What do you think?
Rate this book
Buddhism: Its Essence and Development
Edward Conze was one of the great Buddhist translators - a pioneer scholar who introduced key Buddhist texts to the Western world. This timely new edition of his Buddhist classic reminds us that true happiness is not to be found in material comfort and earthly satisfaction but in the pursuit of a higher ideal. Demonstrating throughout his heartfelt response to the fundamental wisdom of the Buddha, Conze presents a readable introduction to the array of doctrines, methods, and literature that have developed in the many schools of Buddhism as a result of their different approaches to the goal.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
45 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Edward Conze
33 books28 followersEberhart Julius Dietrich Conze, who published as Edward Conze, studied Indian and comparative philosophy at the universities of Bonn and Hamburg. He later lectured in psychology, philosophy, and comparative religion at Oxford, held a number of academic appointments, and served as Vice-President of the Buddhist Society.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 19, 2015
The earlier work I read by Edward Conze was a history of the spread of Buddhism. Intentionally or not, that work pointed out how the faith has not been as devoid of the blood and oppression associated with other religions as some western orientalists, or indeed some Buddhists, would lead us to believe. This work, however, focuses on elucidating the undeniably impressive and, at times, beautiful system of thought that constitutes what seems to western observers as the most philosophical of all the world's major religions.
First off, Conze makes clear that Buddhism is not, in fact, philosophical. The sense that a western reader has of finding syllogistic argumentation in ancient Buddhist texts is a rationalization of the western mind, out to digest a foreign concept of thought in its own terms. Having said that, as one who has studied western philosophy, I am the first to admit that I interpreted Conze's survey of this thought as philosophy, and I often found striking analogies to many western thinkers, particularly those from the last 150 or so years. Indeed, to impose philosophical language on Buddhism, I would say that many of its schools could be said to be anti-philosophical, which is why, read as philosophy, they sometimes seem so contemporary.
As with existentialism, Buddhism imagines the human individual as inherently possessed of angst, whether they are conscious of it or not. (Buddhism is perhaps the earliest line of thought to posit an unconscious. Many ancient writings describe the ways that most people rationalize away their own suffering and those of other people.) People understand that they are alive as individuals, but also know that their existence is constantly slipping away and death is ever getting closer. Soon, being will give way to nothingness. The purpose of thought, from a Buddhist perspective, is to both confront and ease this angst.
Perhaps the foundational claim of Buddhist thought is that the self, as a force that unites and transcends individual experience, is an invention, a rationalization on the part of a feeble consciousness unable to cope with the excess of being- body(ies), feelings, perceptions, emotions and intentions. This sounds a lot like Jacques Lacan and those late twentieth-century thinkers that were influenced by him. The difference is that the Buddhist has faith that consciousness can eventually be purged of the misconception that is individuality. A Lacanian would say that human consciousness simply is this misconception, but the purpose of psychoanalysis in Lacanian thought is not so different from that of meditation in Buddhism. Neither the Buddhist nor the Lacanian mind convinces itself that the mind will literally dissolve itself in the living world. Rather, proper reflection can give one a sense of the inevitability of the delusion of self, and thus to take its challenges, indeed its passing into death, less seriously.
The mercilessly pragmatic nature of much Buddhist thought for centuries rejected any notion of creationism or even of questions of the nature of the universe (until relatively late in its history when, confronted and competing with various other religions, certain schools developed convoluted cosmologies and mythologies). Much as with the Wittgenstein of the Tractatus, the point of thinking is not to explain the world but to embrace the inexpressibly mystical element, which for the Buddhist is the affirmational void known as Nirvana.
The notion of an affirmational void, a negation, suggests a boundlessness to being. Everything is nothing and nothing is everything. The Truth is that truth is false and vice-versa. This collapsing of binaries is reminiscent of the radical dialectics of Derridean deconstruction.
