What do you think?
Rate this book
The Different Paths of Buddhism: A Narrative-Historical Introduction
For centuries, Buddhist teachers and laypeople have used stories, symbols, cultural metaphors, and anecdotes to teach and express their religious views. In this introductory textbook, Carl Olson draws on these narrative traditions to detail the development of Buddhism from the life of the historical Buddha to the present.
The book offers a comprehensive introduction to the main branches of the Buddhist tradition in both the Mahayana and Theravada schools, including the Madhyamika school, the Yogacara school, Pure Land devotionalism, Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and village folk Buddhist traditions. Chapters explore the life and teachings of the Buddha in historical context, the early development and institutionalization of Buddhism, its geographic spread across Asia and eventually to the United States, philosophy and ethics, the relationship between monks and laity, political and ethical implications, the role of women in the Buddhist tradition, and contemporary reinterpretations of Buddhism.
Drawn from decades of classroom experience, this creative and ambitious text combines expert scholarship and engaging stories that offer much-needed perspective to the existing literature on the topic.
The book offers a comprehensive introduction to the main branches of the Buddhist tradition in both the Mahayana and Theravada schools, including the Madhyamika school, the Yogacara school, Pure Land devotionalism, Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and village folk Buddhist traditions. Chapters explore the life and teachings of the Buddha in historical context, the early development and institutionalization of Buddhism, its geographic spread across Asia and eventually to the United States, philosophy and ethics, the relationship between monks and laity, political and ethical implications, the role of women in the Buddhist tradition, and contemporary reinterpretations of Buddhism.
Drawn from decades of classroom experience, this creative and ambitious text combines expert scholarship and engaging stories that offer much-needed perspective to the existing literature on the topic.
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2005
About the author
Carl Olson
50 books3 followersCarl Olson is a Professor of Religious Studies at Allegheny College.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 29, 2012
nice nerd-friendly book. dense and scholarly account of the history of Buddhism, how it spread from India and grew into its various branches. sometimes overwhelmingly textbook like, too much detail to absorb...started to skim for the information i was most interested in. definitely a smart and great overview, though many of my questions about the WHYS remain unanswered. the when and what and where is interesting but i really have been curious about the different schools and approaches and how authoritative they are or why later schools diverged so much from the original Pali canon.
He does say that Tibetan Buddhism is actually a blend of Madhyamika, Yogacara, Tantra and indigenous folk religion/shamanism. Some of this really appeals to me and some not...mainly, using samsara to wake up is what makes Vajrayana a path that has resonated with me: "what appears as dualities are actually non-dual...what is implied is a weaving together of nirvana and samsara." "It is possible to use one's instinctual passions and transform them from being a hindrance to freedom into forces for assisting the attainment of liberation."
however, there's a lot of the religious aspects i don't connect with in Vajrayana and i got a little bit of a clue why some it doesn't fit my current culture time place if much of it incorporated Tibetan indigenous culture to appeal to the masses there.
Zen also appeals to me--stripping Buddhism of the religious formalities down to the essence, almost Taoist in its simplicity and also i appreciate its lightness or sense of humor...i like the sharpness of Zen teachings but i suspect i am not made for such minimalist practice and there is something softer about Vajrayana and visualization of the deity as a path to dissolving into emptiness that works for me.
still hungry for more about the whys of the different branches and schools of Buddhism though this book was a good beginning and overview. maybe it took on too much as it goes into not only the spread of Buddhism but some of its major views and then the depiction of the feminine and the role of women....each of which could be distinct and separate books.
I like this: "The threefold refuge is obviously an act of faith. But the purpose of this kind of faith is the subordination of the human ego and recognication of the truth about the non-self doctrine. it is not the final solution to the human situation in the sense of a scheme of salvation by faith alone. The notion of refuge is an act of faith that transforms, reorients, and awakens a person to the path of the truth."
He does say that Tibetan Buddhism is actually a blend of Madhyamika, Yogacara, Tantra and indigenous folk religion/shamanism. Some of this really appeals to me and some not...mainly, using samsara to wake up is what makes Vajrayana a path that has resonated with me: "what appears as dualities are actually non-dual...what is implied is a weaving together of nirvana and samsara." "It is possible to use one's instinctual passions and transform them from being a hindrance to freedom into forces for assisting the attainment of liberation."
however, there's a lot of the religious aspects i don't connect with in Vajrayana and i got a little bit of a clue why some it doesn't fit my current culture time place if much of it incorporated Tibetan indigenous culture to appeal to the masses there.
Zen also appeals to me--stripping Buddhism of the religious formalities down to the essence, almost Taoist in its simplicity and also i appreciate its lightness or sense of humor...i like the sharpness of Zen teachings but i suspect i am not made for such minimalist practice and there is something softer about Vajrayana and visualization of the deity as a path to dissolving into emptiness that works for me.
still hungry for more about the whys of the different branches and schools of Buddhism though this book was a good beginning and overview. maybe it took on too much as it goes into not only the spread of Buddhism but some of its major views and then the depiction of the feminine and the role of women....each of which could be distinct and separate books.
I like this: "The threefold refuge is obviously an act of faith. But the purpose of this kind of faith is the subordination of the human ego and recognication of the truth about the non-self doctrine. it is not the final solution to the human situation in the sense of a scheme of salvation by faith alone. The notion of refuge is an act of faith that transforms, reorients, and awakens a person to the path of the truth."
November 7, 2017
A fantastic introduction to understanding the basics of Buddhism. I would recommend this text to a person before they jump into any scholarly treatment of the material as this provides a good understand of the terms and world views one will be dealing with (this is coming from someone who read this book after reading some dense scholarly works and barely understanding those).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews