Customer Reviews

What In Brief Is Buddhism?

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I may seem biased since Dr. Guruge was my professor in two classes, but I will separate my feelings for the man (whom I admire a great deal) with my thoughts on his book.

First, the book's title explains the material will be covered briefly and generally. It does this well. As a bonus, you get some tidbits of history at times. It describes the basic teachings of Buddhism, while adeptly breaking down the dizzying array of different schools into general descriptions without painting them in caricature or in a stereotypical manner. The vast variety of different forms of Buddhism could be a challenge for any author. One could either gloss over them all, or write a bulky, encyclopedic tome - Dr. Guruge balanced this subject well.

While I know he is personally enthusiastic about his religion, his book is unbiased and academic - which is refreshing for a Free Thinking, skeptic like myself. It looks at the warts and growing pains (such as schisms and criticisms) fairly. It also looks ahead to "Buddhism today." This last chapter may suffer my only criticism - it was too brief. I know how active Dr. Guruge has been, worldwide (his passport probably has stamps from more countries than I am aware exist), in Buddhism during the last few decades, so I know he could have given us much more for that chapter - but, as promised, he was brief.

This is a good read for those who want a brief overview of Buddhism.

Dr. Ananda W.P. Guruge has had an excellent background as a scholar, educator, and diplomat, and this book reflects his wide academic background in the history and development of Buddhism. He explores Buddhism as it manifests in various Asian countries and leaves implications for the future of Buddhism. He also describes the common elements of the philosophy which bind all Buddhists, whether Sri Lankan or Japanese or Tibetan together.