This is not to say that such concepts concerned the average Buddhist for most of the religion's history. Indeed, if Buddhism was, in its earliest manifestations, unapologetically elitist, concerned only with and for the well-being of the intellectual-ascetic, its practitioners gradually came more and more to depend first on the gifts of kings and then on those of the masses. The laity was taught that if they renounced self-hood, such as giving their goods to the monks, the monks would magically protect them and grant the common people good luck. Yet, in their need for the graces of the masses, the monks did make themselves genuinely useful to the masses- providing education and, in theocratic settings, law and order.
Perhaps the appeal of Buddhism for most of its common followers was to seek self-negation as an instrument of self-interest. But this is only the inversion of the monk's impulse to seek the wisdom to understand that human existence amounts to nothing, yet also the compassion to care about humanity's well-being anyway.
First off, Conze makes clear that Buddhism is not, in fact, philosophical. The sense that a western reader has of finding syllogistic argumentation in ancient Buddhist texts is a rationalization of the western mind, out to digest a foreign concept of thought in its own terms. Having said that, as one who has studied western philosophy, I am the first to admit that I interpreted Conze's survey of this thought as philosophy, and I often found striking analogies to many western thinkers, particularly those from the last 150 or so years. Indeed, to impose philosophical language on Buddhism, I would say that many of its schools could be said to be anti-philosophical, which is why, read as philosophy, they sometimes seem so contemporary.
As with existentialism, Buddhism imagines the human individual as inherently possessed of angst, whether they are conscious of it or not. (Buddhism is perhaps the earliest line of thought to posit an unconscious. Many ancient writings describe the ways that most people rationalize away their own suffering and those of other people.) People understand that they are alive as individuals, but also know that their existence is constantly slipping away and death is ever getting closer. Soon, being will give way to nothingness. The purpose of thought, from a Buddhist perspective, is to both confront and ease this angst.
Perhaps the foundational claim of Buddhist thought is that the self, as a force that unites and transcends individual experience, is an invention, a rationalization on the part of a feeble consciousness unable to cope with the excess of being- body(ies), feelings, perceptions, emotions and intentions. This sounds a lot like Jacques Lacan and those late twentieth-century thinkers that were influenced by him. The difference is that the Buddhist has faith that consciousness can eventually be purged of the misconception that is individuality. A Lacanian would say that human consciousness simply is this misconception, but the purpose of psychoanalysis in Lacanian thought is not so different from that of meditation in Buddhism. Neither the Buddhist nor the Lacanian mind convinces itself that the mind will literally dissolve itself in the living world. Rather, proper reflection can give one a sense of the inevitability of the delusion of self, and thus to take its challenges, indeed its passing into death, less seriously.
The mercilessly pragmatic nature of much Buddhist thought for centuries rejected any notion of creationism or even of questions of the nature of the universe (until relatively late in its history when, confronted and competing with various other religions, certain schools developed convoluted cosmologies and mythologies). Much as with the Wittgenstein of the Tractatus, the point of thinking is not to explain the world but to embrace the inexpressibly mystical element, which for the Buddhist is the affirmational void known as Nirvana.
The notion of an affirmational void, a negation, suggests a boundlessness to being. Everything is nothing and nothing is everything. The Truth is that truth is false and vice-versa. This collapsing of binaries is reminiscent of the radical dialectics of Derridean deconstruction.
This is not to say that such concepts concerned the average Buddhist for most of the religion's history. Indeed, if Buddhism was, in its earliest manifestations, unapologetically elitist, concerned only with and for the well-being of the intellectual-ascetic, its practitioners gradually came more and more to depend first on the gifts of kings and then on those of the masses. The laity was taught that if they renounced self-hood, such as giving their goods to the monks, the monks would magically protect them and grant the common people good luck. Yet, in their need for the graces of the masses, the monks did make themselves genuinely useful to the masses- providing education and, in theocratic settings, law and order.
Perhaps the appeal of Buddhism for most of its common followers was to seek self-negation as an instrument of self-interest. But this is only the inversion of the monk's impulse to seek the wisdom to understand that human existence amounts to nothing, yet also the compassion to care about humanity's well-being anyway.
