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Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations
Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread to Central Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Japan and other countries of East Asia. In Tibet and East Asia, Mahayana eventually became the prevalent form of Buddhism. Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably over the last twenty-five years, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and also in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and r augThis book aims to provide in one volume an up-to-date and accurate account of the principles of Mahayana Buddhism as they are found in both the Indo-Tibetan and East Asian forms of Mahayana. It seeks to introduce and reflect some of the recent scholarly work in the field, and in particular the book is concerned to convey the diversity and richness of Mahayana Buddhism, a diversity which prevents any attempt at simple definition.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Paul Williams
25 books7 followersPaul Williams is Professor of Indian and Tibetan Philosophy and Co-Director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol. He is a former President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies. Among his other books for Routledge is Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition (2000).
Williams was a Buddhist himself for many years but has since converted to Roman Catholicism, an experience he wrote about in his book The Unexpected Way, and in an article, "On converting from Buddhism to Catholicism – One convert's story." He is now a professed lay member of the Dominican Order.
Williams was a Buddhist himself for many years but has since converted to Roman Catholicism, an experience he wrote about in his book The Unexpected Way, and in an article, "On converting from Buddhism to Catholicism – One convert's story." He is now a professed lay member of the Dominican Order.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 24, 2011
As the back of the book will tell you, the 1989 publication of this work’s first edition made quite a stir and, I quote, “It is still unrivalled.” Indeed, it has become a foundational text for courses on Mahayana Buddhism at the university level, and since almost two decades of burgeoning scholarship in the field had passed, a second edition was considered necessary.
I can say this much: it is quite a book. If you are smitten with a lust for all things Mahayana—its history, people, practices, and philosophies—look no further. In fact, this book may even cure you of your unwholesome desires. What I mean is that the page count does not give you any idea of what you’re getting into.
By the numbers: 438 total pages; 266 pages of main text; 122 pages of end notes; 32 pages of bibliography. You can do the math for the rest. Every page is dense with names, dates, terms, unpronounceable sutra titles (if you can actually say Bodhisattvagocaropayavishayavikurvananirdesha Sutra you must already be enlightened) and who knows what else. And just look at the notes to main text pages ratio: 0.46! I scrounged around my shelves, where I have a great many scholarly books on a wide array of topics, but could find nothing comparable. Even Bhikkhu Bodhi’s monumental translation of the Samyutta Nikaya clocked in at an anemic 0.25. Usually I’m an assiduous reader of notes (though I confess to loathing endnotes—why oh why did the publishing industry quit on footnotes??), but this time I just gave up. Many of the end notes are so lengthy by the time you finish one you’ve forgotten where you were on the main page. All of which leads me to my chief complaint about Williams’ opus:
Loss of control.
Sometimes you want to lose control (think sex—especially if you’re a woman). But when you’re writing something touted as a textbook—and an intro textbook to boot—you want to be measured in just how much data you dump on your audience. One hundred twenty-two pages of endnotes are not only unhelpful, they're positively sadistic—or self-indulgent, which in this case comes to the same thing. Let me put this in perspective: I have a fair education in Buddhist literature under my belt. I’m not as deeply read as most scholars, but I would wager I understand a few things as well as anyone. I will admit though I began to get dizzy in places as I read this book (lack of oxygen?), and resorted to skipping to those areas where I felt greater interest and surer footing. So…reader beware: you are in for a sensory overload with this one; bring the Dramamine. I’ll now return to my ordinarily more professional reviewing style.
Williams starts with an introduction the likes of which I’ve never seen. Introductions are usually, well, introductory, but by page 17 (it goes on for 44 pages) he was already enumerating the numbers and types of dhammas according to the Abhidhamma classification scheme! Needless to say, this sort of material is not ordinarily considered introductory. At times I wondered if I’d somehow skipped into the first chapter and missed something, but no…on checking I found I was still in the introduction. I think this is where I started to get worried.
