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The Story of Buddhism
How and when did the many schools of Buddhism emerge?
How does the historical figure of Siddartha Guatama relate to the many teachings that are presented in his name?
Did Buddhism modify the cultures to which it was introduced, or did they modify Buddhism?
Leading Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez Jr. explores the origins of this 2,500-year-old religion and traces its major developments up to the present, focusing not only on the essential elemenmts common to all schools of Buddhism but also revealing the differences among the major traditions. Beginning with the creation and structure of the Buddhist universe, Lopez explores the life of the Buddha, the core Buddhist tenets, and the development of the monastic life and lay practices. Combining brilliant scholarship with fascinating stories -- contemporary and historical, sometimes miraculous, sometimes humorous -- this rich and absorbing volume presents a fresh and expert history of Buddhism and Buddhist life.
How does the historical figure of Siddartha Guatama relate to the many teachings that are presented in his name?
Did Buddhism modify the cultures to which it was introduced, or did they modify Buddhism?
Leading Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez Jr. explores the origins of this 2,500-year-old religion and traces its major developments up to the present, focusing not only on the essential elemenmts common to all schools of Buddhism but also revealing the differences among the major traditions. Beginning with the creation and structure of the Buddhist universe, Lopez explores the life of the Buddha, the core Buddhist tenets, and the development of the monastic life and lay practices. Combining brilliant scholarship with fascinating stories -- contemporary and historical, sometimes miraculous, sometimes humorous -- this rich and absorbing volume presents a fresh and expert history of Buddhism and Buddhist life.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Donald S. Lopez Jr.
75 books59 followersDonald Sewell Lopez, Jr. (born 1952) is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.
Son of the deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Donald S. Lopez.
Son of the deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Donald S. Lopez.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 8, 2026
A Scholar's Introduction To Buddhism
Donald Lopez, professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, is one of the best scholars who attempt to present a balanced, accurate picture of Buddhism as it has been practiced over the generations. His book "The Story of Buddhism" considers the actual practice of Buddhism, in all its diverse forms, in Asia, superstitions, magic, idiosyncracies, and all. In this way, it differs from most books that present Buddhism to Americans. which typically focus on meditation, on the liberating, non-theistic character of the Buddha's teaching, and of Buddhism as a guide to life in the difficulties of secular 20th and 21st century America. Such works are valuable and important, but they fail to give the reader a historical sense of Buddhism.
Lopez's book opens with a short treatment of Buddhist cosmology, including its picture of the universe, the earth, and the heavens and hells. There is an all-to-brief discussion of the key Buddhist teaching of Dependent Origination.
The chapter on cosmology is followed by a discussion of the life of the Buddha, taken from a wide variety of textual sources, of the Dharma, Monasticism, Lay Life, and Enlightenment.
The focus of the book is on the various schools of Mahayana Buddhism and on the Buddhism of Tibet. I found surprisingly little discussion of Theravada Buddhism, (practiced historically in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand) which is likely the earliest version of Buddhism we have today. Lopez describes well how various Mahayana thinkers broke away from earlier teachings but doesn't tell us much about these early teachings themselves.
There is a great deal of emphasis in the book on how the Buddha's teaching was applied and modified over the years. Most of lay practice, Lopez informs us, was devoted to the accumulation of merit by the practice of good deeds. A regular meditation practice, much less textual study of the Sutras, was simply unavailable to most people who have over the generations called themselves Buddhists, either laity or monastic.
Lopez describes well the ritualistic practices of any number of Buddhist schools, emphasizing matters such as relic worship, ancestor worship, fortune-telling and horoscopes, miracle cures, magic, mandalas, and what the modern reader is likely to view as superstition. He briefly describes for the reader a number of Buddhist schools and practices, including Tantric Buddhism, the Pure Land School, and Zen, and their different paths to enlightenment. There is a wonderfully detailed picture of a ritual involving the Heart Sutra, repeated many times, with the use of icons and statues.
This book is a welcome, clear-minded corrective to those who approach Buddhism ahistorically. But there is, indeed, more to the story than this, as Professor Lopez realizes. For all his scholarly distance, Lopez understands the power of the Buddha's message which has attracted many people over the ages, including modern Americans. This is most clearly indicated in the final paragraph of Professor Lopez's book. He writes:
" But there is also another challenge, the challenge provided by the dharma, which makes the remarkable claim that it is possible to live a life untainted by what are called the eight worldly concerns: gain and loss, fame and disgrace, praise and blame, happiness and sorrow."
This is a worthwhile critical introduction to an endlessly fascinating teaching.
Robin Friedman
Donald Lopez, professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, is one of the best scholars who attempt to present a balanced, accurate picture of Buddhism as it has been practiced over the generations. His book "The Story of Buddhism" considers the actual practice of Buddhism, in all its diverse forms, in Asia, superstitions, magic, idiosyncracies, and all. In this way, it differs from most books that present Buddhism to Americans. which typically focus on meditation, on the liberating, non-theistic character of the Buddha's teaching, and of Buddhism as a guide to life in the difficulties of secular 20th and 21st century America. Such works are valuable and important, but they fail to give the reader a historical sense of Buddhism.
Lopez's book opens with a short treatment of Buddhist cosmology, including its picture of the universe, the earth, and the heavens and hells. There is an all-to-brief discussion of the key Buddhist teaching of Dependent Origination.
The chapter on cosmology is followed by a discussion of the life of the Buddha, taken from a wide variety of textual sources, of the Dharma, Monasticism, Lay Life, and Enlightenment.
The focus of the book is on the various schools of Mahayana Buddhism and on the Buddhism of Tibet. I found surprisingly little discussion of Theravada Buddhism, (practiced historically in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand) which is likely the earliest version of Buddhism we have today. Lopez describes well how various Mahayana thinkers broke away from earlier teachings but doesn't tell us much about these early teachings themselves.
There is a great deal of emphasis in the book on how the Buddha's teaching was applied and modified over the years. Most of lay practice, Lopez informs us, was devoted to the accumulation of merit by the practice of good deeds. A regular meditation practice, much less textual study of the Sutras, was simply unavailable to most people who have over the generations called themselves Buddhists, either laity or monastic.
Lopez describes well the ritualistic practices of any number of Buddhist schools, emphasizing matters such as relic worship, ancestor worship, fortune-telling and horoscopes, miracle cures, magic, mandalas, and what the modern reader is likely to view as superstition. He briefly describes for the reader a number of Buddhist schools and practices, including Tantric Buddhism, the Pure Land School, and Zen, and their different paths to enlightenment. There is a wonderfully detailed picture of a ritual involving the Heart Sutra, repeated many times, with the use of icons and statues.
This book is a welcome, clear-minded corrective to those who approach Buddhism ahistorically. But there is, indeed, more to the story than this, as Professor Lopez realizes. For all his scholarly distance, Lopez understands the power of the Buddha's message which has attracted many people over the ages, including modern Americans. This is most clearly indicated in the final paragraph of Professor Lopez's book. He writes:
" But there is also another challenge, the challenge provided by the dharma, which makes the remarkable claim that it is possible to live a life untainted by what are called the eight worldly concerns: gain and loss, fame and disgrace, praise and blame, happiness and sorrow."
This is a worthwhile critical introduction to an endlessly fascinating teaching.
