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Religion
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Textbook Buddhism: introductory books on theBuddhist religion
Stephen C. Berkwitz
To cite this article: Stephen C. Berkwitz (2016) Textbook Buddhism: introductory books on theBuddhist religion, Religion, 46:2, 221-246, DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2015.1091217
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2015.1091217
Published online: 14 Oct 2015.
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Textbook Buddhism: introductory books on theBuddhist religion
Stephen C. Berkwitz*
Department of Religious Studies, Southwest Missouri State University, 901 South NationalAvenue, Strong Hall 269, Springfield, MO 65804, USA
Textbooks on Buddhism comprise a large, varied genre and have long been usedto introduce the religion to students in academic settings. This review essayexamines ten textbooks on the subject, noting their distinctive features,strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the types of courses that are well suitedto each work. Additional information from a survey on Buddhism textbooksconducted by the author is used to supplement our understanding of whichsources are regularly used in Buddhism courses and why. Unresolved tensionsover whether to stress the coherence or diversity of Buddhism, and how compre-hensive a textbook should be, are noted. Arguing that ‘Textbook Buddhism,’as aproduct of scholarly imagination, is a distinctive form of the tradition, itbehooves specialists to be more reflective about their use of textbooks and tobe more intentional in helping students to read them critically.
KEY WORDS Buddhism; textbooks; Buddhist studies; India
Cantwell, Cathy. 2010. Buddhism: The Basics. London: Routledge. viii + 196 pp. US$23.95.Gethin, Rupert. 1998. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. xvii + 333 pp. US$29.95.Harvey, Peter. 2013 [1990]. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and
Practices. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. xxviii + 521 pp. US$34.99.Lewis, Todd, ed. 2014. Buddhists: Understanding Buddhism Through the Lives of
Practitioners. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell. xv + 329 pp. US$44.95.Mitchell, Donald W., and Sarah H. Jacoby. 2014 [2002]. Buddhism: Introducing the
Buddhist Experience. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. xxii + 436 pp. US$49.95.Prebish, Charles S., and Damien Keown. 2010 [2006]. Introducing Buddhism. 2nd
ed. London: Routledge. xviii + 322 pp. US$44.95.
Religion, 2016Vol. 46, No. 2, 221–246, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2015.1091217
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
*Email: [email protected]
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Robinson, Richard H., Willard L. Johnson, and Thanissaro Bhikkhu. 2005 [1970].Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. xxiii + 357 pp. US$122.95.Strong, John S. 2015. Buddhisms: An Introduction. London: Oneworld Publi-
cations. xxv + 442 pp. US$30.00.Trainor, Kevin, ed. 2004 [2001]. Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide. 2nd ed. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. 256 pp. US$29.95.Wynne, Alexander. 2014. Buddhism: An Introduction. London: I.B. Tauris. xv + 287
pp. £14.99/US$24.50.
Reading materials for Buddhism courses
Books used in survey courses on Buddhism make up a large and varied corpus oftextbooks, introductory volumes, anthologies, ethnographies, primary-sourcetexts, academic articles and, in some cases, novels and short stories. Althoughone cannot expect that everyone who teaches a Buddhism course is an expert inthe field, many instructors do bring specialized training into the design and teach-ing of their courses. An online survey conducted in December 2014 to subscribers ofthe H-Buddhism listserv indicates that a majority of scholars of Buddhism (95percent) do teach a survey course in Buddhism, and either always (60 percent) orsometimes (28 percent) employ a textbook in their course.1 To the extent that thissurvey reflects current academic trends, we may conclude that despite thewealth of textual, video, and online resources at an instructor’s disposal, the text-book remains a valuable tool for teaching students about Buddhism.This essay seeks to examine and assess a number of Buddhism textbooks that are
available to students and scholars in the field. As a modern form of academicwriting, the Buddhism textbook is a flourishing genre. There is almost an embar-rassment of riches when it comes to pedagogical surveys and introductions tothe Buddhist religion written by scholarly experts. The list of ten textbooksunder review here combines texts that are in frequent use and other, newer textsthat are expanding the genre. Textbooks that were frequently cited by the surveyrespondents are included. These are balanced by several recently publishedworks that offer some sense of the directions in which the field is moving. Together,these ten texts are indicative of the variety of scholarly interests and approaches tothe contemporary study of Buddhism. The authors selected comprise North Amer-ican and British scholars, and they are with two exceptions all male. Textbooks as awhole aim for a complete treatment of a subject and offer a normative standard ofwhat should be known (Stausberg and Engler 2013, 131). Of course, the normativestandards and perspectives of what constitutes completeness are wholly subjectiveand will vary from author to author. The books chosen here all aim to convey anunderstanding of Buddhism in its entirety, rather than a specific aspect of it (e.g.,Buddhist philosophy) or a certain Buddhist school or geographical region. Theselection of these books is restricted to works written in English, although it is
1The survey on Buddhism textbooks was created by the present author and administered on SurveyMonkey in December 2014. Subscribers to the H-Buddhism mailing list were invited to participate inthe four-question survey, which was anonymous and unscientific. The survey generated 116 totalresponses from scholars and included the possibility for giving open-ended responses.
