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Loading... What the Buddha Thought (2009)| 77 | 3 | 347,032 | 
(4.67) | 4 | In What the Buddha Thought, Richard Gombrich argues that the Buddha was one of the most brilliant and original thinkers of all time. Intended to serve as an introduction to the Buddhas thought, and hence even to Buddhism itself, the book also has larger aims: it argues that we can know far more about the Buddha than it is fashionable among scholars to admit, and that his thought has a greater coherence than is usually recognised. It contains much new material. Interpreters both ancient and modern have taken little account of the historical context of the Buddhas teachings; but by relating them to early brahminical texts, and also to ancient Jainism, Gombrich gives a much richer picture of the Buddhas meaning, especially when his satire and irony are appreciated. Incidentally, since many of the Buddhas allusions can only be traced in the Pali versions of surviving texts, the book establishes the importance of the Pali Canon as evidence. The book contains much new material. The author stresses the Buddhas capacity for abstraction: though he made extensive use of metaphor, he did not found his arguments upon it, as earlier thinkers had done. He ethicized and radically reinterpreted older ideas of karma (human action) and rebirth. Similarly, building on older texts, he argued for the fundamental importance of love and compassion, and analysed fire as a process which could stand as a model for every component of conscious experience. Morally, the Buddhas theory of karma provided a principle of individuation and asserted each individuals responsibility for his own destiny. To make the book completely accessible to the general reader, the author provides an introductory section of Background Information, for easy reference.… (more) |
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a Geoff Bamford e Sarah Norman,
compagni d'entusiasmo  | |
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Questo libro sostiene che il Buddha fu uno dei pensatori più brillanti e originali di ogni tempo.
Sebbene voglia servire da introduzione al pensiero del Buddha, e quindi anche al buddhismo stesso, esso ha scopi più ambiziosi: sostiene che possiamo sapere del Buddha molto più di quanto sia di moda tra gli studiosi ammettere che sia possibile, e che il suo pensiero ha una coerenza maggiore di quanto venga di solito riconosciuto.
Prefazione Sono stato spinto a scrivere questo libro principalmente da due sentimenti: l'ammirazione e l'esasperazione.
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Lo studio del pali si è quasi estinto nel mondo occidentale; sono poche le università che ancora offrono questo insegnamento. Se un lettore su mille si mettese a impararlo, assisteremmo non soltanto a una rinascita degli studi pali, ma alla crescita di un interesse erudito per le idee e le pratiche del Buddha su scala mai conosciuta prima. Impermanente, senza dubbio - ma perché preoccuparsene? (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.) | |
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▾References References to this work on external resources.  Wikipedia in English
None ▾Book descriptions In What the Buddha Thought, Richard Gombrich argues that the Buddha was one of the most brilliant and original thinkers of all time. Intended to serve as an introduction to the Buddhas thought, and hence even to Buddhism itself, the book also has larger aims: it argues that we can know far more about the Buddha than it is fashionable among scholars to admit, and that his thought has a greater coherence than is usually recognised. It contains much new material. Interpreters both ancient and modern have taken little account of the historical context of the Buddhas teachings; but by relating them to early brahminical texts, and also to ancient Jainism, Gombrich gives a much richer picture of the Buddhas meaning, especially when his satire and irony are appreciated. Incidentally, since many of the Buddhas allusions can only be traced in the Pali versions of surviving texts, the book establishes the importance of the Pali Canon as evidence. The book contains much new material. The author stresses the Buddhas capacity for abstraction: though he made extensive use of metaphor, he did not found his arguments upon it, as earlier thinkers had done. He ethicized and radically reinterpreted older ideas of karma (human action) and rebirth. Similarly, building on older texts, he argued for the fundamental importance of love and compassion, and analysed fire as a process which could stand as a model for every component of conscious experience. Morally, the Buddhas theory of karma provided a principle of individuation and asserted each individuals responsibility for his own destiny. To make the book completely accessible to the general reader, the author provides an introductory section of Background Information, for easy reference. ▾Library descriptions No library descriptions found. ▾LibraryThing members' description |
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The basic thesis of this book is that the teachings of the Buddha, of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, need to be understood in the context of the time and place in which he taught. Gombrich makes some use of Jain materials to interpret Buddhist teachings, but the main references are to Brahmanical works, especially the Rig Veda and the Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad.
Gombrich discusses the five skandhas, the twelve nidanas, and the four immeasurables, and the eightfold noble path. He shows how some of the elements of these were borrowed from Brahmanical sources, and how some were formulated in deliberate contrast.
Gombrich considers karma to be the core teaching of the Buddha. He discusses how karma in Vedic tradition referred to ritual action. The Jains moved to an ethical theory of karma, but with a very concrete materialistic vision. The Buddha then elevated this to a more abstract process-oriented level.
Gombrich confesses that he doesn't really understand the Mahayana tradition, e.g. Nagarjuna's teaching.
This is not a strictly orthodox book. Gombrich holds that the tradition has interpreted some of the Buddhist words too literally and forgotten their proper context. The Buddha taught with analogy and metaphor and even with humor.
Probably Gombrich does not have all the tools at hand that would be required to recover all of the original sparkle of the Buddha's teaching. Like the recent renovation of the Sistine Chapel - some folks may have become accustomed to the dimmer colors from the accumulated layers of devotion. No doubt the new colors do not capture precisely what Michaelangelo painted. But if you are willing to risk a few errors, a fresh look at such brilliant original material might just be inspiring! (