Robin Friedman
May 28, 2017
i really did like this book a lot.
it is a very well written book written about buddhism and i bought it from a book shop in bangkok,thailand some time ago.
it took me over 2 to 3 days to read it,
it is the best book written on this topic.
it starts off my talking about the buddha and his life.
in the start the author starts by saying that there is no beginning or start to the universe.
he goes on to say that the buddha was born in what is called southern nepal.
it talks about how the buddha left every thing to become a buddha.
it was not that long a book but i enjoyed reading it and in the end the author gives a conclusion and thats how the book ends.
i would like to read more book by this writer and would like to meet him!.
it is a very well written book written about buddhism and i bought it from a book shop in bangkok,thailand some time ago.
it took me over 2 to 3 days to read it,
it is the best book written on this topic.
it starts off my talking about the buddha and his life.
in the start the author starts by saying that there is no beginning or start to the universe.
he goes on to say that the buddha was born in what is called southern nepal.
it talks about how the buddha left every thing to become a buddha.
it was not that long a book but i enjoyed reading it and in the end the author gives a conclusion and thats how the book ends.
i would like to read more book by this writer and would like to meet him!.
August 2, 2025
increible lo loco y retorcido q es el buddhismo (en el mejor de los sentidos). habiendo sido criada en un entorno con supremacia de religiones abrahamicas, una filosofia como la q plantea el buddhismo se me hace completamente innovadora y me ha hecho reflexionar mas de una vez sobre las bases sobre la q esta construida nuestra cultura. entiendo pk la gente roba conceptos de aqui, van mucho mas duros q la biblia. cuntekesiers, a leer buddhismo
June 23, 2023
Considering the title I expected a higher emphasis on the history of Buddhism. Somewhat tackles that aspect but mostly focuses on firstly providing an autobiographical account of the Buddha and then proceeding to trace how the teachings of different schools of Buddhism derive from the Buddha and each other. If you are expecting a geographical or political history of Buddhish this is perhaps not the best book but it might just still be a good place to start because not many accessible and broad focussed books on that subject have been written. It would perhaps be more appropriate for this book to be titled as History of Teachings of Buddhism rather than History & Teachings of Buddhism.
I also appreciated the conscious effort on the part of the author to avoid exoticizing any of the practices/teachings described in the book. Looking forward to explore the cited readings in this book specifically towards buddhist history and life of the buddha itself.
I also appreciated the conscious effort on the part of the author to avoid exoticizing any of the practices/teachings described in the book. Looking forward to explore the cited readings in this book specifically towards buddhist history and life of the buddha itself.
July 27, 2022
binge read this as the woman from HR drove me to the portland airport. kept my head glued to this book to avoid awkward, forced conversation. i accidentally left it in the car.
July 5, 2026
The Story of Buddhism is not really the story of Buddhism. But it is a very good book about Buddhism. It is a scholarly introduction to Buddhism – its founding myths and central tenets, as well the teachings and practices of various schools explained abstractly and illustrated with traditional mythic tales.
I chose this book because of the author’s appearance on Tyler Cowen’s podcast, where he played the role of scholar's scholar of Buddhism. I was not disappointed when I turned to this book. Donald Lopez jr. writes with admirable clarity, learning, and relevance. As I read, I underlined and made notes in the margins. Throughout, but especially in the second chapter, everything struck me as so essential and well-put that it was hard to pick what to underline.
What is covered in this book?
The first chapter is on Buddhist cosmology. There is the creation myth of flying sexless human beings being lured to sexed earthly existence by mushy white proto-rice. There is an understanding of time as the cycles of human life-spans going from 80,000 years (the best expression of humanity) to 10 years (the worst). We are currently descending toward a lifespan of 10 years. The next 80,000 lifespan period is when the next Buddha, Maitreya, will appear. After twenty cycles, the world will be destroyed.
The universe is conceived as mountain ranges and an ocean surrounding a mythical Mount Meru. Human beings live on an island continent to the south of Mount Meru. There are six ranked realms where beings are driven by desire – from a heaven for Indian gods to a complex of hot, cold, and other hells. The earth where we live is one of the middle desire realms. Above all this, there is a Form Realm – with beauty but no desire – and a Formless realm – consciousness beyond existence and nonexistence.
Buddhist metaphysics affirms that we lack selves, the world is contingent and thus ultimately empty or non-existent, and good and bad deeds are seeds that sprout according to a law of karma into reincarnation in higher or lower realms and forms in future lives.
The Story of Buddhism has many strange and intriguing tales. The most compelling story is the story of the Buddha himself, which – along with some essential teachings – is the topic of the second chapter. A prince who is protected from seeing the world, kept in his father’s palace, for twenty-nine years finally goes out on a series of excursions. On these excursions, he sees someone bent with age, then someone sick, then a corpse, and finally an ascetic under a tree. He leaves his palace, renouncing his wife, a harem of beautiful women, and a newly born son. He tries meditation, asceticism, but comes to understand himself as a Buddha through a miracle.
In a night of meditation under a tree, Buddha is tempted by Mara – the god of desire – through a series of storms, his beautiful daughter-goddesses “Lust,” “Thirst,” and “Discontent,” and a fearful challenge from Mara to his right to stay under the tree. The Buddha serenely meditates through these temptations and then experiences a series of visions. He sees his past lives – representing his attachment to the world through place, name, family, status, pleasure, and pain – and the working of karma. Then arriving at the insight that his self is illusory, he becomes the Buddha.
This chapter also contains a discussion of the four truths – the central doctrines of Buddhism.
The first truth is that suffering outweighs pleasure and is inevitable based on our nature as finite physical and mental beings.
The second truth is that the proximate cause of suffering is karma, which acts as a kind of natural law punishing bad deeds and rewarding good deeds – mostly as these were committed in past lives. As a result, Lopez writes:
Buddhist practice, whether for laypeople or monks and nuns, is largely centred around performing virtuous deeds and avoiding nonvirtue (p. 44).
Specifically, the ten vices to be avoided are: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech; and covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong view. The absolute worst things you can do are killing your mother or father, killing an enlightened one (“an arhat”), maliciously wounding the Buddha, or causing a schism among monks or nuns. One learns to avoid vice by combatting negative states of mind, especially desire, hatred, and belief in self or fullness of the world.
Karma determines in which realm and station one will be born in a future life. It does not do so by weighing up all of one’s good and bad deeds. Rather, each deed is a possible seed for a future life. One’s state of mind at death determines which deed will serve as the seed for the next life.
The third truth is that the goal of life is to escape suffering and the cycle of reincarnation ('the samsara') by achieving nirvana. This means you will cease to exist – although one must keep in mind, as Lopez explains, that according to Buddhism, you never really existed to begin with.
The fourth truth is that the path to nirvana consists of training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom. Ethics means avoiding the vices described above. Meditation is all about maintaining concentration – often on important truths, like love or impermanence. The highest form of meditation – that will allow one to become fully enlightened and eventually enter nirvana – is achieved through the most sublime and intense state of concentration on the truth of no-self. Understanding this truth is also what is meant by “wisdom.”
The Buddha instructed his disciples – teaching known as “dharma” – and then passed away at the age of eighty in a state of deep meditation – entering nirvana.
Texts linked to Buddha’s disciples – called sutras – describe the Buddha’s teaching. The first, from the Mahayana school, appear four centuries after his life. Many of these sutras subvert the picture of Buddha described above – which apparently comes down to us only through a biography written six centuries after he lived. For instance, the Lotus Sutra teaches that the Buddha had been enlightened for aeons before his life as the prince and that the story of his enlightenment and his death were all a pretense he undertook to teach the world. He is in fact still alive, perhaps as a transcendent principle (‘the dharmakaya’).