September 12, 2011
This book is a concise description of the historical development of Buddhism. The key word "essence" is correct. Dr Conze distills much into this swift, readable account. The form of American Buddhism I study is completely stripped of all supernatural trappings. It is essentially mind training, and as such has much in common with classical Stoic philosophy. Yet I have often wondered what happened to all the gods and hells of ancient Buddhism. Well, here they are. I highly recommend this as an adjunct to popular books on Buddhist practice by, say, Pema Chödrön or Thich Nhat Hanh. Little is known about very early Buddhism because, though it flourished on the Gangetic Plain, there was a reluctance to commit the dharma to writing. This, astonishingly to the 21st century reader, because it was believed that writing would diminish the memory skills of the monks, who, would just rely on writings as opposed to engaging in a more lively practice of Buddhism. The Pali texts were not created until about 400 years after the death of Buddha. Particularly interesting is the story of what is known about the split of Buddhism into the separate camps of the Hinayana and Mahayana. . . . And of the Mahayana how and why it was necessary to create a god-filled realm for those who could only approach the religion on the basis of faith as opposed to wisdom. Conze discusses the usefulness of mythos and how it was possible for the Mahayana to use this device for purposes of ensuring the salvation of those unable to pursue the more rigorous discipline of the monks. Thus the faith approach to nirvana and the wisdom approach, both of which bring the adherent the same ultimate enlightenment. Tantra is also explained. This was the most difficult section for me, perhaps because it seems in such opposition to the Buddhism that has been so helpful to me. Highly recommended.
September 10, 2022
Un repaso por la historia del budismo, sus diferentes corrientes, como se ha ido asentando en la cultura del mundo, me parece no pretende que uno sepa mucho, es sólo un acercamiento a los conceptos básicos y como se ha desarrollado, es buenísimo, tiene algunas partes complicadas pero eso se debe más a la complicación de la filosofía budista, este libro me parece es más bien una guía para el que no sabe de por donde empezar a entender. Me gustó mucho.
September 12, 2016
My experience of Buddhism is limited to having had for a few weeks a roommate who prayed to a gohonzon for money . . . but I don't think Leroy was a good example of any religion. I am always a bit discouraged when I see people only reading books which they know in advance will reinforce their existing opinions, and often say that the point of reading is to challenge your own beliefs. The past few months, I have been following my own advice, reading about some systems which are uncongenial to my basic worldview -- the Pythagoreans, Parmenides, Karl Jasper, nineteenth century German Idealism . . . and this book on Buddhism. Since I have never understood how people can believe in Christianity, which is the religion I was brought up in, I assumed I woud find Buddhism even more incomprehensible, but perhaps due to having read these other books first, this made a certain amount of sense, if you accept the idealist premises. I don't, so I'm not likey to be converted any time soon, but the book was worthwhile for understanding a major belief system.
Conze, described as a major Buddhist scholar in the blurb, has given a good summary account of the doctrines, in a historical context, explaining the differences and developments of the major schools; at least I now know what is meant when a see a reference to Theravadins, Mahayani, or Zen and how they differ. I assume the author is himself Buddhist, or at least sympathetic, but his descriptions seem fairly objective and do not favor one version over another (except for an obvious dislike of Leroy's sect, the Nichiren, which he calls "militaristic" and considers more a variety of Shintoism than Buddhism.) In fact, Buddhism is not an exclusive religion, but a type of doctrine which can be superimposed on other religions, so that many of the Buddhist schools include much of Hinduism, Daoism, or other religions. This explains why Buddhism can be seen as having no God, or as having entire pantheons.
