Buddhism 101: From Karma to the Four Noble Truths, Your Guide to Understanding the Principles of Buddhism

Adams 101

by Arnie Kozak

Learn everything you need to know about Buddhism in this clear and straightforward new guide.

Buddhism was founded thousands of years ago, and has inspired millions of people with its peaceful teachings. Buddhism 101 highlights and explains the central concepts of Buddhism to the modern reader, with information on mindfulness, karma, The Four Noble Truths, the Middle Way, and more.

Whether you’re just looking to understand Buddhism or explore the philosophy in your own life and own journey to Enlightenment, this book gives you everything you need to know!

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, History, Audiobook

256 pages, ebook

First published August 1, 2017

About the author

ARNIE KOZAK is the founder of Exquisite Mind, a consultation service for individuals, the community, healthcare and other professionals, and corporations. Exquisite Mind teaches mindfulness, the art and skill of living in the present, as a vehicle for managing stress and enhancing quality of life. He was also a Clinical Fellow in Psychology at the Harvard Medical School, where he completed his doctoral training. He lives in Burlington Vermont."

Reviews

[Chris Dietzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay overview but read more like a textbook in parts and was more focused on memorization of numbered items than it focused on the meaning and ideas behind key concepts. For a book on eastern spirituality, I would recommend I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. For a book specific to Buddhism, I would recommend something by Thich Nhat Hanh.

[Kangwa Chanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly: love the 101 series from Adam’s Media. It’s a very good way to quickly learn a bit about a lot. I’d recommend any of their books if you want to gain basic understanding of a particular topic.

Now: this book gave me a very good perspective into Buddhism and it’s many benefits. I will definitely be looking more into this and changing a few things around my life as a result. Just in the 5 hours worth of reading in this book you can learn the wonderful history of Buddhism and many of its benefits.

Great quick read

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

While still quite basic, this book does not feel at all as a mere introduction. I found it very good and very informative. It covers a bit of everything, from history and politics of the time of the Buddha, pre-existing beliefs, myths, culture, different Buddhist schools, rituals, doctrine, historical disciples, etc, and offers many of the wonderful Buddhist metaphors and parables. It also covers more complex topics like the three thousand realms, Buddhist cosmology, the stages of meditative engagement and the concept of dependent origination quite clearly and understandably. It also gives an overview of the trajectory of Buddhist beliefs in the different countries where it traditionally took hold, as well as chronicling its later presence in the west.

It is very comprehensive, and useful for interested people like myself, still humbly a beginner, but one who’s been in and out of the practice for 30-odd years and changing schools a lot of the time. It is also written very clearly by a Westerner, so it is very encouraging and reassuring of an eclectic practice willing to interpret some Buddhist concepts as metaphors or myths. If only I had found it at the start of my journey!

My concentration has been rubbish for months and I’ve reluctantly given up on my two parallel challenges this year, so it has taken me ages to re-read this book in my current quest of clearing the “Buddhist shelf” next to my modest home shrine, which has perhaps been way too Tibetan for a while, and I’m now changing into more integrative of all traditions, including my current interest in the Nichiren sect.

This book definitely stays on the shelf, and I can see myself re-reading it again at some point. It was actually time very well spent.

[Ville Verkkapuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction to Buddhism. Surface level, yet wide and thorough in an introductory sense.
Everything about Buddhism makes sense and after being dipped in it, nothing else much matters.

[Barrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't want to read this fast. I tried to take my time with it and really understand the words and history. That said, I enjoyed and was intrigued by a lot of the primer. I agree with other reviews that the last 1/3 felt a bit tacked on--especially the last few pages, which felt like an odd place to end the book (on working + buddhism). It felt like it needed a more important wrap up imo. I didn't realize that, of course, like many religions, women seem to be an afterthought so it just goes to show you that even the most "hippie" of religions still have their downfalls.

I liked quite a few beliefs (tenets? realms? truths? these all seemed to be present). Specifically, on what makes you not a buddhist, there were four seals that one must believe in:
-all compounded things are impermanent
-all emotions are pain
-all things have no inherent existence
-nirvana is beyond all concepts

They seem odd at first, but when I dug a little deeper I got it. And while I'm a skeptic of all religions, including this one, the notions are something I can get behind.