To sum up the above complaint and how it affects the text as a whole: it appears Williams felt compelled to put everything he knew into this book, not to mention the obscure article he read the night before. He mixes social history, philosophy, biographies, the history of specific texts and schools, all in a jumble. (See, e.g., p. 67, where a chart would have been so much more helpful.) You can’t write a book in this fashion; or at least, I advise against it. Different areas need to be kept separate, or integrated with great care, but that is clearly not what happened. In other words, I don’t suggest discussing a sutra’s history and provenance, its philosophy, the school that formed around it, and its effects on later readers and its place in the grand scheme of things all on the same page. It’s just too much. But this is really the best way to characterize how Williams has gone about summarizing fifteen hundred years of Mahayana doctrinal history. Like I said, “loss of control”…
The upside of this avalanche of information is that there’s something for everyone. And if you need the latest scholarly speculation on this text or that school, chances are you’ll find it in here (somewhere). So this is the other edge of the sword—an abundance of fact and insight (yes, Professor Williams has carefully and intelligently considered his material) that is there if you have the patience and fortitude to dig it out. I’ll offer a random list of what were, for me, eye opening or especially intriguing passages:
-Page 43 on how the Mahayana began to develop a separate identity vis-à-vis “mainstream” Buddhism;
-Pages 48-9 on Conze’s outline of Mahayana intellectual history;
-Pages 60-1 on some of the internal logical inconsistencies besetting Mahayana Buddhology (authors rarely think out loud like this—I found the honesty refreshing);
-Pages 68-9 make clear the meaning of svabhava;
-Pages 71-2 indicated to me that Nagarjuna was first and foremost a deconstructionist, not a nihilist as opponents have charged;
-Page 74 reassured me that Nagarjuna did not abrogate the teaching of anatta;
-Pages 108ff suggested where notions of a True Self in Buddhism came from;
-Pages 122ff on the debate over not-self in Thai Buddhism was fascinating, something I was previously unaware of;
-Pages 132ff are a wonderful discussion of the Avatamsaka Sutra, the most profound if not most influential of Mahayana scriptures;
Chapter seven on the Lotus Sutra reminded me many times over why I so detest this particular scripture;
-Page 184 has an excellent chart on the three bodies of the Buddha;
-Chapter nine on the bodhisattva was at once inspiring and comical (on account of all the contradictions found in the texts);
-Chapter ten offers a detailed who’s who of bodhisattvas and buddhas for all you folks out there who can’t figure out which statue is for whom and why.
And that about does it. As I said, not only will you be punished in the course of this text, you will be rewarded as well. There is a lot of pleasure and pain to go around.
I can say this much: it is quite a book. If you are smitten with a lust for all things Mahayana—its history, people, practices, and philosophies—look no further. In fact, this book may even cure you of your unwholesome desires. What I mean is that the page count does not give you any idea of what you’re getting into.
By the numbers: 438 total pages; 266 pages of main text; 122 pages of end notes; 32 pages of bibliography. You can do the math for the rest. Every page is dense with names, dates, terms, unpronounceable sutra titles (if you can actually say Bodhisattvagocaropayavishayavikurvananirdesha Sutra you must already be enlightened) and who knows what else. And just look at the notes to main text pages ratio: 0.46! I scrounged around my shelves, where I have a great many scholarly books on a wide array of topics, but could find nothing comparable. Even Bhikkhu Bodhi’s monumental translation of the Samyutta Nikaya clocked in at an anemic 0.25. Usually I’m an assiduous reader of notes (though I confess to loathing endnotes—why oh why did the publishing industry quit on footnotes??), but this time I just gave up. Many of the end notes are so lengthy by the time you finish one you’ve forgotten where you were on the main page. All of which leads me to my chief complaint about Williams’ opus:
Loss of control.