Mahayana texts justify innovations in Buddha’s teachings by claiming that the Buddha only said what was useful to those he was speaking to at the time (called his ‘skillful methods’) – and not necessarily the true dharma that leads to ultimate enlightenment. Traditionally, there are three paths to enlightenment: being a disciple to the Buddha, practicing dharma in solitude, or becoming a bodhisattva, which means achieving enlightenment but delaying passage to nirvana in order to teach others. However, according to Mahayana, the one true path is to become a bodhisattva, like the Buddha himself. This is possible because each living being has a “Buddha nature” – something analogous to the image of God in Hebrew scripture. It is a being’s hidden potential for Buddhahood that is masked by the afflictions of desire, hatred, and ignorance. There is much more to all this that is impossible to get into here.
Lopez’ third chapter – on dharma or teaching – recounts how Buddhists have interpreted the sutras and other Buddhist teaching over the years. This includes strategies for harmonizing disparate teachings, as well as interpretative principles. One key idea is the difference between provisional teachings – which might be helpful in certain contexts – and definitive teachings, which are universally true.
Somewhat foreign to me was the idea that the words of sutras have power regardless of whether they are understood. I think of the goal of reading as understanding, which is enhanced by recall, analysis, and synthesis with one’s previous understanding. The main reason I write these reviews is so that I can practice this myself. Thus it is strange to consider how, for much of Buddhist history, the copying out of scrolls, repeated recitation of phrases, or simultaneous ritualized readings were held to have a talismanic power irrespective of understanding. On the other hand, the five practices for dharma preachers recommended by the Lotus Sutra imply a deeper investment in understanding than what modern readers typically devote to any topic. These are to receive and maintain the sutra, to read it, recite it from memory, to copy it, and explain it to others.
The next two chapters are on monastic practice and lay practice respectively. These chapters correct a Western misunderstanding that Buddhism is not about religious community. Actually, the sangha – which refers to the Buddhist community of monks and lay practitioners – is one of the central “jewels” of Buddhism, alongside the Buddha and dharma. Another misconception is that monks’ primary occupation is meditation. Rather, a monk may have a range of special roles from memorizing and reciting various texts to administering the monastery. Finally, Westerners imagine monks as vegetarian. But this is largely true only in China.
Central to monastic life are strict codes of conduct prohibiting immoral deeds like stealing, lying, killing, and engaging sexual misconduct – as well as rules regulating daily life. Unfortunately, the Buddha had some harsh words about women and their ability to achieve enlightenment, and consequently nuns are subordinate to monks and comparatively rare in Buddhist history.
Central to Buddhist lay practice is charitable giving and monastic communities are the ideal receiver of gifts, since they are pure and giving to them confers merit. There are also many Buddhist rituals. Often these are developments of traditional practices that pre-date Buddhism and involve helping practitioners’ ancestors or warding off evil spirits. Lopez points out that much of the appeal of Buddhism through history has been just such spiritual protection from evil spirits.
The final chapter on enlightenment begins by describing meditation. Meditation is not a state free from all cognition but deep concentration on a single object, whether it be smeared clay representing the earth, one’s breath, or death. At first, Buddha encouraged a meditation on the foulness of the human body, but when thirty monks jointly committed suicide because of this practice, he substituted meditation on breath as standard practice. Meditation on the breath is practiced by the Zen tradition.
This chapter also describes the tantric school. Tantras are secret teachings of Buddha not contained in sutras. Pursuit of enlightenment in these secret teachings sometimes involve sexually explicit visualizations and sometimes even sexual union with consorts. There is also a description of how sensory experience devolves at death and instructions on how to meditate at one’s dying time. Enlightened yogis in the tantric school gain magical powers and have license to engage in what Buddhist teaching would otherwise not permit – such as sexual union with a consort.
Also covered in this chapter is a visualisation practice known as pure land where, in a ritual setting, the meditator recites a buddha’s name and visualizes his perfection. Of interest to me were the prayers of repentance to Amitabha, as well as the Japanese monk Honen’s robust teaching of salvation by grace. There was also an interesting discussion about two ways to understand the path of enlightenment. The Huineng school affirmed a ‘recognition model’ – according to which enlightenment had already been achieved in some sense and the goal was to simply recognize that this is the case. Here enlightenment is achieved by coming to the correct ontological understanding of oneself as illusory and the world as empty. The purification model of Shenxiu – by contrast – is about expunging the pollutants of desire, hatred, and ignorance from one’s soul. One must undergo moral transformation in order to achieve enlightenment. In both cases, enlightenment means overcoming the ignorance that denies the emptiness of all things and that believes in the self. Some schools teach enlightenment through spontaneous perception of this truth in meditation, while others guide a meditator through reasons for believing this to be true.
Usually, I end my longer reviews with a critical assessment of ideas presented in the book. However, I can’t critically assess a historical world religion like Buddhism after reading one book about it. Instead, I’ll flag some points of interest for me – most of which are points of convergence or interesting divergences from my Christian faith.
In the West, Buddhism has been sold as an individualistic, naturalistic alternative to the Christian faith. On the contrary, I learned in this book that not only does Buddhism make robust metaphysical claims and understand spiritual reality through scripture and myth. Some of the religious elements of Buddhism also converge with Christianity. The need for religious community (‘the sangha’), the reality of heaven and hell, scripture, and spiritual warfare are some examples.
At a deeper level, there is convergence in the identification of suffering and finitude as deep human problems from which we need salvation. I find especially compelling the story of the Buddha discovering old age, sickness, and poverty for the first time. I am reminded of Jesus’ interactions with the sick, the poor, and the ostracized in the Gospels – as well as his suffering and death at the cross. The differences in these stories also suggest divergence in how both traditions confront the reality of finitude and suffering.
Next, there seems to be a parallel between the doctrine of karma and its consummation in reincarnation and biblical themes of God’s justice and its consummation in resurrection. In both traditions, the world is ordered by justice and, in both traditions, justice ultimately is consummated in “the next life.” Perhaps both Buddhism and Christianity are thus able to maintain an affirmation of justice in the face of the apparent injustice of this world.
Finally, there is a significant convergence in moral teaching. There isn’t much for me as a Christian to disagree with among list of ten vices quoted above. Killing, stealing, lying, coveting, and cheating are prohibited in the Ten Commandments, and the wisdom traditions in the Old and New Testaments – such as in Proverbs and James – similarly have warnings about divisive and senseless speech. But whereas Buddhism puts the overcoming of the illusions of world and self at the centre of its ethics, Christianity puts an affirmation of life and its goodness and a transformation in love, faith, and hope.
In sum, it seems to me that the deepest heart of Buddhism – its doctrines of no-self, emptiness, and nirvana – differs significantly from the heart of Christianity. However, just above this deepest stratum, in things that are still of great importance, there is significant convergence.
I chose this book because of the author’s appearance on Tyler Cowen’s podcast, where he played the role of scholar's scholar of Buddhism. I was not disappointed when I turned to this book. Donald Lopez jr. writes with admirable clarity, learning, and relevance. As I read, I underlined and made notes in the margins. Throughout, but especially in the second chapter, everything struck me as so essential and well-put that it was hard to pick what to underline.
What is covered in this book?
The first chapter is on Buddhist cosmology. There is the creation myth of flying sexless human beings being lured to sexed earthly existence by mushy white proto-rice. There is an understanding of time as the cycles of human life-spans going from 80,000 years (the best expression of humanity) to 10 years (the worst). We are currently descending toward a lifespan of 10 years. The next 80,000 lifespan period is when the next Buddha, Maitreya, will appear. After twenty cycles, the world will be destroyed.
