive explanation of early Buddhism’s key doctrines. You’ll come away with:
- insight into the beginning of Buddhism and the significance of its core beliefs—dependent arising, non-self, moral life, the diagnosis of the human condition, the critique of theoretical views, and the nature of Nibbana;
- a lucid understanding of the Buddha’s challenge to the concept of the subject as a self-entity and the reality of both the subject and object, perceiver and perceived, as a dynamic process;
- a grasp of early Buddhist teachings as representing a middle position (equally aloof from spiritual eternalism and materialist annihilation) and a middle path (equally aloof from self-mortification and sensual indulgence); and
- the experience of the Buddha’s teachings on attaining liberation as comprehensible, sensible, and something we can make part of our own practice.
Reviews
"In my assessment, this is the best answer to the question 'How did Buddhism begin and how best can we describe it.'"
“An excellent introduction to early Buddhist teachings. The author has meticulously analyzed the key Buddhist doctrines and presented them in an equally meticulous manner.”
"It is a privilege for me to welcome this book. Ever since he began to publish, I have admired his work for its scholarship and readability. While there are many introductions to the thought of the early Buddhist texts, none can surpass, and perhaps none can even match, the clarity and reliability of his expositions."
