Essential Buddhism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs and Practices

Very good for Beginners I read this book a year ago and I still think of things I read in it, a year ago. It does not lead you down a path of never ending comparisons on how to relate Buddhism theory in every day life, it is very good at explaining the 3 different kinds of Buddhism, a digested version of the history and origin of Buddhism. I recommend it to any one who wants to learn but knows little about Buddhism. John

"Essential Buddhism" is a good, well-written, accessible book on the basics of Buddhism. While Maguire's not as thorough as he could be on some topics, he manages to make them very accessible and understandable to a Western audience (which to me seems more important in an introductory text - if you understand the basics, you can learn more from there; if you don't, all the detail in the world won't help you). Another thing I liked about this book was that he treated the different schools of Buddhism pretty even-handedly. Some authors I've read write with a bias towards "their" school, but Maguire doesn't come off that way. And his book has a little bit of everything - theory, history, Q & As, interesting stories, etc. Now, this book isn't going to tell you quite as much as it promises, but if you want an easy-to-understand book about the basics, I think this is a good choice.

This is a simple, easy-to-read book that I would highly reccommend to anyone interested in learning the basics of Buddhism. This is a great place to start if you are interested in learning about what the Buddha taught, but want it all in plain, straightforward English.