The universe is conceived as mountain ranges and an ocean surrounding a mythical Mount Meru. Human beings live on an island continent to the south of Mount Meru. There are six ranked realms where beings are driven by desire – from a heaven for Indian gods to a complex of hot, cold, and other hells. The earth where we live is one of the middle desire realms. Above all this, there is a Form Realm – with beauty but no desire – and a Formless realm – consciousness beyond existence and nonexistence.
Buddhist metaphysics affirms that we lack selves, the world is contingent and thus ultimately empty or non-existent, and good and bad deeds are seeds that sprout according to a law of karma into reincarnation in higher or lower realms and forms in future lives.
The Story of Buddhism has many strange and intriguing tales. The most compelling story is the story of the Buddha himself, which – along with some essential teachings – is the topic of the second chapter. A prince who is protected from seeing the world, kept in his father’s palace, for twenty-nine years finally goes out on a series of excursions. On these excursions, he sees someone bent with age, then someone sick, then a corpse, and finally an ascetic under a tree. He leaves his palace, renouncing his wife, a harem of beautiful women, and a newly born son. He tries meditation, asceticism, but comes to understand himself as a Buddha through a miracle.
In a night of meditation under a tree, Buddha is tempted by Mara – the god of desire – through a series of storms, his beautiful daughter-goddesses “Lust,” “Thirst,” and “Discontent,” and a fearful challenge from Mara to his right to stay under the tree. The Buddha serenely meditates through these temptations and then experiences a series of visions. He sees his past lives – representing his attachment to the world through place, name, family, status, pleasure, and pain – and the working of karma. Then arriving at the insight that his self is illusory, he becomes the Buddha.
This chapter also contains a discussion of the four truths – the central doctrines of Buddhism.
The first truth is that suffering outweighs pleasure and is inevitable based on our nature as finite physical and mental beings.
The second truth is that the proximate cause of suffering is karma, which acts as a kind of natural law punishing bad deeds and rewarding good deeds – mostly as these were committed in past lives. As a result, Lopez writes:
Buddhist practice, whether for laypeople or monks and nuns, is largely centred around performing virtuous deeds and avoiding nonvirtue (p. 44).
Specifically, the ten vices to be avoided are: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, and senseless speech; and covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong view. The absolute worst things you can do are killing your mother or father, killing an enlightened one (“an arhat”), maliciously wounding the Buddha, or causing a schism among monks or nuns. One learns to avoid vice by combatting negative states of mind, especially desire, hatred, and belief in self or fullness of the world.
Karma determines in which realm and station one will be born in a future life. It does not do so by weighing up all of one’s good and bad deeds. Rather, each deed is a possible seed for a future life. One’s state of mind at death determines which deed will serve as the seed for the next life.
The third truth is that the goal of life is to escape suffering and the cycle of reincarnation ('the samsara') by achieving nirvana. This means you will cease to exist – although one must keep in mind, as Lopez explains, that according to Buddhism, you never really existed to begin with.
The fourth truth is that the path to nirvana consists of training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom. Ethics means avoiding the vices described above. Meditation is all about maintaining concentration – often on important truths, like love or impermanence. The highest form of meditation – that will allow one to become fully enlightened and eventually enter nirvana – is achieved through the most sublime and intense state of concentration on the truth of no-self. Understanding this truth is also what is meant by “wisdom.”
The Buddha instructed his disciples – teaching known as “dharma” – and then passed away at the age of eighty in a state of deep meditation – entering nirvana.
Texts linked to Buddha’s disciples – called sutras – describe the Buddha’s teaching. The first, from the Mahayana school, appear four centuries after his life. Many of these sutras subvert the picture of Buddha described above – which apparently comes down to us only through a biography written six centuries after he lived. For instance, the Lotus Sutra teaches that the Buddha had been enlightened for aeons before his life as the prince and that the story of his enlightenment and his death were all a pretense he undertook to teach the world. He is in fact still alive, perhaps as a transcendent principle (‘the dharmakaya’).
Mahayana texts justify innovations in Buddha’s teachings by claiming that the Buddha only said what was useful to those he was speaking to at the time (called his ‘skillful methods’) – and not necessarily the true dharma that leads to ultimate enlightenment. Traditionally, there are three paths to enlightenment: being a disciple to the Buddha, practicing dharma in solitude, or becoming a bodhisattva, which means achieving enlightenment but delaying passage to nirvana in order to teach others. However, according to Mahayana, the one true path is to become a bodhisattva, like the Buddha himself. This is possible because each living being has a “Buddha nature” – something analogous to the image of God in Hebrew scripture. It is a being’s hidden potential for Buddhahood that is masked by the afflictions of desire, hatred, and ignorance. There is much more to all this that is impossible to get into here.
Lopez’ third chapter – on dharma or teaching – recounts how Buddhists have interpreted the sutras and other Buddhist teaching over the years. This includes strategies for harmonizing disparate teachings, as well as interpretative principles. One key idea is the difference between provisional teachings – which might be helpful in certain contexts – and definitive teachings, which are universally true.
Somewhat foreign to me was the idea that the words of sutras have power regardless of whether they are understood. I think of the goal of reading as understanding, which is enhanced by recall, analysis, and synthesis with one’s previous understanding. The main reason I write these reviews is so that I can practice this myself. Thus it is strange to consider how, for much of Buddhist history, the copying out of scrolls, repeated recitation of phrases, or simultaneous ritualized readings were held to have a talismanic power irrespective of understanding. On the other hand, the five practices for dharma preachers recommended by the Lotus Sutra imply a deeper investment in understanding than what modern readers typically devote to any topic. These are to receive and maintain the sutra, to read it, recite it from memory, to copy it, and explain it to others.
The next two chapters are on monastic practice and lay practice respectively. These chapters correct a Western misunderstanding that Buddhism is not about religious community. Actually, the sangha – which refers to the Buddhist community of monks and lay practitioners – is one of the central “jewels” of Buddhism, alongside the Buddha and dharma. Another misconception is that monks’ primary occupation is meditation. Rather, a monk may have a range of special roles from memorizing and reciting various texts to administering the monastery. Finally, Westerners imagine monks as vegetarian. But this is largely true only in China.
Central to monastic life are strict codes of conduct prohibiting immoral deeds like stealing, lying, killing, and engaging sexual misconduct – as well as rules regulating daily life. Unfortunately, the Buddha had some harsh words about women and their ability to achieve enlightenment, and consequently nuns are subordinate to monks and comparatively rare in Buddhist history.
Central to Buddhist lay practice is charitable giving and monastic communities are the ideal receiver of gifts, since they are pure and giving to them confers merit. There are also many Buddhist rituals. Often these are developments of traditional practices that pre-date Buddhism and involve helping practitioners’ ancestors or warding off evil spirits. Lopez points out that much of the appeal of Buddhism through history has been just such spiritual protection from evil spirits.
The final chapter on enlightenment begins by describing meditation. Meditation is not a state free from all cognition but deep concentration on a single object, whether it be smeared clay representing the earth, one’s breath, or death. At first, Buddha encouraged a meditation on the foulness of the human body, but when thirty monks jointly committed suicide because of this practice, he substituted meditation on breath as standard practice. Meditation on the breath is practiced by the Zen tradition.
This chapter also describes the tantric school. Tantras are secret teachings of Buddha not contained in sutras. Pursuit of enlightenment in these secret teachings sometimes involve sexually explicit visualizations and sometimes even sexual union with consorts. There is also a description of how sensory experience devolves at death and instructions on how to meditate at one’s dying time. Enlightened yogis in the tantric school gain magical powers and have license to engage in what Buddhist teaching would otherwise not permit – such as sexual union with a consort.
