Customer Reviews

Buddha: The Intelligent Heart (Art & Imagination)

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In the first part of this book, Alistair Shearer gives a brief synopsis of everything essential to Buddhism: she retells the life of the historical Buddha, explains the Four Noble Truths and other essential doctrines, and traces the development of Buddhism throughout Asia, up to the present day. The images of part two, the "Plates", and part three, the "Themes", illustrate the incredible cultural diversity within Buddhism. In some cases, the visual images tease out aspects of Buddhism that are almost impossible to get out in words. This is a wonderful introduction to Buddhism, especially for someone who learns visually.

This book is absolutely gorgeous from a visualize perspective. The photos and art are very well chosen and they capture the "felt sense" of Buddhism in all it's various diverse manifestations in various cultures.

This volume also is a brief introduction to Buddhism which covers the life of the Buddha, the major movements, the evolutionary development of the different schools of thought and the present day relevance of this ancient tradition.

While this may not be the best introductory book to Buddhism I can think of, it certainly captures the spirit of Buddhism in the art alone. Even if there were no words at all, the book would be worth it's price for this. The written material is not as dense, which is good for a lot of people and it doesn't go very in-depth. However, I don't think that is what it was intended to do. This is more like eating at a buffet or taking a tour of a landscape in a helicopter.

If you are looking for a more in-depth, but short introduction try Huston Smith's book on Buddhism or the RELIGIONS OF MAN by the same author. However, don't miss the great art and photography in this book. It's really wonderful and the juxtaposition of various images and organization are top notch!