Sometimes you want to lose control (think sex—especially if you’re a woman). But when you’re writing something touted as a textbook—and an intro textbook to boot—you want to be measured in just how much data you dump on your audience. One hundred twenty-two pages of endnotes are not only unhelpful, they're positively sadistic—or self-indulgent, which in this case comes to the same thing. Let me put this in perspective: I have a fair education in Buddhist literature under my belt. I’m not as deeply read as most scholars, but I would wager I understand a few things as well as anyone. I will admit though I began to get dizzy in places as I read this book (lack of oxygen?), and resorted to skipping to those areas where I felt greater interest and surer footing. So…reader beware: you are in for a sensory overload with this one; bring the Dramamine. I’ll now return to my ordinarily more professional reviewing style.
Williams starts with an introduction the likes of which I’ve never seen. Introductions are usually, well, introductory, but by page 17 (it goes on for 44 pages) he was already enumerating the numbers and types of dhammas according to the Abhidhamma classification scheme! Needless to say, this sort of material is not ordinarily considered introductory. At times I wondered if I’d somehow skipped into the first chapter and missed something, but no…on checking I found I was still in the introduction. I think this is where I started to get worried.
To sum up the above complaint and how it affects the text as a whole: it appears Williams felt compelled to put everything he knew into this book, not to mention the obscure article he read the night before. He mixes social history, philosophy, biographies, the history of specific texts and schools, all in a jumble. (See, e.g., p. 67, where a chart would have been so much more helpful.) You can’t write a book in this fashion; or at least, I advise against it. Different areas need to be kept separate, or integrated with great care, but that is clearly not what happened. In other words, I don’t suggest discussing a sutra’s history and provenance, its philosophy, the school that formed around it, and its effects on later readers and its place in the grand scheme of things all on the same page. It’s just too much. But this is really the best way to characterize how Williams has gone about summarizing fifteen hundred years of Mahayana doctrinal history. Like I said, “loss of control”…
The upside of this avalanche of information is that there’s something for everyone. And if you need the latest scholarly speculation on this text or that school, chances are you’ll find it in here (somewhere). So this is the other edge of the sword—an abundance of fact and insight (yes, Professor Williams has carefully and intelligently considered his material) that is there if you have the patience and fortitude to dig it out. I’ll offer a random list of what were, for me, eye opening or especially intriguing passages:
-Page 43 on how the Mahayana began to develop a separate identity vis-à-vis “mainstream” Buddhism;
-Pages 48-9 on Conze’s outline of Mahayana intellectual history;
-Pages 60-1 on some of the internal logical inconsistencies besetting Mahayana Buddhology (authors rarely think out loud like this—I found the honesty refreshing);
-Pages 68-9 make clear the meaning of svabhava;
-Pages 71-2 indicated to me that Nagarjuna was first and foremost a deconstructionist, not a nihilist as opponents have charged;
-Page 74 reassured me that Nagarjuna did not abrogate the teaching of anatta;
-Pages 108ff suggested where notions of a True Self in Buddhism came from;
-Pages 122ff on the debate over not-self in Thai Buddhism was fascinating, something I was previously unaware of;
-Pages 132ff are a wonderful discussion of the Avatamsaka Sutra, the most profound if not most influential of Mahayana scriptures;
Chapter seven on the Lotus Sutra reminded me many times over why I so detest this particular scripture;
-Page 184 has an excellent chart on the three bodies of the Buddha;
-Chapter nine on the bodhisattva was at once inspiring and comical (on account of all the contradictions found in the texts);
-Chapter ten offers a detailed who’s who of bodhisattvas and buddhas for all you folks out there who can’t figure out which statue is for whom and why.
And that about does it. As I said, not only will you be punished in the course of this text, you will be rewarded as well. There is a lot of pleasure and pain to go around.