Also covered in this chapter is a visualisation practice known as pure land where, in a ritual setting, the meditator recites a buddha’s name and visualizes his perfection. Of interest to me were the prayers of repentance to Amitabha, as well as the Japanese monk Honen’s robust teaching of salvation by grace. There was also an interesting discussion about two ways to understand the path of enlightenment. The Huineng school affirmed a ‘recognition model’ – according to which enlightenment had already been achieved in some sense and the goal was to simply recognize that this is the case. Here enlightenment is achieved by coming to the correct ontological understanding of oneself as illusory and the world as empty. The purification model of Shenxiu – by contrast – is about expunging the pollutants of desire, hatred, and ignorance from one’s soul. One must undergo moral transformation in order to achieve enlightenment. In both cases, enlightenment means overcoming the ignorance that denies the emptiness of all things and that believes in the self. Some schools teach enlightenment through spontaneous perception of this truth in meditation, while others guide a meditator through reasons for believing this to be true.
Usually, I end my longer reviews with a critical assessment of ideas presented in the book. However, I can’t critically assess a historical world religion like Buddhism after reading one book about it. Instead, I’ll flag some points of interest for me – most of which are points of convergence or interesting divergences from my Christian faith.
In the West, Buddhism has been sold as an individualistic, naturalistic alternative to the Christian faith. On the contrary, I learned in this book that not only does Buddhism make robust metaphysical claims and understand spiritual reality through scripture and myth. Some of the religious elements of Buddhism also converge with Christianity. The need for religious community (‘the sangha’), the reality of heaven and hell, scripture, and spiritual warfare are some examples.
At a deeper level, there is convergence in the identification of suffering and finitude as deep human problems from which we need salvation. I find especially compelling the story of the Buddha discovering old age, sickness, and poverty for the first time. I am reminded of Jesus’ interactions with the sick, the poor, and the ostracized in the Gospels – as well as his suffering and death at the cross. The differences in these stories also suggest divergence in how both traditions confront the reality of finitude and suffering.
Next, there seems to be a parallel between the doctrine of karma and its consummation in reincarnation and biblical themes of God’s justice and its consummation in resurrection. In both traditions, the world is ordered by justice and, in both traditions, justice ultimately is consummated in “the next life.” Perhaps both Buddhism and Christianity are thus able to maintain an affirmation of justice in the face of the apparent injustice of this world.
Finally, there is a significant convergence in moral teaching. There isn’t much for me as a Christian to disagree with among list of ten vices quoted above. Killing, stealing, lying, coveting, and cheating are prohibited in the Ten Commandments, and the wisdom traditions in the Old and New Testaments – such as in Proverbs and James – similarly have warnings about divisive and senseless speech. But whereas Buddhism puts the overcoming of the illusions of world and self at the centre of its ethics, Christianity puts an affirmation of life and its goodness and a transformation in love, faith, and hope.
In sum, it seems to me that the deepest heart of Buddhism – its doctrines of no-self, emptiness, and nirvana – differs significantly from the heart of Christianity. However, just above this deepest stratum, in things that are still of great importance, there is significant convergence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2017
As a non-Buddhist American living in Asia, I have found the various Buddhist traditions that I have encountered in Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China and Japan equally fascinating and hard to reconcile with each other or with the historical teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama (as described in a typical Wikipedia page or, for instance, in the PBS special "The Buddha").
This book is helpful on that front - the author is clearly extremely knowledgeable on the MANY diverse Buddhist traditions and their historical relationship with each other. I can now get my "hands around" the various traditions and schools of Buddhism to a degree that I was not able to prior to reading this book.
Having said that, the text is dense, the author's writing style is more than a little discursive and the heuristic devices that he uses to organize the book (e.g., "Monastic Life," "Tantra," "Pilgrimage") sometimes feel arbitrary and repetitive of each other.
Still, this has been the most objectively educational (and least proselytizing) of Buddhist books I've read. For that, I'll give it 4 stars.
This book is helpful on that front - the author is clearly extremely knowledgeable on the MANY diverse Buddhist traditions and their historical relationship with each other. I can now get my "hands around" the various traditions and schools of Buddhism to a degree that I was not able to prior to reading this book.
Having said that, the text is dense, the author's writing style is more than a little discursive and the heuristic devices that he uses to organize the book (e.g., "Monastic Life," "Tantra," "Pilgrimage") sometimes feel arbitrary and repetitive of each other.
Still, this has been the most objectively educational (and least proselytizing) of Buddhist books I've read. For that, I'll give it 4 stars.
March 26, 2012
Donald Lopez’s The Story of Buddhism is a concise, readable introduction to the intellectual history of Buddhism. Lopez reveals the incredible diversity of Buddhist teaching and practice over the course of its history and the regions to which it spread. He also describes important differences between lay-Buddhism and Buddhism as taught and practiced by monks and philosophers. These distinctions may seem confusing or unimportant to readers looking for an idiot's guide to Buddhist spirituality, but they are very useful for conceptualizing Buddhism as a complex, living religious tradition on the scale of Christianity or Islam. Many of the controversies and trajectories of Buddhist thought will be strikingly familiar to readers who know the intellectual history of another major religious tradition, because at the end of the day we're all just human beings with the same kinds of needs, asking the same kinds of questions, and coming up with the same kinds of answers.
April 20, 2023
This book was what I was looking for - an explanation and stories and details about the history and teachings of Buddhism. Not about how to become Buddhist or apply teachings, but the history of it. And due to the nature of contradictions in Buddhism texts it is difficult to totally understand. But that's not the authors fault 😁 I do wish it had a little more information about how people practice Buddhism today in all parts of the world.
March 12, 2022
The conflation of Buddha with Buddhism is at the heart of my superficial understanding, with Buddhism being a South Park song, what would Gautam Buddha do if he were here right now, he’s sure to kick an a** or two, that’s what Gautam Buddha’d do. So this book's done a lot to scaffold the scattered bits of lyrics I've picked up over the years. Otherwise I'd give it a 3, because I came here for a more historiographic evolution of the schools of Buddhism, but that's not what Donald Lopez'd do if he were here right now.
Notes
Ariel and Rapunzel - the cloistering mother, here becomes the neurotic father - Siddhartha’s birth has 7 seers saying either great king or great sage, with 1 saying only great sage. The answer: if renunciates follow from deep spiritual malaise, then protect from all hardship. But not simply pain and suffering but a very specific form of hardship (in sequence he wakes up to disease - old age - death) - enforced impermanence.
Trippy metaphorical attacks of Mara during Buddha’s pre-enlightenment askesis have a sequence and structure that perfectly mirror the barriers to samadhi laid out by Patanjali.
Samas fail: Noble truths - aryasatyani. Truths of the arya - The truths aren’t themselves noble, but that which is known by noble people.
Mahayana as a minority despite dominating the quantity of text. Hinayana as a pejorative used (lesser) against the rival factions. More a generic insult, and doesn’t really correspond to anything today, especially not Theravada.
Bodhisattva - the past life of a future Buddha. Reinterpret Mahayana’s goal of liberation of all beings: pull your past-life into the vortex (entering the stream), that pulls previous etc etc. Now connect laterally the net, pulling all beings not as an objective but as an inevitability.
Finite number of beings (further reducible backwards later) manifesting in infinite number of forms across space and time. That means every single possible combination of patterns between beings has manifested. Sariputra looks at mother eating pork, beating dog, feeding child with tears because he can see - in past lives pig and dog were parents and baby was murderer of those parents.
