An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices.

• Author: Cox, Collett

In proposing to write a new introductory text on Buddhism, an author sets a difficult task. The vastness of the topic demands radical selection both in content and in method; heuristic considerations constrain ideal intentions; pedagogical objectivity taxes personal limitations of specialized competence and interest. A partial inventory of types of actual and potential introductions might include: conventional chronologically or geographically organized surveys of important names and dates; a doctrinal survey that presents supposed core teachings, emphasizing possibly early Buddhism, select later traditions or schools, or select individual teachers; annotated selections from essential Buddhist canonical scriptures or from other Buddhist texts, again emphasizing one or another sect, school, or teacher; thematically organized surveys that detail aspects of doctrine, practice, or communal and lay life and organization without special regard to historical period or cultural context; attempts to capture the "essence" of Buddhist doctrine, worldview, practice, or life--again without regard to historical period or cultural context; biographical accounts; social or political histories; anthropological studies of the Buddhism of a particular area; presentations of Buddhist teaching and practice via art-historical, ethnomusicological, or literary materials. Choosing a "best introduction" thus appears as unreasonable as deciding what is best (or essential) in Buddhism; ultimately individual taste and experience will determine which type or combination of types is preferable or better suited to a given audience.

Accordingly, the thirteen chapters comprising Peter Harvey's An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices reflect his own response to these confining demands as he attempts to accommodate the diverse aspects and expanse of Buddhism. The first four chapters are an exposition of the main events and doctrines of early Buddhism, largely as presented in the Pali canon. Harvey clearly judges this material as, for the most part, representing the teaching of the Buddha himself, and therefore, of primary importance. Thus, numerous technical terms are cited here in Pali, and unlike most of the rest of the work, which is footnoteless in textbook style, there are frequent scriptural references embedded in the text. The fifth and sixth chapters deal with Mahayana: chapter five reviews Mahayana "philosophy," particularly Madhyamaka and...