January 28, 2023
if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com
230122: very good. very extensive. I wrote review on The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Football that suggested it had everything you need to know about football (soccer), and everything you do not need to know. this book is kind of like that. as my interest in buddhism is primarily philosophical I did not need to follow names, only major names read before ie. Nagarjuna, or anything but major sutra titles ie. Lotus Sutra. on the other had, this book does demonstrate the title of the first chapter: doctrinal diversity and (some) moral unity...
this is not where to start learning buddhism: it helps to have an idea where you are, what are common disputes, what are major themes, when did various events occur etc. it is generally assumed you know basic metaphysics of buddhism, as they will be discussed, everything from four noble truths to the eightfold path. voice is academic but not intimidating. only the last quarter is clearly religious, most is that difficult (to westerners) syncretism of philosophy, psychology, and religion... probably very good as study text in university...
230122: very good. very extensive. I wrote review on The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Football that suggested it had everything you need to know about football (soccer), and everything you do not need to know. this book is kind of like that. as my interest in buddhism is primarily philosophical I did not need to follow names, only major names read before ie. Nagarjuna, or anything but major sutra titles ie. Lotus Sutra. on the other had, this book does demonstrate the title of the first chapter: doctrinal diversity and (some) moral unity...
this is not where to start learning buddhism: it helps to have an idea where you are, what are common disputes, what are major themes, when did various events occur etc. it is generally assumed you know basic metaphysics of buddhism, as they will be discussed, everything from four noble truths to the eightfold path. voice is academic but not intimidating. only the last quarter is clearly religious, most is that difficult (to westerners) syncretism of philosophy, psychology, and religion... probably very good as study text in university...
September 6, 2009
My goal was to get a general overview of Mahayana Buddhism, and at first I thought this book was not for me. In fact there are several aspects to the book that I found disturbing:
1. The author, Paul Williams, writes in a cautious, academic style. Almost every sentence is filled with extra clauses that qualify his assertions or otherwise make comments on what is being said.
2. Overall, Williams’s focus is on the philology of the sacred texts. How authentic was the attributed authorship, what editorial changes were made, how accurately were the various editions translated into other languages, etc.
3. There are almost 150 pages of lengthy endnotes which are even more academic than the text. One is tempted to read them, because they include more background information, but these represent further distractions from the general narrative.
4. I understand that Williams, converted from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism sometime between the first and second editions. This was a concern, because it suggested that Williams had lost interest in the fundamental messages of Buddhism.
So you may be surprised that I heartily recommend this book, anyway, and rate it at five stars. Williams’s careful academic style turns out to be just right, after all. There are all sorts of subtleties in connection with the evolution of Buddhist thought, and Williams elucidates these subtleties very well. It turns out to be well worth the effort to wade through his exposition and follow the various developments that he charts. Certainly his expertise in this area is impressive.
Because of the complicated, nonlinear history of Buddhism, it’s difficult to put it all into a single narrative thread. Now that I have read it all, I intend to read it all over again, because the next time I will have the fuller context in my head as I read the opening chapters. This book is not a quick, casual read, but it is definitely rewarding.
1. The author, Paul Williams, writes in a cautious, academic style. Almost every sentence is filled with extra clauses that qualify his assertions or otherwise make comments on what is being said.
2. Overall, Williams’s focus is on the philology of the sacred texts. How authentic was the attributed authorship, what editorial changes were made, how accurately were the various editions translated into other languages, etc.
3. There are almost 150 pages of lengthy endnotes which are even more academic than the text. One is tempted to read them, because they include more background information, but these represent further distractions from the general narrative.
4. I understand that Williams, converted from Buddhism to Roman Catholicism sometime between the first and second editions. This was a concern, because it suggested that Williams had lost interest in the fundamental messages of Buddhism.
So you may be surprised that I heartily recommend this book, anyway, and rate it at five stars. Williams’s careful academic style turns out to be just right, after all. There are all sorts of subtleties in connection with the evolution of Buddhist thought, and Williams elucidates these subtleties very well. It turns out to be well worth the effort to wade through his exposition and follow the various developments that he charts. Certainly his expertise in this area is impressive.
