Buddhism in Practice: Abridged Edition

By Donald S. Lopez Jr.

Book Overview

This anthology, first published in 1995, illustrates the vast scope of Buddhist practice in Asia, past and present. Re-released now in a slimmer but still extensive edition, Buddhism in Practice presents a selection of thirty-five translated texts--each preceded by a substantial introduction by its translator.

These unusual sources provides the reader with a sense of the remarkable diversity of the practices of persons who over the course of 2,500 years have been identified, by themselves or by others, as Buddhists. Demonstrating the many continuities among the practices of Buddhist cultures widely separated by both history and geography, Buddhism in Practice continues to provide an ideal introduction to Buddhism and a source of new insights for scholars.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691129681
• ISBN13: 9780691129686
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Want to know about Buddhism as it is Actually Practiced?

This is but one book in a series. The Religions in Practice series covers Buddhism, Tantra, Religion in China, Japan, Tibet, etc. This book provides a scholarly presentation of a diverse body of Asian religious traditions. Anyone who has spent time learning about Buddhism in Asia will find this book, and other books in this series, infinitely valuable to gaining a good foot hold on Buddhist traditions. However, many who have never had contact with a Buddhist tradition in practice (i.e. outside of books written by misinformed westerners) may find it lacking in mystique. I enjoyed every minute of these books in this series. This one especially. It covers a lot of ground and provides the reader with a knowledge base that is not easily grasped in one book. Anyone seriously interested in the academic study of Buddhism will find this book valuable.

Definitely worth buying, but it's not the whole picture

This book lives up to its title in that it is an excellent introduction to the ways Buddhism is actually practiced. However, readers looking for an introduction to Buddhist philosophy should start somewhere else. Lopez seems to take for granted that readers know about the basic precepts of Buddhism, and spends his time in this book expounding on how different sects put those precepts into practice. If someone reads this before developing a familiarity with the beautiful philosophical side of Buddhism, he or she runs the risk of coming away dissilusioned and thinking that Buddhism is too steeped in religiosity and obsession with ritual to have much philosophical merit.