Buddhism: Its Essence and Development

Although Edward Conze (1904-1979) was an interesting eccentric (check bio in Google), he was also unquestionably a great scholar of Buddhism. Still, readers may wonder why I give this book a 5-star rating. Although its explanations can be very clear, they can also be very dense; and no pictures - what would Alice think of that? Conze had a cranky disposition, often reflected in his writing. Sometimes it seems that he deliberately chooses the abrasive word -- "trance" for samadhi (J., sanmai, jo), or "self-extinction" for anatman (J., muga) -- when a more palatable alternative would suffice. In today's sound-bite world the appearance of such words only confirm the misapprehension of Buddhism as some kind of nihilistic "mysticism" which denies "the individual." I stumbled on this book a half-century ago and pencilled comments throughout my copy testify to the impact it made on me. (Fortunately, this was before the advent of the awful-yellow-ink-felt-pen, so the pencilling can easily be removed.) In particular, it introduced me to the concept of the Mahayana Bodhisattva as a being defined by the CONTRADICTORY virtues of wisdom and compassion, and then to the prevalent use of METAPHOR in Buddhist religious language, which led to T.R.V. Murti's Central Philosophy of Buddhism, the Chinese "Ten Oxherding Pictures," and The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch [of Ch'an, Zen], Hui Neng (Eno, 638-713)]. ". . . Since Buddha is made by your own nature, do not look for him outside your own body. If you are deluded in your own nature, Buddha is then a sentient being; if you are awakened in your own nature, sentient beings are then Buddhas. Compassion is Avalokitesvara [Kannon]; joyfully giving is Mahasthamaprapta [Seishi]. . . ". Yampolsky, p. 158. It all fits together. Conze: "(The Diamond Sutra states:) "Here. O Subhuti, a Bodhisattva should think thus : "As many beings as there are in the universe of beings. . .as far as any conceivable universe of beings is conceived; all these should be led by me into Nirvana, into that realm of Nirvana which leaves nothing behind. And yet, although innumerable beings have thus been led to Nirvana, no being at all has been led to Nirvana. And why? If in a Bodhisattva the perception of a `being' should take place, he would not be called an `enlightenment being' (=bodhi sattva)." "A Bodhisattva is a being compounded of the two contradictory forces of wisdom and compassion. In his wisdom, he sees no persons; in his compassion he is resolved to save them. His ability to combine these contradictory attitudes is the source of his greatness, and his ability to save himself and others." (p. 130) The Buddhism of Faith conceived of Bodhisattvas, embodiments of the virtues of windom and compassion, as concrete individuals, and furnished them with names, legends, and a definite tangible individuality. "Akshobhya and Amitabha [Amida], Avalokitesvara (Kuan-yin, Kannon] and Manjusri [Monju], all the celestial B

The book covers many significant aspects of buddhism, its core teachings and development. It is concise, yet sufficiently informative in breadth. A good beginner's book.

A good and concise details of Buddhism