Teachings of the Buddha

by Jack Kornfield

Book Overview

This treasury of essential Buddhist writings draws from the most popular Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese sources. Among the selections are some of the earliest recorded sayings of the Buddha on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760714967
• ISBN13: 9780760714966
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Books
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Not what I expected

The book is a quarter of the size I thought it was going to be. It is a pocket size booklet, about 4inches long. I'm hoping to exchange or return the book.

An Absolute Asset On Your Way To Wakefulness

There are very few books that I can repeatedly read without getting bored. Teachings of the Buddha is one of them. I consider this book a great source of inspiration and definitely awe-inspiring. Whether you're a Buddhist or not, it is a must-read. It is actually a must-have, because it opens your eyes to the essentials of life. The fact that you don't have to read this book from beginning to end, but that you can just open it anywhere and read the little stories, is what works for me. "Teachings of the Buddha" is a compilation of life's values, molded in time-transcending stories that peak every reader's interest. A paragraph in the editor's preface of this book was also the inspiration to my book, "The Awakened Leader: One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere." It is the paragraph where Buddha, shortly after his enlightenment, met a man, who was captured by his radiant glow. So the man asked Buddha: "Are you a celestial being or a god?" Buddha said "no." The man then asked, "Are you a magician or a wizard?" Buddha said, "No" "A man?," and Buddha said, "No." Finally the man asked, "Well, my friend, what are you then?" Upon which Buddha answered, "I am awake." I believe that, in a time where globalization has become a part of our everyday life and has ignited increasing interdependency, multiplicity of mindsets and approaches, and multi-faceted workplaces, we have no choice BUT to be awake. The book, "The Awakened Leader" presents a meta-leadership approach, which guides leaders toward implementing the appropriate leadership style once they have assessed the situation, the followers, and the environment at hand. Awakened Leadership is based on flexibility through open-mindedness, or wakefulness. And it completes the perspectives that many great leadership authors have presented us in the past decade: successful leadership of the self and others, based on proven trends of the past, the now, and the future. Kornfield's book is a great asset to everyone's private library, and so is "The Awakened Leader, One Simple Leadership Style That Works Every Time, Everywhere."

a powerful, moving collection

There's not much to say, only that it is very "enlightening" (pun intended). A great beginner's guide, a short yet compelling compendium, and a joyful read. Excellent book.

Bravo

Very nice compilation. It was an easy read, and for those that are interested in Buddhism, this is a good primer for them. I agree with one of the other reviewers, the opinions needs to be ceased, so that is it

Thankyou Jack Kornfield

Outstanding! This is what comes to mind when reviewing Jack Kornfield's compilation of the sayings accredited to the Buddha Shakyamuni retrieved from various sources. What I would recommend to the person buying this book is perhaps to read an excerpt before sitting down to meditate, or in the morning before heading off to work or school. It truly is much like a daily devotional, to be savored and "picked apart." I love these types of works where the "author" really just plays role of "editor." In this particular case Jack is more of a compiler, retrieving these sayings from a large variety of sources. I appreciate how he simply presents us with the material, but does not do our homework for us. I am always reminded by a man who asked a shaman to interpret a dream he had, while the shaman replies, "Sure, that's great.You should hire me to interpret all of your metaphors for you, I could be your wife, too. In the night you can just roll over and ask me what it all meant. I can spoonfeed you breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well." The man who asked for the interpretation then laughs, realizing the shaman's wonderful teaching. We must find our own commentary for our Buddhist practice to grow any, much like Basho's famous "Ancient Pond" poem.I hope you enjoy this book:)!

A Stellar Sampling of Buddhist Gems

This is the best concise compendium of original Buddhist teachings available in (smooth) English, in my opinion. The selection is excellent and covers the full range of Buddhist traditions. The titles are generally thematic, leaving the designation of the actual sutra to a small note at the end of each selection. It is the perfect and most natural choice for those who are looking for a small bedside edition of concise Buddhist teachings rather than a complete translation of the entire Majjhima Nikaya, or some such (for that check out Wisdom Book's excellent Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, for example). In short, I can't recommend this book highly enough!