The Buddhist Handbook

by John Snelling

"This book offers a comprehensive worldwide cultural and historical view of Buddhism. The initial chapters detail its spread from India into China, Asia, Tibet, Japan, and adjacent areas. Later chapters deal with Buddhism in Europe since World War II, the history of North American Buddhism, and the influence of Buddhism on psychotherapy. The book is indexed and the appendixes contain a who's who in Buddhism; World Buddhist Festival dates; the addresses of the major North American, European, and world Buddhist societies; and bibliographies for each chapter. The only deficiency is that it's not a good guide to the practical details of meditation--the author believes meditation needs to be practiced under the direction of a teacher. Recommended for large public and college libraries." - Del Cain, V.A. Medical Ctr. Lib., Bedford, Mass.

Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Spirituality, Philosophy

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Jerry Wall]

Subtitled a complete guide and it is, covering the four fold path and many other lists of
favored activities and practices of Buddhism.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only issues with this overview is that it has dated and is somewhat UK-centric. It's split up into the basics of the philosophy followed by an overview of Buddhism's historical spread to the present day. It has an interesting Who's Who section, too. A good basic starter to further reading.

[Jo Bennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this for checking on the basic tenets of Buddhism and it puts them across very well, succinctly and easy to understand

[Sam Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable overview of the major schools of Buddhism, their practices and history, and the state of Buddhism in the West at the time of the book's publication. (I'll admit to having skipped a chapter on Buddhism and Psychotherapy).