Compassion: when someone hits with a stick, not angry at the instrument (stick) but the actor. But the actor is himself an instrument to his anger. So your anger is directed at anger itself, resulting in compassion.
6 Perfections - giving, ethics (vow), patience, effort, concentration and wisdom. But there are 36 meta-perfections - giving of giving, giving of ethics, effort of wisdom etc.
Buddha Nature Tathagatagarbha like gold at the bottom of a cesspool. 4 types of seed - Enter Hinayana, perfection of Sravaka, Nirvana without Remainder; Enter Hinayana, perfection of pratyekabuddha, Nirvana without Remainder; Enter Mahayana, Bodhisattva; Icchantika, slave to desire, doomed to Samsara. But how does this reconcile with Mahayana?
Madhyamaka exegetes view of Buddha Nature as emptiness of mind, foundation consciousness. Buddha speaks based on listener, so instead of scary nihilism of emptiness, substantiates it as a tathagathagarbha.
3 Jewels - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Buddha shows where to find refuge from suffering, undeniable proof of the truth of both suffering and refuge, the way no god can prove. That refuge is Dharma, teaching/doctrine/law/path.
Realized Dharma vs Written Dharma. Since latter compiled many centuries after Buddha, never certain what is authoritative. Fantastical Mahayana sutras vs Pali canon (Theravada holds this to be authoritative).
Buddha to Ananda while dying, appoints no successor - now all I have taught, dharma and vinaya, are your next teacher. The first jewel, Buddha, having demonstrated the existence of the truth, is fully subordinated into the dharma, the truth itself.
Ananda could recite 60,000 words and 15000 stanzas of Buddha’s words without missing a syllable. But he’s an exception. So to preserve the teachings, the sangha is formed, reciters of the discourse.
Dharma - sutras organized by length (long, medium, grouped sutras, and enumerated sutras which talk about pairs, 3, 4 etc to 11). Vinaya - rules of monastic discipline. Abhidharma - analysis and commentary on dharma. Compare with Vedas, Brahamanas and Upanishads.
Sinhalese reign of Varragamani Abhaya, arhats start writing words down that has so far been optimized for oral transmission using same rules as Vedas - redundancy, versification and organization by length.
Definitive knowledge vs provisional knowledge: Turning of wheel of Dharma thrice: 1 - noble truths at Sarnath deer park; 2 - perfection of wisdom; 3 - sutras of unraveling intent (samdhinirmocana - explanation of profound secrets). Madhyamaka wanting primacy, held this to be 3rd turn. Yogacara wanting primacy held this to be still provisional, and perfection of wisdom to be the definitive.
Especially problematic question of authoritativeness of texts in East Asia, where sutras came haphazard and needed to be categorized, dated. Kiikai in Japan made 10 stages of spiritual development from goat-like 1st stage through to Confucian, Daoist, then Srivika, Prayekabuddha, Mahayana, Yogacara, Madhyamaka etc and highest stage was his own school.
Abhidharma schools like Sarvastivadas (everything exists) and sautrantikas (followers of sutras) debating nature of concepts. For instance, unlike unconditioned permanent things like space, nirvana, all others are impermanent thus have 4 characteristics: production, abiding, aging, and disintegration. But isn’t ‘abiding’ counter to impermanence?
Production - pulls an entity out of the future to enter the present: actualization of potential. The oak tree a seed, you in an embryo. But which you is you? The you at death? The you at physical maturity/peak? That represents the transition from abiding to aging. Vasubandhu rejects these 4 as characteristics, merely descriptions of processes of any conditioned being.
Hotoke - Japanese word for ‘buddha’ and ‘dead person’. Deceased categorized into near-dead (relatives dead <33yrs) and distant-dead (ancestral collective).
Buddhaghosa’s 8 contemplations of death: 1. Death as murderer, comes swipes you 2. As ruin of all you have built/accumulated 3. As that which connects you with all great men who have died before you 4. As death of your constituents, and life of that within you that doesn’t die, like bacteria 5. Tenuous nature of life, all things need to be working perfectly, breath, temperature, physical elements etc 6. Uncertainty - no exact next moment can be identified as death 7. Limited time of life 8. Shortness of the moment, life as series of moments of consciousness
7-fold adherence: 1. Obeisance - believe in that which is greater than you. 2. Offerings for 5 senses - the primary pleasures are all subordinated to that which is greater, the pursuit for the objects of pleasure are expressly in service of something more than just the temporary enjoyment of pleasure, thus you can sublimate desire rather than demonize it. 3. Penitence for all your negative karma - the first part of the pursuit of perfection is to recognize and isolate that which needs subtraction 4. Admiration for the positive karma you see in the world - the second part of the pursuit of perfection is to recognize and isolate that which needs addition. 5. Invite the Buddha to stay and not retreat into nirvana 6. Ask the Buddha to teach the Dharma. 7. Commit the purpose of your learning of the Dharma to the liberation of all sentient beings.
Why Mahayana is later than other schools - it takes that much time to establish the perfect wisdom of Buddha and then ask the inevitable question: what sets him apart from the gods of other religions, and the spiritual masters many of whom have undeniably reached the same state of enlightenment? Like accelerating galaxies, the farther you get from the high-gravity center of the body, the faster you’re traveling away. That means the path to enlightenment flings you out from the rest of the world, so all the spiritual masters simply become as gods to us. One galaxy though resists the centrifugal force, and instead uses the momentum to pull the galactic center itself towards enlightenment. The perfection of all living things. A supreme act of will.
The body-mind as two sticks, rub together to produce a flame, wisdom, that then proceeds to consume the sticks.
Buddha simply shows a flower, and only Mahakasyapa gets it, birth of Chan in China, Son in Korea, Zen in Japan, all from Dhyan in Sanskrit, for that teaching which is beyond words. Kung-an as small poems in China, Koans in Japan. The monk’s ability judged on how he is able to comment and interpret koans.
The Buddha appears only when his wisdom disappears from the world, so Sakyamuni came, and when his teachings are gone then Maitreya will come.
In this degenerate time (started 1050AD) that lacks the intelligence or discipline to get onto the path, the only hope is to meditate on Amitabha (infinite light), or Pure Land method. Manifest, intone and invoke.
Notes
Ariel and Rapunzel - the cloistering mother, here becomes the neurotic father - Siddhartha’s birth has 7 seers saying either great king or great sage, with 1 saying only great sage. The answer: if renunciates follow from deep spiritual malaise, then protect from all hardship. But not simply pain and suffering but a very specific form of hardship (in sequence he wakes up to disease - old age - death) - enforced impermanence.
Trippy metaphorical attacks of Mara during Buddha’s pre-enlightenment askesis have a sequence and structure that perfectly mirror the barriers to samadhi laid out by Patanjali.
Samas fail: Noble truths - aryasatyani. Truths of the arya - The truths aren’t themselves noble, but that which is known by noble people.
Mahayana as a minority despite dominating the quantity of text. Hinayana as a pejorative used (lesser) against the rival factions. More a generic insult, and doesn’t really correspond to anything today, especially not Theravada.
Bodhisattva - the past life of a future Buddha. Reinterpret Mahayana’s goal of liberation of all beings: pull your past-life into the vortex (entering the stream), that pulls previous etc etc. Now connect laterally the net, pulling all beings not as an objective but as an inevitability.
Finite number of beings (further reducible backwards later) manifesting in infinite number of forms across space and time. That means every single possible combination of patterns between beings has manifested. Sariputra looks at mother eating pork, beating dog, feeding child with tears because he can see - in past lives pig and dog were parents and baby was murderer of those parents.