I also liked their basic rules of what not to do while practicing (which I'm only writing from memory, so will likely be wrong).
-don't lie
-don't gossip
-don't have an ego
-don't overindulge
-don't destroy life

The "don'ts" seem simple enough, and yet they all seemed to ring a bit of truth. We've all told a white lie, or gossiped about someone, or felt entitled, or drank too much, or killed a bug. So it's just something to be mindful about. Check.

I was delighted to read more on Metta, a meditation practice I have enjoyed for years now and even got Luca liking it. When he requests to do it at night, I'm delighted. Mainly bc it's so selfless and focuses on simply wishing others to be well, healthy, safe, and at ease. What more can you ask for from a 7yo...or a 41yo?

In a time where distractions are everywhere, and I contribute to them with the job that I do--I've been practicing more and more to let them go. To simply do the dishes and just do the dishes, without NPR on in the background. To take a walk without headphones. To stare at the walls. To slow down and be bored. To sit in my garden and watch the bird fly by. The feelings you get from it aren't always great. They can be a bit uncomfortable, but also a bit surprising and even enjoyable. I can't do it all the time. Sometimes I simply want to watch that next episode and turn my mind off or have music on while tidying the house. But something really rang true to me in this book that reaffirmed all this mindful stuff is the right way for me: that to feel awakened and alive you must be a human being, instead of a human doing.

This might be the corniest review I've ever written.

[Allys Dierker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a little more Buddhism and a little less 101. Starry-eyed generalizations. Some of the historical stuff and explanations about various traditions wasn’t bad.

[Ann T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short, easy to read 101 on Buddhism. It will give you a very short overview of some of the main concepts and foundations of Buddhism. This is a good spring board for a beginner who would like to read more but isn’t sure which path of Buddhism they are most interested in learning about. It gives snippets on Theravada, Zen, Vipassana and more enabling the reader to understand the key differences in their approaches.

[Armando · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book about the belief system, philosophy and history of Buddhism. It is what the cover says, a crash course in Buddhism.

[KJ Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It kind of felt like a textbook to me rather than cultivating a deep understanding of what Buddhism really is and how to apply it in one’s life. Not a lot of feelings or inspiration found in this book for me, but certainly a lot of relevant information!

[Melinda Doucette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of Buddhism.

[nat · Rating 2 out of 5]

notes

want to mention I am kind of a beginner student of Buddhism, have studied it for a few years but not rigorously

- this was somewhat helpful for me to understand some basics but I felt like a lot of the back end of the book was pretty much throwing a bunch of details at you of less related practices and expecting you to remember. it's definitely interesting to hear about how a zen tea ceremony goes but I don't know if I feel like that's 101? but I'm not that far into my learning yet so maybe it is??? idk.

- I did like hearing about the stories and stuff, like the things the Buddha went through prior to enlightenment

- they sure glossed over that he bailed on his wife though and was pretty cowardly about women joining for a while... I just felt like it needed more attention.

- I can see the parallels more with the airbenders in A:TLA. Monk Giatso and such, and the determining of reincarnation by choosing objects from a past life. I know obviously, that there were parallels between the airbenders and Buddhism (it's super hard to ignore), but I guess I didn't know this particular detail and it strikes me as a fun tidbit.

- there was a lot of interpreting of old words and texts that I feel a lot of assumptions are made about w/r/t how these things apply to a modern world. the idea of full-service sex work being necessarily unethical is part of that. I'm still learning as I mentioned, but my general interpretation of "sexual misconduct" is violating consent. FSSW should not be put in the same category as rape. we also have advancements in sexual health nowadays that make it so that doing FSSW does not necessarily make you at huge risk of venereal diseases or unwanted pregnancy.
I've definitely come across in message boards and stuff that most people seem to interpret this sort of thing (seeing FSSW and patronizing them as immoral) as directly applying to our contemporary era because "they know things we don't/these were eternal teachings etc" but like wouldn't there be some level of trust that we would notice when the karmic result of like,, paying sex workers for their work,, is actually benefitting them? sex work is not some big bad evil thing and in order to respect and destigmatize sex workers we need to acknowledge the value of what sex workers do. and act accordingly.
it's just so hard for me to get past this. the amount of times I've listened to podcasts or watched videos etc meant to teach on Buddhism, and I am on board with everything, but as soon as they start talking about sex work and going around using the p-word I'm just. ready to shut everything down. I really had to push myself to get through this because I was hoping this would be my only problem.

