The Essence of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its Philosophy and Practice
by Traleg Kyabgon
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This lucid overview of the Buddhist path takes the perspective of the three "vehicles" of Tibetan Buddhism: the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. While these vehicles are usually presented as a historical development, they are here equated with the attitudes that individuals bring to their Buddhist practice. Basic to them all, however, is the need to understand our own immediate condition. The primary tool for achieving this is meditation, and The Essence of Buddhism serves as a handbook show more for the various meditative approaches of Buddhist practice. Beginning with the Four Noble Truths, Traleg Rinpoche incorporates the expansive vision of the bodhisattva path and the transformative vision of Tantra. The final chapters present the transcendent view of Mahamudra. This view dispenses with all dualistic fixations and directly realizes the natural freedom of the mind itself. Along the way, the author provides vivid definitions of fundamental concepts such as compassion, emptiness, and Buddha-nature, and answers common questions: Why does Buddhism teach that there is "no self"? Are Buddhist teachings pessimistic? Does Buddhism encourage social passivity? What is the role of sex in Buddhist Tantra? Why is it said that "samsara is nirvana"? Does it take countless lifetimes to attain enlightenment, or can it be achieved in a moment? show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I find it very difficult to separate out a review of the subject as opposed to a review of the way the subject has been presented. The first half of the book covers, as you'd expect, an introduction to Buddhism, which is clear and engaging. It's not a long book, but it is quite dense and covers a lot of ground (if you are new to the subject certainly). As the author described the multiple layers and facets, I found I lost a real sense of context and the significance of different points became unclear. Maybe some graphical representations would have helped.
Overall I enjoyed the book and learned a lot from it, but should have learned more.
Overall I enjoyed the book and learned a lot from it, but should have learned more.
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Author Information
25 Works 637 Members
Traleg Kyabgon (1955-2012) was born in eastern Tibet and educated by many great masters of all four major lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder of the Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute, which is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with a major practice center in New York City. Well known for his erudition and understanding of comparative show more religion and Western psychology and culture, he taught extensively at universities and Buddhist centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. He is the author of The Essence of Buddhism and Mind at Ease. show less
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- Canonical title
- The Essence of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its Philosophy and Practice
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- Members
- 176
- Popularity
- 185,384
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- English, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
