Customer Reviews

Buddhism: An Introduction and Guide

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Considered one of the original classic introductory level works on Buddhism, this book has been continually reprinted somewhere in the world for half a century. Humphreys writes with passion about the doctrines and beliefs that have become a living reality in his life, and it is this edge that draws readers in spite of the fact that, content-wise, it has been clearly surpassed by more recent introductions, such as Harvey's. The other reviews here tell you its strengths, so let me make a few warnings. First, a reader new to Buddhist thought needs to be aware that Humphrey's opinions about the subject are colored, sometimes deeply, by his exposure to a syncretistic religion called Theosophy, which attempted to bridge Eastern and Western religions. As such, he is not always clearly Buddhist, but reflects Theosophical beliefs, particularly in his discussions on Self and Oneness. Second, due to this bridging need, a number of comments and comparisons are drawn with Christianity that are either out of context or which disappear when the actual details are examined. Third, the book represents a rationalistic approach to Buddhism, typical of the times, and proceeds on such assumptions as that Buddhism contains no assumptions, which cannot be taken seriously at this point. Due to these issues, and its dated nature compared to recent introductions, I would recommend reading some of the later before trying this one.

This book is one of the best introductions ever written on buddhism. It clearly explains who the buddha is, the infinite powers of the mind, the role of nirvana, karma and other aspects of buddhism. The book is well written and clearly explains all aspects of buddhism. Some books are cryptic when it comes to explaining buddhism. Some books on zen are notorious for this. Others do not know what they are talking about, they take Nirvana to mean extinction of an individuals identity, which it is not. This book clearly explains that buddhism is actually a very simple, but profound philosophy. It particulary explains in an intellegent and easily understood manner the difference between nirvana and paranirvana. It shows that by meditation one can enter nirvana which is the ceasing of suffering and rebirth. Paranirvana is attaining more and more degrees of enlightenment after attaining nirvana. These degrees of enlightenment are infinite. A truly wonderful and excellent book.

Written in the 50's this was one of the first and the most comprehensive introduction on the subject at the popular level. I read it because a 98 year old English lady had become a Buddhist after reading it 35 years ago.

Humphries is extremely enthusiastic and his formulation is negatively biased towards certain schools of Buddhism but he is very hot on Buddhist art, Zen and trying to explain duality, multiplicity and unity.

It makes a good read as long as you don't swallow all of it and compare it with other more modern texts. C. Humphries own personal integrity shines through which is what makes the book a treasure.

This is a wonderful book about a great religion. It is clearly and beautifully written by a westerner who chose buddhism, rather than being born into it, and who founded and led the London Buddhist Society for many years. This is not a trendy, New Age version of buddhism; this is the real thing, containing the spirit of thousands of years of history in many different Asian cultures. Reading the book was an entrancing experience, combining intellectual fascination and intuitive experiences of beauty. Very little that we read or hear day to day presents us with genuinely new ideas, but Buddhism is the epitome of this; to westerners not yet familiar with it, Buddhism is really something new under the sun, a profoundly different way of looking at the world. Humphreys does an effective, uncompromising, but enjoyable job of ushering the reader through the necessary complexities so that, by the end, we really get it.

As I began taking an interest in Buddhism in my teens, I turned to this book because it seemed available at just about any Borders or Barnes and Noble you'd walk into.
At the time, I was pleased, especially because Humphreys would compare Buddha and Jesus in ways that made Buddhism make a lot of sense.

Now, if I were "entering the stream," as they say, I would probably avoid this book because it is pretty outdated, speaking to situations which really no longer exist. This is not to say it's a poor book; it's not. But much ink has since been spilled introducing Buddhism to the West, and Humphreys writing just doesn't have the relevance it may once have had. Furthermore, Humphreys real bias is towards a sort of theosophy, something closer to Unitarianism than buddhism. Try something a little newer.

Travers Christmas Humphreys (1901-1983) was a British barrister who founded the London Buddhist Society, and wrote other books such as A Western Approach to Zen, Zen Buddhism, The Wisdom of Buddhism, Buddhist Way of Life (Mandala Books), Walk on!, etc.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1951 book, "My own qualifications are few. I have no knowledge of oriental languages, and therefore rely upon translations, yet as I belong to no one School of Buddhism I can study the whole dispassionately, and have done so for some thirty years. Of Buddhism in the world to-day I know more than most, and of Buddhism in the West as much as any man, having been the active President of the Buddhist Society, London, from its foundation in 1924."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"It was not only men who came to (Buddha). Women claimed to be admitted to a female branch of the Order... Again and again the Buddha refused, and it was through the insistence of Ananda that they finally gained admission." (Pg. 38)
"Brahman teachings began to filter back into (Buddhism) from which they had for a time been ousted. Buddhism, from its outset fatally tolerant of all other teachings, even when antithetical to its own, made little effort to stem the process, and soon a number of sects were exhibiting Brahman doctrines which were unknown in the earlier Teaching." (Pg. 47)
"It is often asked why we do not remember our past lives. The answer is clear. Because physical memory needs a physical brain, and the brain which remembers incidents of this life is different from that which registered the deeds of the one before. But in fact the bridge from life to life is often crossed." (Pg. 106)
"It is from the text of this work (the Book of Kiu-ti) that that the material for much of (H.P. Blavatsky's) greatest work, The Secret Doctrine, has been drawn. If this be so, it explains how a work written by a Western woman contains knowledge to be corroborated only by the most careful analysis of hints and phrases scattered throughout the more esoteric because unpublished scriptures of the religions of the world." (Pg. 202)
"...having been interested in Buddhism since, at the age of seventeen, I first read Ananda Coomaraswamy's Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism, I formed a Buddhist Centre in the Theosophical Society, of which I was then a member." (Pg. 225)

Book arrived promptly. In new condition as promised. A very satisfactory and enjoyable transaction. My thanks to the merchant!