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Religious Book Store > Religious books beginning with B
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A Buddhist Bible |
Author: Dwight Goddard
Published: 2007-10-15 |
List price: $16.50
Our price: $14.85
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As of: January 09th, 2009 07:06:36 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 The White Elephant of Complete Unsurpassed Enlightenment
This book is like the armchair or sofa someone gave or that you bought on impulse at a yard-sale; it's comfortable, but it's ugly and much too big for the room it's in; still you've become too fond of it to consider throwing it away.
It was first published in 1938(!) when there was nothing quite like it. There is Still nothing like it. Despite the tsunami of Buddhist publishing over the last seven decades, many of the dated translations found here are still in print separately with prettier covers.
This is surprising at first; but when you think about it... The Sutras are not exactly the most riveting reading. In East Asian monasteries the Sutras were monotonously chanted like endless mantras, often in a language that was difficult or impossible for the monks to understand. In the West people are happy to read all kinds of books on Buddhism: except the Sutras - which are meant to be where you Start from.
The selections from Tibetan and Theravada (South-East Asian) Buddhism can be ignored: so many excellent texts and compilations have now been translated from these sources.
So it's mainly for those interested in Zen. ( I know, the Zen Masters said, Burn the Sutras, but, you know, they Said stuff like that. If you're going to take Everything that people tell you literally...) Most Sutras important to Zen are in here: the triple-distilled Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Lankâvatâra-Sûtra, the Shûrangama-Sûtra, the Sutra of Hui-Neng.
You really should read the Sutras. Yes, they're as dry as talcum powder and at times you feel you're going to scream if you have to read through one more mind-numbing litany of repetitions. Part philosophical text, part meditation guide, part visionary narrative, they are unique creations, and the effort it takes to read them is intrinsic.
You'll also find some interesting meditation texts and the important "Awakening of Faith in the Mahâyâna". Though it creaks with age and is unsatisfactory in several ways, there is nothing even resembling a substitute for this book.
 available free online
The copy right on this little gem has not been renewed and the full text is available online at sacred-texts dot com. Free - is the Buddhist ideal for the cost of dharma.
Great Intro to Buddhism
I purchased this book almost a year ago. I had read some things on Buddhism before and it seemed interesting. I also found other religions i looked into unfullfilling and decided to try something new.
I picked up this book to learn about Buddhism and along with the learning I gained much insight. I read it and after reading it had a lightness of mind and i rested easier (i had a problem sleeping sometimes, this somehow helped hahaha). The texts in this book are for the most part worth reading, re-reading, and thinking over. Even if you are not a Buddhist it may help offer insight on your mind and life.
While this book will probably seem like the same old thing to an experienced buddhist (and perhaps they have already read some of the stuff) and unorthodox due to the editing of some sutras i highly reccomend it to new Buddhists or people looking to learn more about the religon. The only reason this book gets a 4 star instead of 5 star rating is the fact that some of the stuff in it probably could of been left out. One section of it reads morel ike an instruction manual rather than a religious text. Also, in that section especially, it is extremetly repetitive. It could of done without aobut two sections but i advise you check it out and maybe you will find more in those places (and the book in general) than i did.
Outstanding introduction to the Sutras.
This book is by far the best collection of Buddhist scriptures I've ever seen. While it is perhaps not the best book to serve as an introduction to Buddhist teachings, it does an outstanding job of introducing the westerner to Buddhist scriptures. I recommend that you have some basic understanding of Buddhist teachings before delving into the sutras, but the translations presented here do not require you to know much beforehand.
Goddard uses a variety of English translations of the sutras, some of them his own. Generally speaking I consider them to be relatively easy to read while also being (as far as I can tell) scholastically accurate. There seems to be a good balance between scholastic accuracy and poetic sensibility. In my opinion both the letter and the spirit of these works are presented in these translations.
Goddard includes various sutras from different Buddhist schools: Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Chinese, and more. These include such notable texts as the Dhammapada, Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra, Tao Te Ching, and many more (even including a couple of more modern texts).
The primary shortfall of this book is that it was first published well over 50 years ago when there was not as much Buddhist scholarship in the west. Today I imagine we have more texts and better scholarship that would give us better translations. Still, I could not recommend this book more.
It would be nice to have a companion book featuring modern Buddhist writings by people such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Alan West, and the Dalai Lama.
Buddhist Bible Is A Must
I have read "The Buddhist Bible" by Goddard many times and continue to do so often. To me it is a constant and easily availabe source. I believe it is one of the best books out there. Still, it is often hard to follow and seemingly contradictory as the Sutras are themselves at times.It is however, a must, and will take ongoing study throughout a persons life, as most worthwhile books do.Of course, there is also the "little" issue of putting into practice what we "understand".
The reason I am once again looking at this site is to purchase this book again.The cost is cheap, and so is the binding. This is my third or fourth one. They fall apart constantly, and so I am looking and hoping there is a hardback edition available. Perhaps its binding will last longer.
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