The Teachings of Buddha

by Paul Carus

Book Overview

The Gospel of Buddha was first published in 1894. It soon became a worldwide bestseller, completely eclipsing the one previous attempt to popularize Buddhism in the West, Sir Edwin Arnold's The Light... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312195869
• ISBN13: 9780312195861
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 135 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

The Simplest place for Christians to start with Buddhism....

Although this is a really old and linguistically dated, for a variety of reasons this is the simplest place for a person familiar with the Gospels to begin an inquiry into the life of the Buddha (as opposed to Buddhism as a religion generally-- which is much to broad for this book to cover in its just over three hundred pages....) For a book that is almost one hundred years old, its author did a remarkable job of summarizing the sutras that detail the life of the Buddha and in providing charts, etc. such that Christians would grasp that yes, this man was teaching many of the same things as was the man who taught in their Bible.....This is a good place to learn about the Buddha's life. However, a person versed only in this book would not be familiar with most of the forms of Buddhism as they were actually practiced-- it would be difficult to identify HOW Zen of Pure Land or Vajrayana Buddhism came to be having just this little book much in the same wasy it would be impossible to determine how Christianity had changed and developed throughout time having only the record provided in the New Testament, or Judaism having only the Pentatuch.....For those acquainted with Buddhist literature, this book is vaguely similar in content to the Digha Nikaya ("The Long Discourses of the Buddha") in that both are trying to portray how Buddhism, or the thought and teachings of the Buddha were portrayed at the time of his life as opposed to any kind of philosophy, etc. which developed later (the Mahayana stuff). For those interested in this stuff, I would advise books by Robert Thurman (there are a number) and D.T. Suzuki (again, the same) as the easiest to understand in regards to Indian and Tibetan forms and East Asian and Zen forms respectively. I highly recommend this book....

Abridged and modernized version of 'The Gospel... Buddha'

I have recently read a number of books on Buddhism, and returned to this philosophy (not faith) after it helped me years ago. This abridged guide is an excellent place to begin the subject or introduce someone else to it. It is a much easier read than the original, which is written in somewhat stilted language in an attempt to emulate the bible. Both versions contain many essential elements of Buddhism written in the form of a continuous story, which make them very easy and enjoyable to read. Pausing in the story allows you to ponder the important truths which are clearly presented. I recommend this abridged version rather than the full because I see the book best used as an introduction to the philosophy. A great way to probe further into doctrine and meaning is to read "What the Buddha taught" by Walpola Rahula. A very valuable portion of this latter book is the section containing translations of the original Pali recitations of the Buddha's words, the earliest known record of his teaching. In the end, its best to go to the source...

Life of Buddha written in the style of Christian Gospel

311 pages, illustrated. This is a nice book for Christians who wish to grasp the message and principle beliefs of Buddhism. Carus presents the Buddha's life in a collection of stories from his birth, attainment of enlightenment, teaching, to his death. Well written, it emulates the biblical style of the King Jame's Bible, occasionally puncuated with Ye, Thou, Thy, and so on. The stories are enjoyable but short and somewhat numerous. This edition appears to be made from the original plates, with original intricate illustrations made for the work by Olga Kopetzky. Also included is a glossary of terms and a concordance with passages in the New Testament. This book convinced me that Christianity is historically the child of both Judaism and Buddhism.

This version of Gospel of Buddha lacks illustrations.

This is a nice book for Christians who wish to grasp the message and principle beliefs of Buddhism. Carus presents the Buddha's life in a collection of stories from his birth, attainment of enlightenment, teaching, to his death. Well written, it emulates the biblical style of the King Jame's Bible, occasionally puncuated with Ye, Thou, Thy, and so on. The stories are enjoyable but short and somewhat numerous. Also included is a glossary of terms and a concordance with passages in the New Testament. This edition has been reset and lacks the original intricate illustrations by Olga Kopetzky. The pages of the book were also stragely scented. I bought this to have a hardcover version but prefer the Open Court copy made from the original plates.

A classical, historial record of the teachings of Buddha

I have read a lot of books of buddhism, but this book impress me a lot because it is written clearly with lucid english with a clear and authorative records on early buddhism based on historical facts, I feel happy and hope it can one day be appreciated by chinese readers and perhaps such classical book be translated to other languages and I hope great publicity be given to this book to create a greater awareness of the noble teachings of buddha and to remove common misconceptions about buddhism. Please declare it to the public for anyone who may wish to publish it or duplicate it for further circulation and distribution free of charge to the thirsty world is quest of noble truth. I hope to see more of such books with such fluent and beautiful language and pray for its greater success asoka lai singapore feb 98 i