Buddhism For Dummies
by Jonathan Landaw, Stephan Bodian
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Book Reviews of Buddhism For Dummies
Book Review: Outlines and gives context to a very broad and deep topic
Summary: 4 Stars
Buddhism is a rich, organic topic with a huge number of books offering interpretation, explanation and guidance. It is easy for a beginner (like me) to become lost.
For those interested in learning about Buddhism, I found this book very helpful. It covers the main schools of Buddhism and their historic and geographic context with sufficient detail to inform the reader without distraction. It covers the main tenants of Buddhism, such as The Eightfold Path, The Five Precepts, and The Four Heavenly Abodes. I've been steadily reading a number of books on Buddhism over the past two years and I find myself referring back to this book now and again to remind myself of the larger context.
Those seeking a conceptual understanding to serve as a foundation for further study will be satisfied.
Book Review: A good intro...
Summary: 4 Stars
Being new to Buddhism, I found this book to be a very easy-to-understand source of information. It touches on many aspects of Buddhism, inviting the reader to turn to other resources, listed in Appendix B, for more in-depth information.
This book covers the main themes of Buddhism without becoming too overwhelming with technical terms.
While some people may not like the 'For Dummies' books, I appreciate the blend of serious information and touches of humor found in them. This was true in Buddhism for Dummies.
Book Review: Don't be put off by the title
Summary: 5 Stars
If you can get past the title, this is an excellent introduction to Buddhism. It's written for Westerners, and lays out in a clear and understandable format the life of Buddha, the basic precepts, the practice of meditation, the sacred sites of Buddhism, the lives of other famous Buddhist teachers, and more.It's a great book to browse through before a trip to a Buddhist country, and an excellent reference work for anyone interested in eastern religions. Notwithstanding the title, the authors are experts and have done a good job.
Book Review: But just one question....
Summary: 5 Stars
Isn't the title of this book self-contradictory? One of the main teachings of the Buddha is that, from the beginning, we are all whole and complete just as we are, lacking nothing. There are in truth no dummies. Our practice is to realize, to actualize this in our daily lives. The trouble with the title of this book is that it seems to violate the Tenth Cardinal Precept: not to revile the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), but to cherish and uphold them. But perhaps this reaction lacks humor.Book Review: Somewhat disappointing...
Summary: 2 Stars
Honestly, I was expecting more. These "dummies" books give the authors almost unlimited opportunity to explain something in detail, yet make it interesting and enlightening. What I would have wanted to see was more history on the story of Siddhartha and how he became Buddha. I also thought the book was biased toward the Tibet way of Buddhism and those looking for more about Zen are going to be disappointed. The book almost reads like a college textbook and that is just dry dry dry. Yuck.