Conze is also objective in admitting some faults of Buddhism; while he emphasizes its tolerance and writes that "It goes without saying that there would be little room in Buddhism for religious persecution -- for Crusades, or Inquisitions. If the Buddha were insulted, a Buddhist would see little reason to torture or kill the person who 'insulted' him. . . . It would appear incongruous to a Buddhist to convince someone of the superior quality of his great benevolence by burning him alive," he admits a couple of pages later, "In their desire to express disapproval of Christianity, many authors have painted the record of Buddhism too white, and it will be necessary to admit that on occasion the Buddhists were capable of behaviour which we usually regard as Christian." As an example, he points out that ". . . the success of the [Yellow Church in Tibet] was due to the military support of the Mongols, who, during the 17th century, frequently devastated the monasteries of the rival Red sects, and who throughout supported the Dalai Lama, the head of the Yellow Church." He gives other examples, but most of them seem to me rather creditable to the Buddhists since they involved resistance to the colonial powers.
Eventually, I will want to read some of the primary sources or "scriptures" but for now this book gave me some idea of what Buddhism is about.
April 2, 2025
Para la incesante curiosidad (Comentario, 2025)
En mi último retiro espiritual (puede ser un eufemismo) pensé en un par de ocasiones en las religiones no teístas, y ante mi muy general conocimiento de cualquiera de ellas (rumores escuchados, referencias de referencias) decidí ponerme de tarea ahondar. Comencé, más por casualidad que por elección, con este texto introductorio de Conze, que consigue una clara exposición y un marco de comprensión amplio sobre el budismo.
Para mí, que poco y nada sé al respecto, fue una lectura iluminadora. La caracterización histórica de las escuelas, su descripción de convergencias y divergencias, los comentarios comparativos con la historia occidental y la filosofía occidental (el dato, por ejemplo, de Schopenhauer como metabudista), la claridad en tanto a fechas, lugares y personajes. Todo eso ensamblado con orden y concierto. Bendita sea la casualidad que quiso ponerme en las manos un comienzo tan adecuado para este nuevo interés.
Vamos a ver cuál es la siguiente estación de esta curiosidad, y veremos en este cauce qué otros textos me salen a la orilla.
En mi último retiro espiritual (puede ser un eufemismo) pensé en un par de ocasiones en las religiones no teístas, y ante mi muy general conocimiento de cualquiera de ellas (rumores escuchados, referencias de referencias) decidí ponerme de tarea ahondar. Comencé, más por casualidad que por elección, con este texto introductorio de Conze, que consigue una clara exposición y un marco de comprensión amplio sobre el budismo.
Para mí, que poco y nada sé al respecto, fue una lectura iluminadora. La caracterización histórica de las escuelas, su descripción de convergencias y divergencias, los comentarios comparativos con la historia occidental y la filosofía occidental (el dato, por ejemplo, de Schopenhauer como metabudista), la claridad en tanto a fechas, lugares y personajes. Todo eso ensamblado con orden y concierto. Bendita sea la casualidad que quiso ponerme en las manos un comienzo tan adecuado para este nuevo interés.
Vamos a ver cuál es la siguiente estación de esta curiosidad, y veremos en este cauce qué otros textos me salen a la orilla.
June 27, 2024
Intriguing and idiosyncratic in a fun way, though pretty outdated. The non-standard romanization systems for Chinese and Japanese terms makes this book difficult to use as a primer or a reference.
September 23, 2024
Trong khi “ Tư tưởng Phật giáo Ấn độ “ cũng của Conze đi sâu phân tích những triết lý uyên áo của Phật giáo Ấn độ thì “ Phật giáo bản chất và sự phát triển “ là nhập môn cho nghiên cứu Phât Giáo với những khái niệm cơ bản, quan điểm về bản chất của Phật giáo, sơ bộ sự phát triển các trường phái Phật giáo cũng như ảnh hưởng, giao thoa của Phật giáo trong đời sống thế tục.
Bằng lối suy nghĩ thâm trầm và chính chắn, tác giả không giới thiệu tư tưởng Phật giáo cổ thời như là dẫn ta đi vào một bảo tàng viện. Nhưng, tất cả những sai biệt trong các khuynh hướng tư tưởng của Phật giáo, từ tinh hoa đến sự phát triển của nó, đều nói lên tất cả khát vọng muôn thủa của con người trước sự thực bi thiết mà luôn luôn con người tìm cách lảng tránh. Trên điểm này, tác giả đã chứng tỏ cho ta thấy những mâu thuẫn trong lịch sử tư tưởng của Phật giáo thực ra không mâu thuẫn gì hết. “Tất cả những mâu thuẫn trong lý thuyết đều được hóa giải hết trong chính đời sống.”. Với Conze, vấn đề Phật giáo đặt ra và giải đáp là những vấn đề hiện đại, sống động, và ông luôn luôn đặt chúng vào trong tương quan với lịch sử và đồng thời với dòng thời sự.
