Buddhism: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith and Philip Novak.

3/5 rating. 256 pages.

Book #27 of 2021. Read April 4, 2021.

This is an overview of Buddhism and its many forms.

If that doesn’t necessarily sound like the most riveting book ever, you kinda got the gist. It wasn’t bad, and was interesting in the fact of learning more about the different branches, as well as some different doctrines. As a powerful force in today’s budding meditation practices and a non-deistic “religion” it is a good comparison to the common religions in the US.

I am a huge fan of Buddhism as a contemplative tradition – though the metaphysical claims lose me as much as any other religion. But looking at the Buddha’s quotes, it’s hard to not love the heart and wisdom he possessed:

– “Be lamps unto yourselves.”

– “As irrigators make water go where they want,

As archers make their arrows straight,

As carpenters carve wood,

The wise shape their minds.”

And some of the beautiful statements by past adherents of the religion are no less profound:

– “If you cannot find the meaning of life in an act as routine as that of doing the dishes, you will not find it anywhere.”

– “I pray only that I may feel the pain of others, as if I were residing within their bodies, and that I may have the power of relieving their pain and making them happy.” – Prayer from the Bhagavatam

– “Civilization, in the real sense of the term, consists not in the multiplication, but in the deliberate and voluntary reduction of wants.”

– “[A Buddhist monk] sleeps quietly without worries, having none in his possession.” – Nyogen Sensaki

If you are looking for a short, academic look at Buddhism, you could do worse than this book, but I personally have read plenty better, so I probably wouldn’t recommend you picking this one.

Other Quotes:

“When shall we come to recognize that health is as contagious as disease, virtue as contagious as vice, cheerfulness as contagious as moroseness?”

“‘Ask me for a certain number of dollars if you will,’ [Thoreau] said, ‘but do not ask me for my afternoons.’ He tells us that he could sit alone for hours, listening to nature, doing nothing, just being.”

#buddhism #hustonsmith #buddha #religion #bookreviews

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