The Two Buddhist Books in Mahayana

by Upasika Chihmann (Translator)

English and Chinese translations of the Avatamsaka Sutra, part of the Amitayur Dhyana Sutra, and other texts of Pure Land Buddhism, with notes and other explanatory material. 118 pages in English, 131 in Chinese.

249 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Mark Isaak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably this book would be of greater value to devotees of Pure Land Buddhism, but for this interested outsider, it did more to detract than attract. Most of the book describes the blissful afterlife awaiting the virtuous devotee, but very little attention is given to what makes one virtuous, and none at all to how to manage this life. A brief but valuable "explanatory note of the ten Chinese Buddhist Sects" describes the Pure-land school as "the easy way of salvation"; as the book describes, you need only repeat the name of Buddha several times, and you're in. This may be comforting to a Buddhist facing imminent death, but for practical philosophy, Theravada Buddhism (and almost every other religion I have encountered) has much more to offer.