- it wasn't really my only problem. I think there's a lot of things related to original Buddhist texts and how they are applied today that just kind of misconstrue what I know in my heart to be evident. there's a bit in this book that mentions how things need to be lived in order to be learned and that awakening is something anyone can do and it's just. it makes me feel a little more trust in myself because I have experienced so many different things (homelessness, abuse, suicide, etc) that make certain things feel evident to me. my draw to Buddhism is like a sense of a thing becoming in balance. and I'm still navigating basics because I don't know how to apply my lived feelings that happen to match up through a "here's words for this" filter.

- should I have read Radical Dharma first? maybe!! we'll see.

[Jacques · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to buddhism.. I find the teachings to be really interesting, and learned a lot more. I recommend this book to anyone who has no knowledge of Buddhism but is interested in learning.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had wanted to read a "primer" on Buddhism and this seemed like a good, entry-level text. I have some basic knowledge but given the spottiness it seemed like this would be a good place to start. It is what it says: Buddhism 101. It's a wide-ranging look at the history, applications, differences in countries like Tibet, China and Japan vs. how Buddhism is understood in the West, art, and more.

As a beginner I can't say I am confident in knowing exactly how knowledgeable the author is. According to other reviews it seems it is a good introduction and I would agree. He's written other books on the subject and so it seems he isn't some random person chosen to write this book.

That said, I didn't find the next very engaging. Previously I've read his book 'The Awakened Introvert' and didn't care for that one very much and it seems that this continues. That book was more of a workbook and on a slightly different subject vs. this one but it's not a surprise to me that after not liking one of his works I wasn't impressed by his other ones either.

That said, this might be a good pick for someone who is curious and genuinely wants an overview. A reader with more information, however, might not find it so useful or may not like this particular format and would find another 101-type text more beneficial. Recommending looking at the bookstore or library if you're thinking of making a purchase. Library borrow was best for me.

[Rebecca Elson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on The Magical Buffet's website on 10/19/2017.

When it comes to religion, I’m quite the fan of Buddhism. And believe me when I say I have read more than my fair share of intro to Buddhism type books. That’s why I’m excited to tell you I recently read my new favorite book of the genre, “Buddhism 101” by Arnie Kozak, PhD.

The cover describes “Buddhism 101” as a “Crash Course in Buddhism”, and what an amazing crash course it is! Despite its diminutive size, perfect for carrying in a purse (ask me how I know), “Buddhism 101” leaves no stone unturned. Kozak covers everything Buddhism, not just separating schools, but discussing the subtleties of the religion as they vary by country. He starts at the very beginning, before Buddha was Buddha, and leads you through a time line that eventually spans the globe to today.

“Buddhism 101” does more than just describe the religion, it addresses many questions that a specifically Western audience might ask, and discusses Buddhist practices in the modern Western world. Want to know enough about Buddhism to discuss it intelligently? Want to see if Buddhism is right for you? “Buddhism 101” will handily address both those questions.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been getting more interested in Buddhism and I wanted to learn a bit more about its historical development.

POSITIVES:
(1) This is a relatively easy and quick read. It is divided into easily digestible sections of 2-4 pages.

(2) It covers a pretty broad array of topics including a biography of the Buddha, the main branches of Buddhism and their history and rituals, how Buddhism spread to different countries, the main Buddhist texts and some famous Buddhist monks.

NEGATIVES:
(1) It sometimes felt like a random laundry list of stuff, just listing things without enough context to appreciate them.

If you don't know anything about the history of Buddhism, this is an OK starting point, but I didn't find it wholly satisfying.

And it's definitely NOT a good place to learn about Buddhist philosophy, the explanations are extremely compressed.

[Rohit Goswami · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rubbish. The only good portion is a clear description of how different sects evolved. Otherwise it's a grab bag of the author's beliefs and western crap.

There is barely any Buddhism. Almost nothing of the real Buddha's life. Mostly involves excerpts from random Americans.

[Carla Possati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, it has clear and simple explanations about complex concepts. The author adds examples and daily life situations to bring these concepts closer to us. I also liked the historical approach, even if some important differences between the schools were not explained.

