Modern Buddhism: Readings for the Unenlightened

by Donald S. Lopez Jr.

In the 20th & now the 21st century, the world has increasingly embraced the teachings of Buddhism, esp. in the West. It deeply influenced the Beat writers & the counter-culture of the 1960s. But how different is this modern form of Buddhism from the ancient faith that originated over 2 millennia ago? Forging a universal doctrine from the divergent traditions of China, Sri Lanka, Japan, Burma, Thailand & Tibet, the makers of the most modern Buddhism in fact look back to the most ancient. Modern Buddhism is for them a homeward journey to the original vision of Buddha himself. Putting more stress on meditation & spirituality than on ritual & relics, it embraces the ordination of women & values of science, social justice, tolerance & individual freedom.

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Donald 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.

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to read snapshots of different Buddhists points of view, most I hate to say are pretty dull, there's a few beautiful enlightened points of view

[Holly Bik · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting - it's more of a scholarly collection of writings, from historically relevant figures who influenced the spread of Buddhism in the West. They might be interesting from an academic perspective, but as a lay reader I was pretty bored through most of the book (some of the early 20th century writings are pretty esoteric). A few writings stood out towards the end, but these were from people I already knew to have good insights and metaphors on Buddhism.