Bằng lối suy nghĩ thâm trầm và chính chắn, tác giả không giới thiệu tư tưởng Phật giáo cổ thời như là dẫn ta đi vào một bảo tàng viện. Nhưng, tất cả những sai biệt trong các khuynh hướng tư tưởng của Phật giáo, từ tinh hoa đến sự phát triển của nó, đều nói lên tất cả khát vọng muôn thủa của con người trước sự thực bi thiết mà luôn luôn con người tìm cách lảng tránh. Trên điểm này, tác giả đã chứng tỏ cho ta thấy những mâu thuẫn trong lịch sử tư tưởng của Phật giáo thực ra không mâu thuẫn gì hết. “Tất cả những mâu thuẫn trong lý thuyết đều được hóa giải hết trong chính đời sống.”. Với Conze, vấn đề Phật giáo đặt ra và giải đáp là những vấn đề hiện đại, sống động, và ông luôn luôn đặt chúng vào trong tương quan với lịch sử và đồng thời với dòng thời sự.
July 2, 2025
This book provided a serviceable yet breezy overview of the history of Buddhism and its major sects. Conze gets through a lot of information very quickly and designed this work to provide a road map as opposed to depth. I liked that his approach was mostly neutral and explanatory and found the rare times in which Conze offered his own insight to be valuable. Of note, in one particular passage he argues that when Buddhism is adopted by those in power it tends to stifle criticism of government among its adherents, pacify, and lead to complacency towards low standards of living. Small wonder why in recent years Eastern mysticism and Buddhist inspired thought have become so heavily pushed in the field of psychology and why its principles have flavored not only the HR departments of major corporations the world over but entities such as the UN and the WEF as well. Anyway, I found this book to be reasonably well done yet it's clear that if you have any genuine interest in the topic you will have to go out and do much more reading after this as it is so cursory. I would have much preferred a meatier treatment of the subject.
November 21, 2023
Un libro de investigación acerca del budismo por uno de los más grandes especialistas en el tema y mejor reconocidos. Edward Conze, cuya obra principalmente se ha centrado en la traducción de las escrituras del Mahayana, nos lleva de la mano en este libro a través de una línea del tiempo desde los inicios del budismo hasta los tiempos modernos. Desde la creación hasta las diferentes vertientes y sectas que fueron surgiendo, explicando cada una de sus características y diferencias, así como sus razones y consecuencias. Entendemos el budismo como religión y como doctrina, pero no es un libro para entrar de lleno en el tema y que podría ser buscado por los adeptos a él, sino que tiene un enfoque más de estudio y de análisis. Una investigación-comparativa entre sus diversas líneas paralelas que fueron desarrollándose.
June 4, 2020
me ha resultado muy claro y conciso en su exposición de los elementos esenciales de la religión y filosofía budista, como ha sido su desarrollo histórico y su estatus de prácticas, escuelas y posturas. De una claridad pedagógica y expositiva, es un excelente texto introductorio, para quienes quieran ahondar se incluye una serie de temas, lineas de tiempo y esquemas que resultan de mucha claridad. Un libro obligado para todo aquel que quiera conocer un camino de entrada al budismo.