On the other hand, the pick'n'mix approach regarding which parts of Buddhism you choose to believe / follow is sad. There is a boom in meditation practice and spiritual development techniques in the West - which is great. But when you write an introductory book about a religion and just tell people to strip it from any parts they don't like, that's atrocious. Then, the author justifies this by saying it's the "Western Buddhism".

Another point that has been around in other reviews as well is the US-centric view. It seems that West means the US.

Finally, the last chapter is infuriating. It talks about working as if you should put up with any and everything with equanimity and mindfulness. It talks about stress from a how-much-money-companies-lose point of view. It doesn't even question what stress is costing to people. You are made responsible for relieving your own stress instead of questioning poor work conditions, long hours, job instability, abuse from bosses, over-competitive environments, understaffing. On the contrary, you should use Buddhism to be a better employee (!!!). This is just messed up.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

***audiobook***

Over the past year I’ve made great strides in pursuing better physical and mental health. I’m more physically fit than I’ve been in ages, and I’ve been forced to rediscover myself while reassessing my values in a big way. I’ve quit using mind-altering substances, and I’ve done my best to purge toxic connections from my life. Yet for all the work I’ve done, I still often feel imprisoned in my own mind. Therapy has helped, as has creativity, but it’s so goddamn hard to turn my brain off and live in the moment.

And then I heard an episode of WTF featuring the actor Don Johnson, who mentioned in passing that he practices Buddhism. It was a great interview, but that stuck with me. Now, I don’t consider myself a Buddhist or anything, but the notion of living in the moment and accepting that everything is impermanent and in a constant state of change is very compelling to me, so I decided to give myself a cursory review of one of the world’s oldest practices.

This is basically a “Buddhism for Dummies” book, but I found it fascinating and enlightening. It gives thorough historical context and a breakdown of what one can hope to gain from adopting a more present mindset. I hope to bring some of this knowledge to my current meditation and yoga practices. Maybe, if I try hard enough, I will arrive to where I already am.

[Justine Oh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a crash course in Buddhism as stated on the book's cover. The history of Buddhism is presented interestingly and the practices internationally neutrally. The mediation guide is easy to understand and execute. Practical highlights to the contradictions in the modern practitioners affected by the consumer are pointed out without bias and yet to the point. And it stressed many times that we need not be Buddhist to practise the principles for personal growth and social change.

'Are you a Buddhist?'

'You can embrace Buddha without embracing Buddhism. Buddha requires no belief system and no affiliations so doesn't conflict with your own belief system whether you are devoutly religious or an atheist. Buddha's teachings are universal, transcending time and culture. If you have a mind, the. Buddha is relevant to you. Many of the presentations of Buddhism in the West are more Buddha than Buddhism. For example, you will find mindfulness medication taught at major medical centres with no Buddhist context or affiliation.'

[Steena Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really excellent introduction to Buddhist philosophy, psychology, history, and practice. I learned so much from this book and it helped clarify a lot of things about Buddhism I had an incomplete understanding of. The only downside of this book is that it falls victim to one of the same pitfalls many "Intro to x religion" books do, and that is that in trying to cover allllll the bases, it lacked cohesive, logical organization. It wasn't necessarily distracting, but it had more of a magazine-style approach to organization than a guidebook, with each individual concept being covered in more of an article format. There also wasn't a solid conclusion to wrap everything up and help the reader process the book in its entirety.

Still, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about Buddhism, whether on the level of mere curiosity or if you're intending to convert. Really engaging, and really easy to understand.

[Anthony Piska · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s plenty of introductory and detailed information about Buddhism and it’s history, principles, and influence in this relatively short book. I believe many principles of Buddhism are valuable, such as moderation, mindfulness, and balance (the middle path). The writing is very matter of fact, but there’s also moments of deeper analysis and proof, along with different examples of modern Buddhism in a real world context, which make the book feel relevant and applicable. As someone with only a general interest in Buddhism and no plans to actually practice, some parts of this book which discuss more specific methods, materials, and rituals were not particularly interesting to me. Overall, it’s a great introduction and guide through the core tenets, many sects, and far-reaching influence of Buddhism throughout its long history.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the minimum, Buddhism—its theory and meditation practice—is a self-help program for people who are suffering from stress, pain, or general dissatisfaction with their life. If you adopt it more deeply, Buddhism can become like a religion, with rituals art, etc. Since it is a non-theistic religion (except for some cults in Asia), one can adopt Buddhist practices without it interfering with theistic religious beliefs. Or it can be an alternative, non-dogmatic sort of religion for people who have abandoned theistic religious beliefs. This book explains the basics of Buddhism and discusses its variations in different Asian cultures and in modern Western culture.

[louvrejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

ช่วงต้นเล่าความเป็นมาและจุดกำเนิดของสิทธัตถะจนเป็นพระพุทธเจ้า เล่มนี้ไม่ได้เน้นไปที่ประวัติขนาดนั้นแต่ก็มีพูดถึงบ้าง ตามมาด้วยพาร์ทคำสอนต่าง ๆ ของพุทธศาสนา คำสอนหลักคืออริยสัจ 4 ซึ่งผู้เขียนเชื่อมโยงไปกับคำสอนต่าง ๆ ทำให้เข้าใจหลักคำสอนของพระพุทธเจ้าได้ง่าย ชอบพาร์ทคำสอนที่สุด สามารถนำไปปรับใช้ในชีวิตประจำวันได้เป็นอย่างดี และพาร์ทสุดท้าย ส่วนใหญ่จะพูดถึงประวัติศาสตร์ของศา���นาพุทธตั้งแต่อดีตกาลจนถึงปัจจุบัน มีนิกาย ลัทธิ แต่ละประเทศนับถือศาสนาพุทธและมีการปฏิบัติเป็นอย่างไรบ้าง การประยุกต์ใช้ศาสนาพุทธกับวิถีชีวิตของตนเองได่อย่างไรบ้าง ฯลฯ โดยรวมอ่านเข้าใจและเข้าถึงง่าย อ่านสนุกกว่าที่เรียนมาในโรงเรียน แต่แอบง่วงพาร์ทประวัติศาสตร์มาก โดยไม่ชอบเลย555555555555

[Rosalia Adisti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good, if you have no idea what Buddhism is about. Since I previously learned Buddhist concepts in Pali language, I had difficulties matching the concepts to what I already knew (e.g. "mindfulness" is "sati"). One more thing: some of the concepts is seen from an American (US) point of view, so it might not be applicable if you are from somewhere else (I am from Indonesia).

I particularly like that the book is concise and practical. It also offers a good overview of how Buddhism spread, including Buddhism school of thoughts that emerged along the way.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a great introduction to Buddhism, even though it read like a textbook at times. It was fairly high-level yet comprehensive, with many interesting book recommendations, people to look up and learn more about, and solid historical context on the different branches and practices of Buddhism. I enjoyed how clear and digestible the writing was (unlike many Buddhist texts that seem contradictory and confusing, at least at first). I would totally buy this book just to have it as a quick reference!

[Alana Wilck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read more and learn more about other religions and cultures and this definitely gave me an introduction that I was looking for. I also just love meditation and spirituality so Buddhism is where I decided to start. I would love if there were versions of this for all major religions I could read. My only issue was the book was very textbook structured which got boring at times but there really isn’t another way this much information could be crammed into 250 pages so I can’t really complain.

[Amanda]

I appreciated the ending chapters about avoiding commodification of religion and the importance of enlightenment in your work life. I wish there were another chapter about westerners practising eastern religions -- because buddhism largely eschews formal initiations and rites, that is beneficial for accessibility, but that can also allow for unknowledgeable and inexperienced practitioners to speak over those who need to be heard.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is Buddhism a religion, philosophy or way of life? Buddhism was founded over 1000 years ago in India and is widely practiced all over the world. In this book, the author explains Buddhism from its beginning to its spread to its development. Whether you are curious to learn about it or are considering beginning to practice it, this is an excellent introduction that is easy to understand and follow.

[Michael Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative read. Even if you’re not a Buddhist, following the teachings of Buddha and incorporating secular mindfulness practices into your life are beneficial. If you’re an astute Christian or Muslim, here are ways to incorporate Buddhist ways into your practices without running afoul with your beliefs.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview with clear concise explanations of the principles of all major schools of Buddhism practiced today, as well as sections on how Buddhism and meditation practice can look for a non-religious Western practitioner, with lots of references to other experts and books for further investigation.