Because of the complicated, nonlinear history of Buddhism, it’s difficult to put it all into a single narrative thread. Now that I have read it all, I intend to read it all over again, because the next time I will have the fuller context in my head as I read the opening chapters. This book is not a quick, casual read, but it is definitely rewarding.
May 27, 2012
Probabilmente il miglior testo sull'argomento mai pubblicato in italiano (e ovviamente scritto all'estero...).
Tra l'altro, anche se impegnativo, è scritto in maniera brillante, scorrevole e spesso assai piacevolmente ironica. Cosa rara per un saggio, specialmente quando non rinuncia, come questo, a essere tecnico.
Da leggere e rileggere
Tra l'altro, anche se impegnativo, è scritto in maniera brillante, scorrevole e spesso assai piacevolmente ironica. Cosa rara per un saggio, specialmente quando non rinuncia, come questo, a essere tecnico.
Da leggere e rileggere
October 3, 2014
At the moment it's the best book I've read about Mahayana Buddhism. It took a while because I read all the notes and tried to get a better picture of this religious phenomenon. Buy this book and read the notes, since a lot of interesting arguments, bibliography, reference and more are in these pages. A full 5 Stars !
May 4, 2024
"Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations" is an excellent overview of the teachings and historical development of the different schools of Mahayana Buddhism. It is however not an easy book to read if you don't have any introductory background on Buddhism first. Even the "Introduction" of the book wasn't introductory at all - it delved right into the subject, seemingly assuming a fair amount of background knowledge by the reader. The endnotes also make up nearly a full third of the book, making reading more difficult for those committed to reading the notes. Having read Peter Harvey's "An Introduction to Buddhism" just before this book, I found that I had to refer back to that book whenever I felt like an introduction/contextualization was missing.
Aside from the inability to introduce and (in part) to contextualize itself, this book really is extremely valuable in understanding the development of Mahayana Buddhism: it starts with the pre-Mahayana roots of Mahayana and the sutras and interpretations of sutras that gave rise to new doctrinal interpretations, moves onward to the explicitly Mahayana sutras such as the Wisdom/ Prajnaparamita sutras, and then reviews the Madhyamika, Yogacara, and Tathagatagarbha schools. After reviewing these schools - all of which originated in India - the book turns to varieties of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in and developed in East Asia: Chan/Zen, Huayan, Tiantai, and Tibetan Buddhism. The book also covers the particular influence of the Lotus Sutra on East Asian Buddhism and describes a selection of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas important in the history of Buddhism.
Recommended for the committed reader with a prior introduction to the different schools of Buddhism and an interest in delving deeper.
Aside from the inability to introduce and (in part) to contextualize itself, this book really is extremely valuable in understanding the development of Mahayana Buddhism: it starts with the pre-Mahayana roots of Mahayana and the sutras and interpretations of sutras that gave rise to new doctrinal interpretations, moves onward to the explicitly Mahayana sutras such as the Wisdom/ Prajnaparamita sutras, and then reviews the Madhyamika, Yogacara, and Tathagatagarbha schools. After reviewing these schools - all of which originated in India - the book turns to varieties of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in and developed in East Asia: Chan/Zen, Huayan, Tiantai, and Tibetan Buddhism. The book also covers the particular influence of the Lotus Sutra on East Asian Buddhism and describes a selection of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas important in the history of Buddhism.
Recommended for the committed reader with a prior introduction to the different schools of Buddhism and an interest in delving deeper.
October 29, 2024
Maybe I had the wrong expectations, but this book has left me quite disappointed. It devotes too little time to discuss ideological and philosophical matters and too much to describe historical events and the content of esoteric codices or to list names of monarchs, saints and spiritual leaders.
I found some parts from the beginning useful and, particularly, the explanation of the meaning of the golden lion's story (now I know I shouldn't devote too much time to the Huayan school). But the bulk of the study is too focused on scholarly matters that will be irrelevant for the layman (at least for this one). The structure doesn't even look like it makes sense: everything is put together in an unsystematic manner.