September 26, 2021
Sách hay nhưng dịch chán, câu dịch còn quá nhiều từ hán việt tối nghĩa. Có lẽ sách dịch đã lâu và dịch giả là phật tử chuyên đọc sách hán ngữ, nhiều từ không phải là thuật ngữ chuyên môn và có thể diễn đạt bằng từ thuần việt nhưng dịch giả vẫn bị dùng từ hán việt. Văn phong thì như kiểu dịch word by word, giữ nguyên cấu trúc câu của tiếng anh :(
October 27, 2023
Conze es erudito, claro, ocasionalmente ameno, traduce las ideas más abstractas en epifanías que el mismo lector puede tener al "amarrar" y conectar —dialécticamente, como tanto menciona el autor— tantas ideas diversas, de tantas doctrinas de budismo diferentes, en algo bastante iluminador. No hay doble sentido: este libro te puede hacer ese paro, ¿y no es acaso todo el punto?
December 15, 2025
Es un libro densísimo, en el sentido de la cantidad de información por páginas. La historia del budismo es intrincada y muy ajena a la experiencia occidental. Edward Conze hace un esfuerzo considerable en puntualizar aquellos temas de mayor interés. Para mayor profundización recomienda otros autores. Me queda la misión de releerlo y encontrar mi línea de estudio.
October 3, 2017
An excellent overview of Buddhism's history and the varieties that evolved after the Buddha's time.
March 22, 2021
Very readable and concise overview and history.
July 9, 2025
Empecé este libro por pura curiosidad sobre el budismo, había recién terminado "Sapiens" y la mención hacia esta religión me atrapó totalmente.
Y siento que pecó un poco de lo mismo que "Sapiens". Casi 300 páginas para "resumir" lo que es el budismo se me hace bastante poco, pero al menos el autor hace mención que se tiene que saltar explicaciones para que no dure una eternidad, y eso se agradece.
A mi parecer, es un libro que invita mucho a investigar por cuenta propia, porque no honda lo suficiente en ciertos temas, y creo que me dejó con más preguntas que respuestas.
En general siento que es una buena lectura para iniciarte en este mundillo, o si al igual que a mi, te pica la curiosidad.
Y siento que pecó un poco de lo mismo que "Sapiens". Casi 300 páginas para "resumir" lo que es el budismo se me hace bastante poco, pero al menos el autor hace mención que se tiene que saltar explicaciones para que no dure una eternidad, y eso se agradece.
A mi parecer, es un libro que invita mucho a investigar por cuenta propia, porque no honda lo suficiente en ciertos temas, y creo que me dejó con más preguntas que respuestas.
En general siento que es una buena lectura para iniciarte en este mundillo, o si al igual que a mi, te pica la curiosidad.
August 19, 2025
es un excelente libro sobre las bases del budismo, no de cero, definitivamente, me refiero a que explica de una manera muy entendible mucho de la filosofía budista, por otro lado habla mucho también de la historia y personajes, así como nombres propios de doctrinas, fechas etc… muy ilustrativo pero me perdí un poco en esa parte, culpa mía, claramente es un excelente ensayo y no un libro para introducirte, per se
Read
May 11, 2009Panorama muy completo al respecto del tema.
October 19, 2009
Fantástica suma de los orígenes del budismo, sus cambios históricos, escuelas, expresiones en diversos países, budismo teísta y no teísta, etcétera.De lo mejor que he leído sobre el tema.
October 23, 2011
Good basic introduction to Buddhism without the mumbo jumbo.
August 26, 2012
100% consistent with my own experience of Buddhism. Highly recommend. It's an oldie, but a goodie.
January 6, 2015
Breve storia del buddismo, illuminante sulla storia delle religioni e ottima chiave di comprensione dello stesso cristianesimo.
August 26, 2021
Es un libro que habla acerca de las distintas escuelas del budismo, vemos sus diferencias y sus similitudes, muy informativo.
Recomendado si:
+Quieres saber más acerca de la historia del budismo.
Recomendado si:
+Quieres saber más acerca de la historia del budismo.
August 3, 2016
¿qué es el budismo? hacer una pausa al estar leyendo y levantar la mirada para ver en derredor...
August 9, 2025
Con este libro tuve mi primer acercamiento al budismo. Te cuenta la historia y las diferentes ramas del budismo, y en qué se diferencian. Muy bueno.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews