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Buddhism
Siddhartha and his spiritual quest, Buddhist art and its ancient temples, the power of meditation and the promise of mindfulness, Tibetan Lamas and the Tantric path to enlightenment, the gaining of wisdom - the many schools of Buddhist thought; the Buddhist tradition is as relevant to the modern world as it was over 2,000 years ago when Siddhartha gained enlightenment. John Snelling's authoritative guide journeys to the enigmatic heartland of the Buddhist world, its path illuminated by a beautiful set of pictures and drawings that capture the spirit of the Buddhist tradition.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 18, 2015
In looking up The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History by John Snelling, I see that the “updated and revised edition” they are selling is from 1999. I wanted to check because my edition is the first, from 1991. With the fast-pace of our internet-age society, things go out of date quickly and so even with something from 1999, I’m sure that one of my criticisms still holds: the section on the ‘contemporary Buddhist scene’ is, by nature, always gong to be out-of-date and that is the major weakness of this otherwise quite good and valuable book.
The other issue I have is Snelling’s overly rosy view of Buddhist culture and a bit of a white-wash of some of the more egregious behavior of some of its ‘renowned’ teachers. That said, Snelling really hit the nail on the head when he enumerated some of the issues he thought would become most relevant and important as Buddhism entered into North American culture. First of these is the place of women in Buddhism. The tradition hasn’t exactly been fair or good for women, often spoken of as “the daughters of Mara,” and yet from the first, the Buddha had said women were equally capable of practice and realization. And indeed, over the following decades, women have taken to more teaching and writing and even the more conservative traditions are being confronted as Western-born Theravadin bhikkus have worked to re-kindle the female sangha that had died out in South-east Asia.
Even back then he raised the issue of whether the old hierarchic forms more reflective of feudalism or, in the case of Zen, for instance, Confucian filial piety and ancestral worship that led to a fetishization of the zen-master and lineage would predominate in North America. From my experience, it has taken a very long time for this to loosen, and it’s often taken scandal to prompt change – such as we saw with the San Francisco Zen Center and their creation of hired abbots for set terms of office to replace the single authority Baker Roshi had had, following the death of Suzuki Roshi.
Finally, as Snelling points out, often throughout its history, Buddhism has had a lackluster record in terms of social and political concerns. A quietist streak often predominated, justified by the teachings of karma and thinking of the social realm of human life as samsaric and hence by definition beyond reform. The Western Enlightenment values – however poorly enacted – lead contemporary practitioners to feel that solitary focus on “enlightenment” is “just not good enough,” as Snelling writes.
Overall, this book can serve as a fairly good “one-stop” introduction to anyone interested in learning of the breadth of the Buddhist tradition as Snelling avoids all scent of sectarianism, but also offers it in a way refreshingly accessible that most more academically oriented introductions are not.
In particular, his handling in Part 2 on the Indian background, the early years of the buddha’s life and his teaching career; Part 3’s offering of the basic teachings, practices and traditional world view and in Part 4 the further development of Buddhism in India with the rise of the Mahayana and Tantra followed by Part 5’s summarily survey of the spread of Buddhism via the Southern Transmission (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea and Indonesia); Northern Transmissions (China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Russia and the Himalayan region) mostly still stands the test of time.
The other issue I have is Snelling’s overly rosy view of Buddhist culture and a bit of a white-wash of some of the more egregious behavior of some of its ‘renowned’ teachers. That said, Snelling really hit the nail on the head when he enumerated some of the issues he thought would become most relevant and important as Buddhism entered into North American culture. First of these is the place of women in Buddhism. The tradition hasn’t exactly been fair or good for women, often spoken of as “the daughters of Mara,” and yet from the first, the Buddha had said women were equally capable of practice and realization. And indeed, over the following decades, women have taken to more teaching and writing and even the more conservative traditions are being confronted as Western-born Theravadin bhikkus have worked to re-kindle the female sangha that had died out in South-east Asia.
Even back then he raised the issue of whether the old hierarchic forms more reflective of feudalism or, in the case of Zen, for instance, Confucian filial piety and ancestral worship that led to a fetishization of the zen-master and lineage would predominate in North America. From my experience, it has taken a very long time for this to loosen, and it’s often taken scandal to prompt change – such as we saw with the San Francisco Zen Center and their creation of hired abbots for set terms of office to replace the single authority Baker Roshi had had, following the death of Suzuki Roshi.
Finally, as Snelling points out, often throughout its history, Buddhism has had a lackluster record in terms of social and political concerns. A quietist streak often predominated, justified by the teachings of karma and thinking of the social realm of human life as samsaric and hence by definition beyond reform. The Western Enlightenment values – however poorly enacted – lead contemporary practitioners to feel that solitary focus on “enlightenment” is “just not good enough,” as Snelling writes.
Overall, this book can serve as a fairly good “one-stop” introduction to anyone interested in learning of the breadth of the Buddhist tradition as Snelling avoids all scent of sectarianism, but also offers it in a way refreshingly accessible that most more academically oriented introductions are not.
In particular, his handling in Part 2 on the Indian background, the early years of the buddha’s life and his teaching career; Part 3’s offering of the basic teachings, practices and traditional world view and in Part 4 the further development of Buddhism in India with the rise of the Mahayana and Tantra followed by Part 5’s summarily survey of the spread of Buddhism via the Southern Transmission (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea and Indonesia); Northern Transmissions (China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Russia and the Himalayan region) mostly still stands the test of time.
February 2, 2013
Extremely helpful with the understanding behind Buddhist culture.
Inside this book their is reading on the subjects of the teachings, practices, history, their belief in the afterlife.
I still pick up this book anything I question something in the Buddhist religion.
Inside this book their is reading on the subjects of the teachings, practices, history, their belief in the afterlife.
I still pick up this book anything I question something in the Buddhist religion.
January 10, 2008
I’ve wanted to read about Eastern religions for many years, and never took the time. What I discovered in the first few pages is that Buddhist philosophy is already a big part of my personal belief system….concepts that I assimilated and incorporated into my being many many years ago, and I just didn’t realize how they melded with the Buddhist religion. It turns out that I already knew about the basic tenets, but some of the details surprised (and excited) me. Some examples: Buddhism is very different from the Christian religion because it’s not about worshipping a Creator God; rather the main objective is about finding release from the continuous cycle of life and death and rebirth that we’re caught in. There is no creation of the world, there is no beginning, and there is no end; the world has always been here and always will be. The Buddhist religion is designed to change with the times; it allows for adjustments, and it also allows for personalization. The concept of karma as I understood it is not quite right; in the Buddhist religion, it’s not reincarnation per se….it’s a rebirth; the new being is not the same as the one that went before nor is it different; or it is both the same and it is different simultaneously. Each death results in a new rebirth, and the cycle continues endlessly. I look forward to learning more about this religion that seems to match my life perspective so well.
FAVOURITE QUOTES:
“Any being that is born into this cyclic Universe is the result of something that has gone before; or, in Buddhist parlance, he, she or it is the fruit (vipaka) of a preceding cause or willed action (karma). This is the doctrine of creation by causes. In turn, when any being dies, he, she or it creates the causes for the birth of a new being. All of us, then, are not living separate, individual lives, but are links in an endless circular or spiralling chain that reaches back into the beginningless past and forward into the endless future.” [p. 10]
“The wisest course would rather be to read and study the scriptures with an open mind, one that is both appreciative and critical, with a view, not so much to fixing a literal understanding in one’s mind, but of assimilating the underlying spirit.” [p. 17]
“If we really want to solve our problems – and the world’s problems, for they stem from the same roots – we must open up and accept the reality of suffering with full awareness, as it strikes us, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, in the here and now. Then, strange as it may seem, we will reap vast rewards. For suffering has its positive side – from suffering we derive the experience of depth, of the fullness of our humanity. This puts us fully in touch with other people and the rest of the Universe. Suffering can also bring out the full grandeur of our race, its heroic and best potential.” [p. 26]
“In order to live skilfully, in harmony with the dynamic Universe, it is essential to accept the reality of change and impermanence. The wise person therefore travels lightly, with a minimum of clutter, maintaining the proverbial ‘open mind’ in all situations, for he or she knows that tomorrow’s reality will not be the same as today’s. He or she will also have learnt the divine art of letting go – which means not being attached to people or possessions and situations, but rather, when the time for parting comes, permitting that to happen with grace.” [p. 35]
FAVOURITE QUOTES:
“Any being that is born into this cyclic Universe is the result of something that has gone before; or, in Buddhist parlance, he, she or it is the fruit (vipaka) of a preceding cause or willed action (karma). This is the doctrine of creation by causes. In turn, when any being dies, he, she or it creates the causes for the birth of a new being. All of us, then, are not living separate, individual lives, but are links in an endless circular or spiralling chain that reaches back into the beginningless past and forward into the endless future.” [p. 10]
“The wisest course would rather be to read and study the scriptures with an open mind, one that is both appreciative and critical, with a view, not so much to fixing a literal understanding in one’s mind, but of assimilating the underlying spirit.” [p. 17]
“If we really want to solve our problems – and the world’s problems, for they stem from the same roots – we must open up and accept the reality of suffering with full awareness, as it strikes us, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, in the here and now. Then, strange as it may seem, we will reap vast rewards. For suffering has its positive side – from suffering we derive the experience of depth, of the fullness of our humanity. This puts us fully in touch with other people and the rest of the Universe. Suffering can also bring out the full grandeur of our race, its heroic and best potential.” [p. 26]
“In order to live skilfully, in harmony with the dynamic Universe, it is essential to accept the reality of change and impermanence. The wise person therefore travels lightly, with a minimum of clutter, maintaining the proverbial ‘open mind’ in all situations, for he or she knows that tomorrow’s reality will not be the same as today’s. He or she will also have learnt the divine art of letting go – which means not being attached to people or possessions and situations, but rather, when the time for parting comes, permitting that to happen with grace.” [p. 35]
September 15, 2017
I liked this book for its outstandingly clear explanation of all fundamental doctrines of Theravada,Mahayana and Vajrayana buddhism. Very useful reference indeed.
July 28, 2023
Informational and disillusioning. Overall a good reference, made me realize that although practicing Buddhism is a potential step on the path to enlightenment, as a woman would probably not be recognized within most of the establishments for teaching. A religion historically the majority of schools still believe gender is karma has not reached true nonduality and is disappointing to read about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2025
not a bad intro to the different belief systems,
followed by a terribly boring history of the spread of the different schools around the world, topped off with a fun exploration of buddhism and psychotherapy working together to free people from modern malaise.
followed by a terribly boring history of the spread of the different schools around the world, topped off with a fun exploration of buddhism and psychotherapy working together to free people from modern malaise.
June 5, 2019
Neurazí. Ale k osvícení asi taky úplně nedovede.
November 3, 2024
4.5 stars. Deep passion hits different. This gave such a comprehensive and respectful overview. I feel like I have a better understanding of both the religion, philosophy, and practitioners.
August 17, 2025
Zeer mooi en persoonlijk laatste hoofdstuk interresant om dit ooit eens te herlezen (zie foto’s gsm)
October 31, 2015
Este trabajo documental esta dirigido a personas que no tienen idea sobre esta doctrina religiosa; esta tratado de una forma muy elemental y su razón de ser, es presentar el budismo sin hacer proselitismo - Claro esta el proselitismo se presenta indirectamente - en mi caso particular me aclaro muchas dudas que tenia al respecto, que bien por desconocimiento o por ideas infundadas me imaginaba que era completamente distinto a lo que allí encontré plasmado.
Mi objetivo era aumentar mi acervo cultural y religioso con respecto a este tema sin la necesidad de convertirme en un devoto de esta doctrina; pero como el autor dice el que quiera ahondar más en este tema debe dirigirse a los templos cercanos a su localidad y realizar las investigaciones que en su bibliografía recomiendan.
Mi objetivo era aumentar mi acervo cultural y religioso con respecto a este tema sin la necesidad de convertirme en un devoto de esta doctrina; pero como el autor dice el que quiera ahondar más en este tema debe dirigirse a los templos cercanos a su localidad y realizar las investigaciones que en su bibliografía recomiendan.
September 24, 2011
Not really recommendable. Basic, disorganized, not particularly well-written. Just one example: "mindfulness", a currently popular buzz-word that I'd like to see precisely defined, is never defined, although it's repeatedly used and figures prominently in the index.
August 30, 2007
This took a lot of concentration and wasn't quite the introduction I was looking for. But it still had a lot of useful information and helped shed light on the topic.
September 25, 2007
basic primer.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews