"This book is a valuable addition to the literature on Buddhism. It presents a basic and accurate survey of the tremendous variety of traditions and practices associated with Buddhism throughout the world."In the past half century Buddhist ideas have been introduced to Western countries in very impure forms due to the particular viewpoints of the adventurers and translators who interpreted them. It is especially unfortunate that Buddhism has been presented as a theistic religion, whereas in fact it is a non-theistic spiritual philosophy, psychology, and way of life. In recent decades the practice of Zen meditation has become well known in the West. While this is an improvement over the ways in which Buddhism was presented earlier, there is still very little clear presentation of other forms that meditation practice can take, or of the philosophy which is an essential part of the study of Buddhism."The value of this book, then, lies in the care and scholarship which the authors have shown in outlining the doctrines in a simple and straightforward way, and in providing ample resources for further study. It is a beginning step in the vast amount of work which needs to be done if Buddhism is to take a firm root in American soil."-Ch¿gyam Rinpoche TrungpaThe contributors are Stefan Anacker, Stephan V. Beyer, Francis H. Cook, Roger J. Corless, Douglas D. Daye, Mark A. Ehman, Lewis R. Lancaster, and Charles S. Prebish.
Charles Prebish came to Utah State University in January 2007 following more than thirty-five years on the faculty of the Pennsylvania State University. During his tenure at Utah State University, he was the first holder of the Charles Redd Endowed Chair in Religious Studies and served as Director of the Religious Studies Program. During his career, Dr. Prebish published more than twenty books and nearly one hundred scholarly articles and chapters. His books Buddhist Monastic Discipline (1975) and Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America (1999) are considered classic volumes in Buddhist Studies. Dr. Prebish remains the leading pioneer in the establishment of the study of Western Buddhism as a sub-discipline in Buddhist Studies. In 1993 he held the Visiting Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary, and in 1997 was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation National Humanities Fellowship for research at the University of Toronto. Dr. Prebish has been an officer in the International Association of Buddhist Studies, and was co-founder of the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion. In 1994, he co-founded the Journal of Buddhist Ethics, which was the first online peer-reviewed journal in the field of Buddhist Studies; and in 1996, co-founded the Routledge "Critical Studies in Buddhism" series. He has also served as editor of the Journal of Global Buddhism and Critical Review of Books in Religion. In 2005, he was honored with a "festschrift" volume by his colleagues titled Buddhist Studies from India to America: Essays in Honor of Charles S. Prebish. Dr. Prebish retired from Utah State University on December 31, 2010, and was awarded emeritus status. He currently resides in State College, Pennsylvania.