I was especially annoyed with two issues. First, although mentioned in passing, Wang Bi's philosophy is misrepresented (nonetheless, I can understand that this not the author's specialization). Second, certain heresies or, better, inconsistencies of East Asian 'Buddhism' regarding the original teachings of Gautama on topics such as the use of violence or the emptiness of things (at least humans) are brushed off as valid evolutions of the doctrine. I personally don't care about what people do or did with Gaurama's doctrine, but I don't think it's acceptable at all to present incaccuracy, hipocrisy and incoherence as tolerable, minor issues.
I found some parts from the beginning useful and, particularly, the explanation of the meaning of the golden lion's story (now I know I shouldn't devote too much time to the Huayan school). But the bulk of the study is too focused on scholarly matters that will be irrelevant for the layman (at least for this one). The structure doesn't even look like it makes sense: everything is put together in an unsystematic manner.
I was especially annoyed with two issues. First, although mentioned in passing, Wang Bi's philosophy is misrepresented (nonetheless, I can understand that this not the author's specialization). Second, certain heresies or, better, inconsistencies of East Asian 'Buddhism' regarding the original teachings of Gautama on topics such as the use of violence or the emptiness of things (at least humans) are brushed off as valid evolutions of the doctrine. I personally don't care about what people do or did with Gaurama's doctrine, but I don't think it's acceptable at all to present incaccuracy, hipocrisy and incoherence as tolerable, minor issues.
April 8, 2025
Historical and doctrinal explorations of different schools and Mahayana, like early Mahayana, Prajnaparamita, Yogacara, and Pure Land. It really helped my understanding of emptiness and tathagathagarba, as well as the interactions between the different schools. He gives a fair chance to all the different schools. Only a shame that there wasn't as much on Zen and tantra. Also at some point Western practices of Mahayana will need to be included.
Read
May 18, 2025This is what I'm looking for out of a summary text. Very focused on doctrine to the exclusion of much concern for real practice, but because of that it's both deep and broad, something I often miss sorely. Ironically talks little about Zen, the form of Mahayana that most Westerners know, but again, that leaves more focus for compelling doctrines like the Buddha-nature, Pure Lands, Buddha Bodies, etc.
October 2, 2019
Author has since become a Catholic Christian and repudiated his 'buddhism'. Save your money and read a library edition.
June 19, 2022
Molto dettagliato, sconsigliato ai principianti
April 27, 2023
Approfondito compendio delle maggiori scuole filosofiche Mahayana, spiegato in modo chiaro.
June 28, 2015
After a few years of practicing Buddhism and reading Dharma books, I read this as my first scholarly text and was very impressed by it. Certainly NOT an introduction for beginners, but Williams was careful to include just enough explanation to keep me reading without feeling a need to resort to Wikipedia. His footnotes (endnotes) are amazing -- the book proper is only 266 pages, followed by 121 pages of endnotes. I skipped most of these, but when I did dip into them, I wa even more impressed by Williams's unusual ability to stick to a central idea and successfully separate out the interesting surrounding ideas (which need not muddy up the main text).
I also appreciated his ability to steer clear of Western philosophy. He is presenting the history, central texts and teachings, and disputes of the Mahayana with well-focused discipline. He does this with clarity, occasional stunning insights, and sometimes even a touch of humor! (I especially like it when he refers to "old and basic" ideas of Buddhism; he seems to have a particularly good sense of his audience for this book.)
It's very nice to get a sense of how certain issues were divisive (or not) without being lost in excessive detail about each and every school's (or lineage's) take on the matter. That is not to say Williams is treating the subject superficially but rather another indication of his clear focus.
Don't consider this book if you know very little about Buddhism at present. But if you are well-grounded in the teachings and have some idea of the "place" of Mahayana, and you want to experience an academic approach to the subject, this book will not disappoint you.
