Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought

By Patrick S. Bresnan

Book Overview

Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought provides the reader with a thorough and valuable overview of the historical development of the major Eastern religious and philosophical... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0138894787
• ISBN13: 9780138894788
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.9" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive and Straightforward Explanations of Eastern Spirituality & Religion

Contents Include: PART I: HINDUISM 1 - INDIA BEFORE THE VEDAS * The Land of India * Dravidian India * The Theory of the Aryan Conquest * Varna: The Caste System * The Brahmin Caste 2 - THE VEDAS * Veda and the Vedas * The Vedic Fire Sacrifice * The Vedic Pantheon * An Overview of Vedic Cosmology 3 - THE UPANISHADS * Introduction to the Upanishads * Key Elements of the Upanishads * An Overview of Vedanta Cosmology 4 - THE BHAGAVAD GITA * The Bhagavad Gita and the Mahabharata * Development of the 'Bhagavad Gita' 5 - AN INDIA OVERVIEW * The Orthodox Darshanas * The Hetrerodox Darshanas * The Devotional Movement * The Muslim Era * The Modern Era PART II: NON-BUDDHIST SYSTEMS OF CHINA AND JAPAN 6 - CONFUCIUS AND CONFUCIANISM * Confucius * Mencius * Other Voices from the Period of a Hundred Philosophers * Later Developments in the Evolution of Confucianism 7 - DAOISM * The Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) * Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu) * Religious Daoism 8 - SHINTO * The Shinto Creation Myth * The Shinto Shrine and Festival * Historical Development of Shinto PART III: BUDDHISM 9 - THE LIFE OF BUDDHA * The Palace Youth * The Sadhu Years * The Awakening * The Teaching Years 10 - THE BASIC TEACHING OF BUDDHA * The Doctrine of Anatman * The Four Noble Truths * The Noble Eightfold Path 11 - THERAVADA BUDDHISM * The Early Centuries * Ashoka * Theravada Buddhism 12 - MAHAYANA BUDDHISM * Diversity and Religious Elements in Mahayana * The Nature of Buddha * The Doctrine of Shunyata * The Bodhisattva * Artistic Expression in Early Mahayana 13 - BUDDHISM IN TIBET * The Establishment of Buddhism in Tibet * The General Character of Buddhism in Tibet * A Historical Overview of Buddhism in Tibet 14 - EARLY BUDDHISM IN CHINA * Tiantai Buddhism (T'ien-t'ai) * Huayan Buddhism (Hua-yen) * Pure Land Buddhism 15 - CHAN: THE ORIGINS OF ZEN BUDDHISM IN CHINA * Bodhidharma * Huineng (Hui-Neng) * After Huineng 16 - ZEN IN JAPAN * Japan Before Zen * Rinzai and Soto Zen * The Zen Monastery * Zen and the Arts

Easy to understand, thorough

The writing isn't hard to read, which is perfect for hard-to-grasp concepts like philosophy. The only reason I am not giving it 5/5 is because the sections tend to be redundant and wordy at times. Although, maybe the redundancy helps you "get" the ideas.

Stellar Introduction to the Eastern Mind-Set

Bresnan's Awakening is an excellent introduction to the Eastern religions and philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The text is very readable, and Bresnan often tries to correlate appropriate Eastern doctrines with similar Judeo-Christian themes in order to enhance the reader's understanding. Instead of focusing on external and exoteric religious themes, such as rituals, traditions, and the like, Bresnan uses a more theosophical approach which brings to light the ideas that encompass Eastern religions and ideologies. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone who has a budding interest in Eastern thought but has a theological IQ that does not extend east of the Arabian peninsula.