The Essence of Buddhism: An Illuminated Insight Into One of the World's Major Religions

by Jo Durden-Smith and Smith Jo Durden

Book Overview

The life of Siddhartha Buddha (which means 'Awakened One') is that of one who awakened from the sleep of ignorance and saw conditions as they really were. Through his example every one of us can do... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0572030541
• ISBN13: 9780572030544
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Wonder overview of the history of Buddhism

I just finished The Essence of Buddhism by Jo Durden Smith. This is an excellent overview of Buddhism in all it's flavors. It does not go into great depth into any particular area. But that is because of the amount of information it has to cover. The life of the Buddha, history of early buddhism and how it changed and morphed up to modern times. It covers most of the major schools and their developments. And if there is a real weakness, it is here. Since there is focus on the changes, you don't see what they kept. There is a wonderful chapter on one of the core teachings, The Four Noble Truths. I recommend it to anyone looking to know more about this 2,500 year old religion.

There's a lot coming at you.

This would have five stars, because it's a thorough, if necessarily shallow, examination of Buddhism in all of its forms. However, I have two warnings. Firstly, the book's copyediting is pretty poor, especially near the end of the book. Punctuation is missing/added and capitals are in the wrong places. Secondly, the book has so much information that the author is forced to move too quickly from one topic to the next. This means that the terms he's using--even the most basic principles--don't properly sink in before he's tossing them around as though his reader knows them perfectly.Despite this, it is wonderful. It's a great overview for someone who's familiar with the basics of the faith, and a decent introduction for a devoted beginner. Furthermore, it does a wonderful job at examining all facets without a noticeable bias. Such an objective look is understandably appreciated.On top of that, it's well-printed, with strong covers and high-quality paper.