Teachings of the Buddha (Paperback)

~ Jack Kornfield (Author) "WAKEFULNESS is the way to life..." (more)
Key Phrases: blessing supreme, incline the mind, sound timber, Blessed One, Gil Fronsdal, Thomas Byrom (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Buddhist teacher Kornfield offers the essence of Buddhist teachings on enlightenment and transcendence in this new edition of his classic compilation of verse, parables and meditations. The selected teachings, translated by Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Byrom and Gil Fronsdal, a Zen priest with whom Kornfield trained in Southeast Asia, come from both ancient texts of the Buddha’s lessons and the poetic instructions of bodhisattvas, or awakened teachers, from India, Tibet, China and Japan. Eschewing both luxury and asceticism, the Buddha discovered a "Middle Path" of inner and outer balance in his search for enlightenment. "The Dharma of the Buddha does not require a person to go into homelessness or to resign from the world, unless he or she feels called upon to do so," advises the teacher Ashvaghosha in "Living in the World," but instead it "requires every person to free themselves from the illusion of self, to cleanse one’s heart, to give up one’s thirst for pleasure, and lead a life of righteousness." Like other religious texts, many of the teachings focus on the basic steps toward spiritual awakening, such as mindfulness, generosity, and loving-kindness. These tend to be short, comprehensible and quietly poetic. On Virtue, the Buddha said: "Like garlands woven from a heap of flowers, Fashion from your life as many good deeds." There are parables whose messages are not as straightforward, of course, and there, readers are left to their own musings, since aside from Kornfield’s brief introduction, the book only presents the inspiring literature.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A remarkably readable book that records some of the earliest recorded sayings of the historic Buddha."— East and West Series "An inspirational treasury of essential teachings from Buddhist literature—selected by one of the best-known American Buddhist teachers."— Snow Lion

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Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; Rev Sub edition (February 6, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570621241
• ISBN-13: 978-1570621246
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #916,013 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stellar Sampling of Buddhist Gems, January 12, 2000

By A Customer

This is the best concise compendium of original Buddhist teachings available in (smooth) English, in my opinion. The selection is excellent and covers the full range of Buddhist traditions. The titles are generally thematic, leaving the designation of the actual sutra to a small note at the end of each selection. It is the perfect and most natural choice for those who are looking for a small bedside edition of concise Buddhist teachings rather than a complete translation of the entire Majjhima Nikaya, or some such (for that check out Wisdom Book's excellent Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, for example). In short, I can't recommend this book highly enough!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nice companion, May 19, 2005

By	D. L. Harder (usa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jack Kornfield did a great job in putting this together.The book gives concise Buddist teachings a smooth english read.I travel alot on my job and take this on my travels for short mind breaks.
this is a great take anywhere book. I highly recommend it.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thankyou Jack Kornfield, December 30, 2003

By	Swing King (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Outstanding! This is what comes to mind when reviewing Jack Kornfield's compilation of the sayings accredited to the Buddha Shakyamuni retrieved from various sources. What I would recommend to the person buying this book is perhaps to read an excerpt before sitting down to meditate, or in the morning before heading off to work or school. It truly is much like a daily devotional, to be savored and "picked apart."

I love these types of works where the "author" really just plays role of "editor." In this particular case Jack is more of a compiler, retrieving these sayings from a large variety of sources. I appreciate how he simply presents us with the material, but does not do our homework for us. I am always reminded by a man who asked a shaman to interpret a dream he had, while the shaman replies, "Sure, that's great.You should hire me to interpret all of your metaphors for you, I could be your wife, too. In the night you can just roll over and ask me what it all meant. I can spoonfeed you breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well." The man who asked for the interpretation then laughs, realizing the shaman's wonderful teaching. We must find our own commentary for our Buddhist practice to grow any, much like Basho's famous "Ancient Pond" poem.

I hope you enjoy this book:)!