Lotus in a Stream

I like this book a lot because I am most interested in learning the fundamentals of Buddhism, and this book explains these better than any other book I have seen so far. My experience has been that the core ideas of Buddhism are simple, yet not easy to understand or explain well. Master Hsing Yun provides illuminating, yet succinct explanations for exactly the basics I strive to learn. (I am presently still new to studying Buddhism.) The book devotes about ten pages per topic. My favorite essays are "The Four Noble Truths," "The Noble Eightfold Path," "Karma," "Emptiness," "Nature," and "Mind." The author describes many sides to each concept's meaning. Just when I think I understand something, the author surprises me with yet another way to look at it. For example, Emptiness: it has so many aspects, such as how perceptions are relative, how appearances are false, and how the meanings of words can confine (and the essay mentions more). I find that some aspects are easier to understand than others, but because of how the topics are ordered, they tend to build on each other, so that the more difficult parts (and the seeming contradictions) are not terribly difficult to grasp after all. Sometimes the book is funny, like when stories are told about ancient masters hitting each other or slandering the Buddha to make a point. One thing I love about the author's style is how he blends in many interesting stories and relevant bits from sutras. He writes, "The beauty of Ch'an stories lies in their capacity to bridge distinctions and contradictions," and that is how he uses them. I highly recommend Lotus in a Stream. I have met several other people who have read this book, and they all agree that it is very good for beginners.

Before I read this book, I thought that I am a good buddhist already, After I read this book, I realize that I know nothing about Buddhishm.I recommend everyone to read this book in order to find out the true self. This book gives me peace of mind knowing that what I practise now is in accordance to the way it should be.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun of the Fo Guang Shan (Buddha's Light Mountain) Buddhist Order, Taiwan has been a Buddhist scholar and writer for more than 55 years. In this concise book on Buddhist basics, he lays out the core teachings of the Buddha extracted from a collection of essays he has written over the years. He also emphasizes Buddhism from a Mahayana perspective as well as an emphasis on "Humanistic Buddhism"- how to put these teachings into real-life practice in today's world.Lotus in a Stream begins with an overview of how the author came to Buddhism and how he developed his focus both in China and Taiwan. In the next part he illustrates how to study Buddhism in order to develop wisdom through one's own experiences. The Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path are then explained in a very clear way. He then moves on to explaining the Buddhist concepts of Dependent Origination, The Three Dharma Seals, Emptiness, Mind, Nirvana and The Bodhisattva Life and Humanistic Buddhism. Master Hsing Yun ends this introduction to Buddhism with an overview of the Six Paramitas, in order to summarize how Buddhism can be beneficially used in our lives for both our growth, and the betterment of the world in which we live. All in all, this is the most useful compilation of Buddhism both for the beginner and advanced students I have thus far encountered.