Eastern Religions: Hinduism, Buddism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto [Paperback]

Michael D. Coogan (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2005

This fascinating volume provides a concise, illustrated introduction to five of the great religious traditions of the world--Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto.

Buddhism, one of the world's great religious traditions, attracts millions of modern-day followers. Hinduism, one of the most ancient of all belief systems, is increasingly well known in the West through expatriate Indian communities. Taoism has been an important influence on Western thinking, especially through the impact of the Tao Te Ching. Confucianism, less metaphysical in its principles, emphasizes family values and the role of the individual within the state. And Shinto, distinctively Japanese in character, is the most animistic of the great religions, based on a belief in numerous individual spirits. The contributors explore a great variety of topics within these religions, including: the life of the Buddha; karma and rebirth; inspiring teachers and gurus; the life of Confucius; sacred Taoist texts; the epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata; holy landscapes, shrines, and festivals; enlightenment; and--for all the faiths--the spiritual and ethical teachings, art and architecture, sacred writings, ritual and ceremony, and death and the afterlife.

Also included are extracts from or summaries of historical texts, with author commentaries that explain the significance of each piece and place in its full context. Authoritative and accessible, Eastern Religions provides a gateway for all those in the West who wish to move one step closer to the spirit of the East.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael D. Coogan, the general editor, is Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts and Director of Publications, Harvard Semitic Museum. He is the editor of The Oxford History of the Biblical World and The New Oxford Annotated Bible (3d Edition).

The contributors:

Vasudha Narayanan (Hinduism) is Professor of Religion at the University of Florida. Malcolm David Eckel (Buddhism) is Associate Professor of Religion at Boston University. Jennifer Oldstone-Moore (Taoism and Confucianism) is Assistant Professor at Wittenberg University, Ohio. C. Scott Littleton (Shinto) is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Occidental College, Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195221915
• ISBN-13: 978-0195221916
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Coogan is Lecturer in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Harvard Divinity School and Director of Publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum. He has also taught at Stonehill College, Boston College, Wellesley College, Fordham University, and the University of Waterloo (Ontario), and has participated in and directed archaeological excavations in Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, and Egypt. He is the author of Old Testament text books and The Old Testament VSI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an unusual introductory text, November 5, 2005

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eastern Religions: Hinduism, Buddism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto (Paperback)

This Oxford publication seems best suited for a comparative world religion course. I found it in search of material for a unit on comparative world religion in my Sociology of Religion course, and I have used it several times now. I wish there was something comparable on Western Religions! EASTERN RELIGIONS is unorthodox in that it has the glossy pages and color photos typically found in a large-format textbook, but instead is in a 5" X 7.5" handbook format. It is 550 pages long, but with plenty of great photos, including reproductions of artwork, the actual text is nowhere near that long.

The organization of the sections is both the strength and the weakness. Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto are covered, and for each there is a section on 1) Origins and Historical Development, 2) Aspects of the Divine, 3) Sacred Texts, 4) Sacred Persons, 5) Ethical Principles, 6) Sacred Space, 7) Sacred Time, 8) Death and the Afterlife, and 9) Society and Religion.

The strength of this approach, from a sociological standpoint, is that religious practices receive as much attention as religious doctrines and beliefs. For instance, Dipavali, the Necklace (or Festival) of Lights, which was recently celebrated, is covered in the Sacred Time sub-section of the Hinduism section. For instance Laozi, fabled author of the Tao te Ching, is worshipped as a god by Taoists in China, which I'm sure is news to many in the West who read the Tao te Ching as philosophy and are informed that Laozi may never have existed as a singular historical person at all. The reader learns of the Three Teachings tradition of China, which combines Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Here's where the strength becomes a weakness, though -- the China expert has to write the Taoism and Confucianism sections separately, and so while some of the material overlaps (for instance qi, yin and yang), it remains unclear exactly how they are (or were) combined in the everyday life of the Chinese people, let alone how they combine with Buddhism which has a separate author altogether. And the Chinese "popular religion" is mentioned as well, but never explained at all, because it doesn't fit the framework.

Credit where credit is due: the Hinduism section is written by Vasudha Narayanan, Professor of Religion at the University of Florida, the Buddhism section is written by Malcolm David Eckel, Associate Professor of Religion at Boston University, the Shinto section is written by C. Scott Littleton, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and the sections on Taoism and Confucianism are written by Jennifer Oldstone-Moore, Assistant Professor (of what the book jacket does not say) at Wittenberg University in Ohio.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars There are better books on the same topic., April 14, 2011

By 

Lover of black tea with milk - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eastern Religions: Hinduism, Buddism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto (Paperback)

The author said that Shaolin and Wudang are the 2 most notable Taoist martial arts schools. In fact, Shaolin is the most famous Buddhist monastery in China and it is the birth place of Zen Buddhism ( the same word is pronounced Chan in Chinese and Zen in Japanese ). Chan (Zen) Buddhism is the predominant form of Buddhism in China. Shaolin has nothing to do with Taoism. For the author to say that Shaolin is Taoist is akin to saying that St Peter's Basilica in Rome is Muslim. Wudang is indeed Taoist and it is the birth place of Taiji ( Taichi ).
The author also said that Buddhist monks aim for nirvana while laity aims for better rebirth. This is true of Threravada Buddhism ( mostly in S.E. Asia and Sri Lanka ) only but not accurate in describing Mahayana Buddhism ( mostly in China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia ). In Theravada Buddhism, nirvana is only possible for those in monastic life, whereas in Mahayana Buddhism, both monks ( and nuns ) and laity can attain nirvana.
The author duplicated word for word large parts of the section on Confucianism and the section on Taoism. While Confucianism and Taoism share some common heritage, being both originated in China, the 2 religions are very different and in fact diametrically opposite in many of their perspectives on the same thing. At any rate, there is really no reason to duplicate large parts of several chapters in 2 different sections of the same book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Global Religions - lack of essence, December 19, 2009

By 

Jan Helge "Jan Helge" (Norway) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Eastern Religions: Hinduism, Buddism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto (Paperback)

The book gives for each of the religions; Hinduism, Buddism, Taoism, Confucianism and Shinto a good structure into main sections; Origins and history, aspects of the divine, sacred texts, ethical priciples, sacred space, death and afterlife and Society and religion. However within each section there is numereous detailed references to names, places, dates and texts.I miss an overview of each section of what is of importance and what has less significanse. Inserting for each section a missing link - an overview pinpoininting esseentials would make the book an recommendable textbook.