Compassion: when someone hits with a stick, not angry at the instrument (stick) but the actor. But the actor is himself an instrument to his anger. So your anger is directed at anger itself, resulting in compassion.
6 Perfections - giving, ethics (vow), patience, effort, concentration and wisdom. But there are 36 meta-perfections - giving of giving, giving of ethics, effort of wisdom etc.
Buddha Nature Tathagatagarbha like gold at the bottom of a cesspool. 4 types of seed - Enter Hinayana, perfection of Sravaka, Nirvana without Remainder; Enter Hinayana, perfection of pratyekabuddha, Nirvana without Remainder; Enter Mahayana, Bodhisattva; Icchantika, slave to desire, doomed to Samsara. But how does this reconcile with Mahayana?
Madhyamaka exegetes view of Buddha Nature as emptiness of mind, foundation consciousness. Buddha speaks based on listener, so instead of scary nihilism of emptiness, substantiates it as a tathagathagarbha.
3 Jewels - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Buddha shows where to find refuge from suffering, undeniable proof of the truth of both suffering and refuge, the way no god can prove. That refuge is Dharma, teaching/doctrine/law/path.
Realized Dharma vs Written Dharma. Since latter compiled many centuries after Buddha, never certain what is authoritative. Fantastical Mahayana sutras vs Pali canon (Theravada holds this to be authoritative).
Buddha to Ananda while dying, appoints no successor - now all I have taught, dharma and vinaya, are your next teacher. The first jewel, Buddha, having demonstrated the existence of the truth, is fully subordinated into the dharma, the truth itself.
Ananda could recite 60,000 words and 15000 stanzas of Buddha’s words without missing a syllable. But he’s an exception. So to preserve the teachings, the sangha is formed, reciters of the discourse.
Dharma - sutras organized by length (long, medium, grouped sutras, and enumerated sutras which talk about pairs, 3, 4 etc to 11). Vinaya - rules of monastic discipline. Abhidharma - analysis and commentary on dharma. Compare with Vedas, Brahamanas and Upanishads.
Sinhalese reign of Varragamani Abhaya, arhats start writing words down that has so far been optimized for oral transmission using same rules as Vedas - redundancy, versification and organization by length.
Definitive knowledge vs provisional knowledge: Turning of wheel of Dharma thrice: 1 - noble truths at Sarnath deer park; 2 - perfection of wisdom; 3 - sutras of unraveling intent (samdhinirmocana - explanation of profound secrets). Madhyamaka wanting primacy, held this to be 3rd turn. Yogacara wanting primacy held this to be still provisional, and perfection of wisdom to be the definitive.
Especially problematic question of authoritativeness of texts in East Asia, where sutras came haphazard and needed to be categorized, dated. Kiikai in Japan made 10 stages of spiritual development from goat-like 1st stage through to Confucian, Daoist, then Srivika, Prayekabuddha, Mahayana, Yogacara, Madhyamaka etc and highest stage was his own school.
Abhidharma schools like Sarvastivadas (everything exists) and sautrantikas (followers of sutras) debating nature of concepts. For instance, unlike unconditioned permanent things like space, nirvana, all others are impermanent thus have 4 characteristics: production, abiding, aging, and disintegration. But isn’t ‘abiding’ counter to impermanence?
Production - pulls an entity out of the future to enter the present: actualization of potential. The oak tree a seed, you in an embryo. But which you is you? The you at death? The you at physical maturity/peak? That represents the transition from abiding to aging. Vasubandhu rejects these 4 as characteristics, merely descriptions of processes of any conditioned being.
Hotoke - Japanese word for ‘buddha’ and ‘dead person’. Deceased categorized into near-dead (relatives dead <33yrs) and distant-dead (ancestral collective).
Buddhaghosa’s 8 contemplations of death: 1. Death as murderer, comes swipes you 2. As ruin of all you have built/accumulated 3. As that which connects you with all great men who have died before you 4. As death of your constituents, and life of that within you that doesn’t die, like bacteria 5. Tenuous nature of life, all things need to be working perfectly, breath, temperature, physical elements etc 6. Uncertainty - no exact next moment can be identified as death 7. Limited time of life 8. Shortness of the moment, life as series of moments of consciousness
7-fold adherence: 1. Obeisance - believe in that which is greater than you. 2. Offerings for 5 senses - the primary pleasures are all subordinated to that which is greater, the pursuit for the objects of pleasure are expressly in service of something more than just the temporary enjoyment of pleasure, thus you can sublimate desire rather than demonize it. 3. Penitence for all your negative karma - the first part of the pursuit of perfection is to recognize and isolate that which needs subtraction 4. Admiration for the positive karma you see in the world - the second part of the pursuit of perfection is to recognize and isolate that which needs addition. 5. Invite the Buddha to stay and not retreat into nirvana 6. Ask the Buddha to teach the Dharma. 7. Commit the purpose of your learning of the Dharma to the liberation of all sentient beings.
Why Mahayana is later than other schools - it takes that much time to establish the perfect wisdom of Buddha and then ask the inevitable question: what sets him apart from the gods of other religions, and the spiritual masters many of whom have undeniably reached the same state of enlightenment? Like accelerating galaxies, the farther you get from the high-gravity center of the body, the faster you’re traveling away. That means the path to enlightenment flings you out from the rest of the world, so all the spiritual masters simply become as gods to us. One galaxy though resists the centrifugal force, and instead uses the momentum to pull the galactic center itself towards enlightenment. The perfection of all living things. A supreme act of will.
The body-mind as two sticks, rub together to produce a flame, wisdom, that then proceeds to consume the sticks.
Buddha simply shows a flower, and only Mahakasyapa gets it, birth of Chan in China, Son in Korea, Zen in Japan, all from Dhyan in Sanskrit, for that teaching which is beyond words. Kung-an as small poems in China, Koans in Japan. The monk’s ability judged on how he is able to comment and interpret koans.
The Buddha appears only when his wisdom disappears from the world, so Sakyamuni came, and when his teachings are gone then Maitreya will come.
In this degenerate time (started 1050AD) that lacks the intelligence or discipline to get onto the path, the only hope is to meditate on Amitabha (infinite light), or Pure Land method. Manifest, intone and invoke.
September 29, 2007
Incredibly well-written, well-researched, and thorough - a highly accessible book that anyone curious about Buddhism should read.
February 7, 2022
Meh. Buddha knows why I decided to buy this book, when there are dozens of books on Buddhism that have been recommended to me through reliable sources, but I did want something that wasn't delving too deep, something that would fill in some of my basic gaps in the history and language. I don't know if this really did that, though perhaps it does fulfill its own purpose. What it did do was remind me that Buddhism can be just as messed up as any religion, that no one really agrees on more than a few things that the Buddha said or believed, and that culture has at least as much influence on a religion as the spiritual founder.
I suppose the good part of all that is to reaffirm that I'm not a religious Buddhist and not ready to move in that direction, and that it doesn't really matter what Gautama Buddha did or didn't say - we can pull so much good, such deep wisdom and philosophy and action out of it, regardless of the "authenticity" of our evolving dharma.
I suppose the good part of all that is to reaffirm that I'm not a religious Buddhist and not ready to move in that direction, and that it doesn't really matter what Gautama Buddha did or didn't say - we can pull so much good, such deep wisdom and philosophy and action out of it, regardless of the "authenticity" of our evolving dharma.
July 8, 2026
This is an excellent overview of the philosophy of Buddhism, for the lay reader. It explains the history of India at the time of the Buddha's life. It tells of his life. Then, it describes the spiritual philosophy which evolved from his sayings. Finally, it describes the cultural changes which evolved as Buddhism spread throughout Southeastern Asia and then the world. Some is obscure philosophy, but most of the book is straightforward information.