I also appreciated his ability to steer clear of Western philosophy. He is presenting the history, central texts and teachings, and disputes of the Mahayana with well-focused discipline. He does this with clarity, occasional stunning insights, and sometimes even a touch of humor! (I especially like it when he refers to "old and basic" ideas of Buddhism; he seems to have a particularly good sense of his audience for this book.)
It's very nice to get a sense of how certain issues were divisive (or not) without being lost in excessive detail about each and every school's (or lineage's) take on the matter. That is not to say Williams is treating the subject superficially but rather another indication of his clear focus.
Don't consider this book if you know very little about Buddhism at present. But if you are well-grounded in the teachings and have some idea of the "place" of Mahayana, and you want to experience an academic approach to the subject, this book will not disappoint you.
June 19, 2021
Se trata posiblemente de la mejor introducción al budismo mahayana disponible. Eso sí, es una lectura que requiere de cierto conocimiento previo del budismo, por lo que no es recomendable si no te has expuesto al budismo hasta cierto punto sea mediante lecturas o práctica en la sangha.
A Paul Williams no le tiembla el pulso a la hora de penetrar con cierta profundidad en los principales debates que han tenido lugar en el seno del budismo mahayana durante unos 2.000 años. Las notas al pie, que superan las 100 páginas, son de obligatoria lectura si queremos introducirnos seriamente en los principales motivos del mahayana.
El autor consigue exitosamente plantear los principales debates y motivos del mahayana, que no son pocos, además de proporcionar la bibliografía esencial sobre todos y cada uno de los temas relevantes a nivel académico.
Paul Williams parece basarse en buena medida, para los capítulos relativos a la tradición indo-tibetana, en los grandes sistematizadores tibetanos, especialmente en el fundador de la tradición Gelug, Tsong Kha Pa.
Obviamente, y a pesar de la ambición y la exigente envergadura del libro, quedan temas importantes sin tratar, aunque no sin nombrar por encima. Por ejemplo la escuela de Dharmakirti apenas es despachada en un párrafo.
A pesar de esto, nos encontramos ante la mejor introducción al budismo mahayana que, como la sala central de un antiguo castillo gigantesco, nos permite hacernos una idea de la envergadura casi infinita de esta tradición milenaria, así como un lugar desde el que partir para explorar las zonas del castillo que más nos interesen.
A Paul Williams no le tiembla el pulso a la hora de penetrar con cierta profundidad en los principales debates que han tenido lugar en el seno del budismo mahayana durante unos 2.000 años. Las notas al pie, que superan las 100 páginas, son de obligatoria lectura si queremos introducirnos seriamente en los principales motivos del mahayana.
El autor consigue exitosamente plantear los principales debates y motivos del mahayana, que no son pocos, además de proporcionar la bibliografía esencial sobre todos y cada uno de los temas relevantes a nivel académico.
Paul Williams parece basarse en buena medida, para los capítulos relativos a la tradición indo-tibetana, en los grandes sistematizadores tibetanos, especialmente en el fundador de la tradición Gelug, Tsong Kha Pa.
Obviamente, y a pesar de la ambición y la exigente envergadura del libro, quedan temas importantes sin tratar, aunque no sin nombrar por encima. Por ejemplo la escuela de Dharmakirti apenas es despachada en un párrafo.
A pesar de esto, nos encontramos ante la mejor introducción al budismo mahayana que, como la sala central de un antiguo castillo gigantesco, nos permite hacernos una idea de la envergadura casi infinita de esta tradición milenaria, así como un lugar desde el que partir para explorar las zonas del castillo que más nos interesen.
November 16, 2010
Gonna have to go back to read the notes...
Read
August 21, 2012very good underlining in pen
September 7, 2015
It is clearly written. The book is great for philosophically or spiritually inspired individual. Be warned that the language is somewhat technical.
Read
December 9, 2012very good
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews