- Paperback: 465 pages
- Publisher: OUP USA (23 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0195328175
- ISBN-13: 978-0195328172
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 543,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Buddhist Philosophy : Essential Readings
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Product Description
Product Description
The Buddhist philosophical tradition is vast, internally diverse, and comprises texts written in a variety of canonical languages. It is hence often difficult for those with training in Western philosophy who wish to approach this tradition for the first time to know where to start, and difficult for those who wish to introduce and teach courses in Buddhist philosophy to find suitable textbooks that adequately represent the diversity of the tradition, expose students to important primary texts in reliable translations, that contextualize those texts, and that foreground specifically philosophical issues. Buddhist Philosophy fills that lacuna. It collects important philosophical texts from each major Buddhist tradition. Each text is translated and introduced by a recognized authority in Buddhist studies. Each introduction sets the text in context and introduces the philosophical issues it addresses and arguments it presents, providing a useful and authoritative guide to reading and to teaching the text. The volume is organized into topical sections that reflect the way that Western philosophers think about the structure of the discipline, and each section is introduced by an essay explaining Buddhist approaches to that subject matter, and the place of the texts collected in that section in the enterprise. This volume is an ideal single text for an intermediate or advanced course in Buddhist philosophy, and makes this tradition immediately accessible to the philosopher or student versed in Western philosophy coming to Buddhism for the first time. It is also ideal for the scholar or student of Buddhist studies who is interested specifically in the philosophical dimensions of the Buddhist tradition.
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First Sentence
Although early Buddhism cannot be reduced to a systematic philosophy, what lies at its heart, according to its own understanding of the matter, is Dharma (Pali Dhamma). Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Although early Buddhism cannot be reduced to a systematic philosophy, what lies at its heart, according to its own understanding of the matter, is Dharma (Pali Dhamma). Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In short chapters we are introduced to an original text and see the text itself. This is a great help to understand the writings of the important buddhist thinkers of past and present. However: one needs basic knowledge of terms and buddhist schools.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
A Philosophical Survey of Buddhism to Instill Doubt
10 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book, not for beginners, is issued by Oxford University Press and directed more toward scholars of Western philosophy as an introduction than for Buddhist practitioners training in a particular formal order or sect; but I suggest that such students would much appreciate this book also, chiefly for breaking any attachments to notions of a superior approach or understanding from any Buddhist school of thought. History has the power to pull the rug under intellectual opinions and even interpretations of meditative insights. These chronological readings provide a perspective of doubt as given philosophies are challenged, modified, rejected, amalgamated, or superseded by others as the centuries follow and as Buddhism travels to new lands with their own indigenous traditions.
The book is organized into five sections each with editors' introductions: metaphysics and ontology; philosophy of language of hermeneutics; epistemiology; philosophy of mind and the person; and ethics. Each section in turn has an expert contributor who introduces a choice excerpt of a historic commentary or treatise. Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese schools are presented within each section, covering early classics to the rise of the modern Kyoto school, which introduces Western philosophical terminology and later contemporary scientific knowledge.
Some of the readings are very difficult, even with help of the introductions, but what becomes clear are the continuing metaphysical and ethical controversies within Buddhism, including origins and status of the feeling of self-hood, the scope of Buddha nature, mind and memory, and even the role and limits of gender. The introductions to sections and excerpts are in the main very good in explaining context and in summarizing key points.
As a practitioner of Korean Zen, incuding Hua-Yen process metaphysics using modern science for metaphors, rather than a student of Western philosophies, I regard William Edelglass and Jay L. Garfield's edited anthology to be an important and useful history. But it is a survey, after all, and the notes and bibliographies can lead the reader to further readings for specialized study.
The book is organized into five sections each with editors' introductions: metaphysics and ontology; philosophy of language of hermeneutics; epistemiology; philosophy of mind and the person; and ethics. Each section in turn has an expert contributor who introduces a choice excerpt of a historic commentary or treatise. Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese schools are presented within each section, covering early classics to the rise of the modern Kyoto school, which introduces Western philosophical terminology and later contemporary scientific knowledge.
Some of the readings are very difficult, even with help of the introductions, but what becomes clear are the continuing metaphysical and ethical controversies within Buddhism, including origins and status of the feeling of self-hood, the scope of Buddha nature, mind and memory, and even the role and limits of gender. The introductions to sections and excerpts are in the main very good in explaining context and in summarizing key points.
As a practitioner of Korean Zen, incuding Hua-Yen process metaphysics using modern science for metaphors, rather than a student of Western philosophies, I regard William Edelglass and Jay L. Garfield's edited anthology to be an important and useful history. But it is a survey, after all, and the notes and bibliographies can lead the reader to further readings for specialized study.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
a useful anthology for those with a decent knowledge of buddhism and an interest in its philosophical discourse
16 Sep 2009
Format:Paperback
a useful anthology for those with a decent knowledge of buddhism and an interest in its philosophical discourse. lots of very heavy stuff from all major traditions, with introductions that put things in context without sounding like basic buddhism 101. the material, really, is pretty challenging stuff. the main understanding and impression i got after putting this book down was: "awesome! buddhism is even deeper, more profound and more complex than i thought, and crap, i STILL have so much to learn." a highly recommended read, though i wish this had maybe been expanded into multiple volumes for different traditions or topical areas.
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