September 27, 2023
It's a really good guide about the history of Buddhism and explains a lot about Buddha, Dharma, Nirvana etc. However, it was pretty dense and a bit hard to read. I also really liked all the anecdotes in the story..
Read
May 12, 2026This book was disillusioning (in good Buddhist fashion). Buddhism is not, as I had thought and hoped, a path to happiness through meditation, but rather a religion, with all the magical and fantastical thinking that characterizes religions.
November 15, 2018
Muy completo, excelente redacción y abundantes libros recomendados sobre los temas tratados.
December 26, 2020
a most convoluted history with many parallels with the development of christian theology. In some regards though a very ritualistic religion. How can anyone keeps all the rules straight?
November 17, 2021
A great introduction to Buddhism, but found some language questionable. 3.5 stars for an easy and interesting read! ⭐
June 28, 2022
I am not an expert on Buddhism and would like to note that this review is coming from the perspective of an intellectual novice on Buddhism. Of all the books I have read with relation to Buddhism this is one of those books that breaks down the practices in more depth. Rather than coming from a place of purely philosophical observation Lopez provided insight into some more rigid practices and views that do come out of Buddhism and what it means to be an active and devout Buddhist. I enjoyed reading his account on the history. It is a complimentary counterpart to having read Ocean, which focuses on teaching the "how to's" of Buddhism where as Lopez is educating the reader on the "what" and "why's".
May 25, 2015
As this book says, there are four main concepts in Buddhism: 1- Life equals suffering; 2- This suffering is caused by misconducts in our past lives (karma), and we are trapped in a the cycle of rebirth; 3- There is an escape from rebirth, called Nirvana; 4- Buddhism can lead us to that scape, through meditation and understanding that there is no self (i.e. we do not exist).
There is also a shitload of local superstitions for each region of the Buddhist world.
One of my problems with Buddhism is the self-contradictory ideas of rebirth and no-self. If we do not really exist even in our current life, then who is the person who is experiencing the rebirth, and why do we suffer for what that imaginary person did in a another life?
The idea of rebirth is very fundamental to the Buddhist philosophy, because if there is no rebirth, the most rational solution to the problem of suffering would be suicide, and this act is not recommended by this philosophy.
Another discouraging fact about Buddhism is that it aspires to deaden our feelings. An ideal Buddhist is freed from feelings like happiness, sorrow, love, anger, and so on. Well, as I believe that I am going to live only once, I prefer to fully experience my life and savor the beautiful emotions that are available to me.
About the book:
'The Story of Buddhism' was not supposed to be a reference book and it just wanted to provide a deep report on the development and practice of Buddhism throughout Asia. It was full of stories and detailed description of stupid acts and rituals performed by Buddhists. It became a little boring toward the end of the book, and I skipped some passages.
Overall, the book helped me to correct my previous fantasies about Buddhism, and it showed me its true face as another testimony of the stupidity of our ancestors.
There is also a shitload of local superstitions for each region of the Buddhist world.
One of my problems with Buddhism is the self-contradictory ideas of rebirth and no-self. If we do not really exist even in our current life, then who is the person who is experiencing the rebirth, and why do we suffer for what that imaginary person did in a another life?
The idea of rebirth is very fundamental to the Buddhist philosophy, because if there is no rebirth, the most rational solution to the problem of suffering would be suicide, and this act is not recommended by this philosophy.
Another discouraging fact about Buddhism is that it aspires to deaden our feelings. An ideal Buddhist is freed from feelings like happiness, sorrow, love, anger, and so on. Well, as I believe that I am going to live only once, I prefer to fully experience my life and savor the beautiful emotions that are available to me.
About the book:
'The Story of Buddhism' was not supposed to be a reference book and it just wanted to provide a deep report on the development and practice of Buddhism throughout Asia. It was full of stories and detailed description of stupid acts and rituals performed by Buddhists. It became a little boring toward the end of the book, and I skipped some passages.
Overall, the book helped me to correct my previous fantasies about Buddhism, and it showed me its true face as another testimony of the stupidity of our ancestors.
August 18, 2014
I have no idea where I bought this book, nor if there are better sources on Buddhism out there...but I found this book very readable (dense but useful), dissecting all the various types/countries of Buddhism, and tracing the history of The Buddha, The Dharma, rituals of monastic life, lay practice, and achieving enlightenment. My interest is Japanese Buddhism, the Kannon Bodhisattva and trying to understand how it was brought to Japan and the United States, This book answers these questions very well. It also answers questions about karma, tantric practices, sutras, pilgrimages, nuns v. priests, death, and how the religion has developed over 2500+ years-- when Buddhists were illiterate to now. Each chapter includes a suggested reading list, and there is a bibliography of 100+ works for more reading. Thank you Mr. Lopez!
July 23, 2010
A good survey of Buddhist practices, history and major texts, which means that it's not for everyone. Others might not care about the differences between the numerous sutras, and the odd doctrinal quarrels of Hiniyana sects. Having dabbled in Buddhism for years, I found it well presented and provocative in presenting Buddhism as a dis-unified set of traditions. Sections on what Buddhism means for ordinary people are also worthwhile.
On subjects of interest, I like to switch between general works like this and others that are more specialized. Lopez's book is just the sort of work I enjoy for that macrocosmic perspective. Makes me want to go and read the Diamond, Heart and Lotus sutras and commentaries.
On subjects of interest, I like to switch between general works like this and others that are more specialized. Lopez's book is just the sort of work I enjoy for that macrocosmic perspective. Makes me want to go and read the Diamond, Heart and Lotus sutras and commentaries.
December 11, 2007
This is the best introduction to Buddhism out there. Lopez manages to approach the controversial topic of the origins of Buddhism with the same critical lense that he uses in all of his work, but at the same time writes in a way that feels like a friendly monk telling you the story by candlelight. I recommend this for anyone who wants an introduction to Buddhism that doesn't take any particular view of the Buddha at face value
May 7, 2012
The author does a good job with his subject, including differentiating among the various Buddhist traditions. His style is occasionally dense, but that's probably to be expected in any discussion of some of the more esoteric topics--no-self, for instance. The book is for a reader who is serious about understanding the history and key concepts of Buddhism, not for someone with only a passing interest.
May 18, 2013
Excellent account of Buddhist practice, with a critical treatment of doctrinal history. Needed more on contemporary Buddhists, Zen, interactions with other traditions, and missionary spread. Strong Mahayana and tantric focus to detriment of Theravada. Insufficient treatment of ethics, even for an introduction.
November 28, 2013
This book presents a coherent introduction to Buddhism and its schools and practices in Asia. At times it generalises and lacks nuance, and it is completely out of date (or dismissive) with regard to the study of women in Buddhism and feminist scholarship. I would recommend this book, but only alongside a supplementary text.
August 30, 2016
I really liked how this book exhibited the differences within Buddhism from country to country, and even speculated about how these could have been born. It was a very intriguing way to read the history of Buddhism and I would certainly recommend this book to others who wish to comprehend Buddhism, and a great reminder that we are still trying to comprehend it.
January 1, 2017
Lopez's work provides insight into the history and meaning behind many practices of many sects of Buddhism. I feel like I understand a lot more about Buddhists than I did before, but I do not yet know enough about the specific sects to pick one for myself.
March 5, 2007
Good overview of the history of Buddhism. Presents its origins in an interesting, story-like format which keeps your attention.
October 12, 2009
I am reading this book for my Buddhist Arts of Asia class, I shall report back when I am done.
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