Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism

by D.T. Suzuki

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Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Nonfiction, Zen

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1908

About the author

Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (鈴木 大拙 貞太郎 Suzuki Daisetsu Teitarō; rendered "Daisetz" after 1893) was Professor of Buddhist philosophies at Ōtani University. As a translator and writer on Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, he greatly helped to popularize Japanese Zen in the West.

Reviews

[Nuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

turned up @ home one day, coverless, origins unknown.

Very pleasant surprise.
Was worried it'd be one of those books (vast majority in religion/spirituality realm) for which the reader either drinks the kool-aid during initial chapters, or else hates/loses the book.

My prior familiarity w/ Buddhism was preliminary, so wouldn't be able to assess the rigor of Suzuki's interpretation of Mahayana B.; yet I was pleasantly surprised by Suzuki's obvious proficiency in Western humanities; he can singlehandedly draw parallels/contratsts with the history of Western philosophy, or refer to contemporary (humanities) books; it is a cringe-free read for people like me with humanities background.

[Holybooks.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical description of Buddhism, and how the religion has organized itself into many branches. It is said that just a few hundred years after the demise of the Buddha, there were more than twenty different schools. However, two main schools seem to have been dominant: Mahayana and Hinayana (since 1950 the World Fellowship of Buddhists declared “Theravada” should be used instead of Hinayana).
https://www.holybooks.com/outlines-of...

[mercy · Rating 4 out of 5]

On top of its excellent organization and exposition of significant Mahayana philosophies, this book excellently counters the common misunderstandings of eternalism and annihilationism that come from the principles of anatta and nirvana.

Very suitable for the beginner looking to bridge towards more complicated sutras.