| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £4.75
Trade in An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (Introduction to Religion) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £4.75, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'In its breadth and scope, without serious rival as an introductory volume … Harvey's treatment is sympathetic and sensitive, managing to suggest both the breadth and richness of Buddhist teaching and its underlying unity.' Times Literary Supplement
'… its style is lucid and well thought out. The avoidance of technical terms and academic jargon wherever possible makes it a useful handbook for undergraduate study … an intelligent and even-handed approach.' Scottish Journal of Religious Studies
'… its style is lucid and well thought out. The avoidance of technical terms and academic jargon wherever possible makes it a useful handbook for undergraduate study … an intelligent and even-handed approach.' Scottish Journal of Religious Studies
Product Description
This book is a comprehensive introduction to the Buddhist tradition as it has developed in three major cultural areas in Asia, and also developed in the West. It is intended to be a textbook for students of religious and Asian studies respectively, but will also be of interest to those who want a general survey of Buddhism and its beliefs. Unlike many other general books about Buddhism, it not only explores Buddhist beliefs, but also seeks to show as a set of practices. It thus includes chapters on devotion, ethics, monastic practices and meditation. Such practices are related to Buddhist teachings and historical developments. Emphasising as it does the diversity found within different Buddhist traditions, the book aims to underline common threads of belief, practice and historical continuities which unify the Buddhist world. Dr Harvey has sought to answer questions that are often asked by people on first meeting the tradition, and in his section on Nirvana offers a novel interpretation of this ultimate, transcendent mystery.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Indian culture has not been as concerned with recording precise dates as have Chinese or Graeco-Roman culture, so datings can not always be arrived at with accuracy. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Indian culture has not been as concerned with recording precise dates as have Chinese or Graeco-Roman culture, so datings can not always be arrived at with accuracy. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A balanced perspective,
By Sarakani (Harrow United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (Introduction to Religion) (Paperback)
Most books available on Buddhism on bookshelves at the popular level leave a great deal to be desired. Either they are written by people who have had no contact with Buddhism, culturally or by practice (or at best very little practice of the wrong sort) thus taking a literalist approach to translated Buddhist scripts or they are too specialist, providing a view of Buddhism based on only one school or a narrow emphasis, often hawking for influence.
Professor Harvey has both contacted Buddhism culturally and continues to make an honest attempt to put Buddhism into practice. An introduction to Buddhism is one of the best overall introductions to this vast subject now available, superseding equivalent good books which are by now up to 50 years too old. Harvey combines scholarship including a knowledge of Pali and Sanskrit along with sensitivity to the contexts in which the various scriptures can be seen. In the forest of competing books out now, this one can be recommended without reservation.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A definitive academic introduction,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (Introduction to Religion) (Paperback)
The author is probably the UK's leading academic in Buddhist Studies based at Sunderland University. Accordingly this is an academic style of book, but easy enough to read for all that, and quite useful for browsing. For those just curious about Buddhism I would recommend 'Principles of Buddhism' by Kulananda, rather than this book. For a hagiography Schumann's 'The Historical Buddha' is a classic. However, for a very good foundation in Buddhism as a world religion in all its flavours this book is hard to beat.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive, authoritative, excellent!,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (Introduction to Religion) (Paperback)
Peter Harvey delivers an introduction to all of the major concepts and developments of Buddhism in one volume. It has an academic, technical tone pitched at a level perfect for the undergraduate or A-level student (it was written for his own students I think). If your interested in a book on Buddhism without all of the aethereal clap-trap this is the one to go for as there is no speculation only opinion and fact. A brillant buy!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