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possible to find some original textbooks on Buddhism in other European languagesand numerous others written in Asian languages for a variety of audiences.2
One might also expect a review essay to critique books for their accuracy. It isworth pointing out, however, that such an approach generally works better formonographs than textbooks, as the latter genre contains a wider range of materialpresented in less depth than the former one typically offers. Nor is it an easy task tomeasure and compare the accuracy of statements about a subject as large as Bud-dhism, partly since textbooks tend to rely in large part on the scholarship of others,and also since the sheer amount of details and pages involved would require moretime and space than the present essay can afford. As a result, I will restrict my com-ments regarding accuracy to a handful of notable examples and instead concentratemore on how different textbooks organize and present their information about theBuddhist religion. To that end, this essay will focus on how ten textbooks attemptto portray a complete picture of Buddhism, while reviewing their points of empha-sis, distinctive features, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the kinds of coursesbest suited for their use. They will be discussed individually in chronological orderbased on their publication dates.When looking at these textbooks as a whole, they share a number of similarities
and could all be useful in introducing the Buddhist religion to new learners. Theyusually begin with a discussion of the ancient Indian context out of which Bud-dhism developed and proceed to outline the life story of the Buddha. They intro-duce a number of key doctrinal points related to karma, samsāra (rebirth), the‘Four Noble Truths,’ ‘Eightfold Path,’ and ‘Dependent Origination.’ They discussdifferent forms of Buddhism –most notably Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna– but also at times particular sects, schools, and other geographical forms such as‘Western Buddhism.’ In general, one might deduce that boundaries for the aca-demic study of Buddhism have been conclusively and coherently set, as most ofthese texts tend to cover the same ground. The resulting product of such researchis the creation of what we might call ‘Textbook Buddhism,’ a largely coherent formof the religion that is imaginatively produced by scholars by virtue of their effortsto summarize and present a comprehensive overview of the tradition as it existsacross time and cultures.Differences in Textbook Buddhism appear mainly in terms of the context and
interpretations given by the authors to their material on the religion. One findsvarious topics of emphasis and different evaluative judgments in each overviewof the tradition. The degree to which each textbook incorporates pedagogicaltools also varies substantially. A key tension underlying all of these works iswhether one should highlight coherence or diversity with regard to Buddhist tra-ditions. Some authors opt to identify and discuss a common core to the differentexpressions of Buddhist thought and practice, while others emphasize the differentforms that Buddhism takes in different Asian lands. Indeed, assuming that thesetextbooks speak to scholarly visions of the Buddhist religion, we can concludethat the field of Buddhist Studies has not reached a consensus about definingwhat Buddhism is or how best to account for its differences. It is doubtful thatany specialists would argue that ‘Buddhism’ could be reduced to a singular
2A notable example of a recent textbook written in German is Freiberger and Kleine’s (2011). This workcovers an impressive collection of topics and is informed by a broad array of recent research in the field.
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tradition. At the same time, there appears to be little unanimity about what shouldfollow a description of Buddhism in its plurality of forms. For some authors, themere fact of recognizing diversity in Buddhism is a worthwhile accomplishment.For others, the obligation to be more definitive about what constitutes Buddhismoutweighs other considerations when teaching students. Many authors seem tostruggle with this choice and decide instead to move back and forth between high-lighting diversity and identifying shared features.
Finding common ground
Rupert Gethin’s The Foundations of Buddhism is notable among those on our list forbeing the book that has been in print for the longest period of time. Originally pub-lished in 1998, Gethin’s work followed and responded to several older textbooksthat have either since been revised or have gone out of print. This work was alsocited most frequently in my survey as the textbook used by nearly 40 percent ofrespondents who teach introductory courses in Buddhism.3 Its apparent popularitymay be due to factors such as its subject matter of foundational ideas and practices,its long career in print, and its affordable price. The focus of this work is on whatthe author describes as ‘those fundamental ideas and practices that constitutesomething of a common heritage of ideas and practices shared by the different tra-ditions of Buddhism’ (Gethin 1998, 3). Gethin highlights aspects of Buddhismfound in its early traditions that have had a determinative impact on the religionin its various forms. Such an approach, however, is not nearly as old-fashionedas it might sound. Writing in the 1990s, the author was familiar with works that dis-tinguished Theravāda and Mahāyāna as the two major schools of Buddhism, withthe latter coming to supersede the former in an almost teleological manner. Insteadof rehashing and reproducing Buddhist sectarian polemics, Gethin seeks to empha-size how Indic traditions of Buddhism drew upon similar interests and ideas intheir texts and practices. In an era when the echoes of deconstructionist thoughtare still clearly heard, an effort to mark out the foundations of Buddhism acrossits various schools and sects appears quite radical.Gethin focuses on the common ground between non-Mahāyāna and Mahāyāna
expressions of Buddhism in the formative phase of Indian Buddhist traditions. Hedraws mainly from ancient mainstream forms gleaned from Pāli works from SriLanka and Sanskrit texts from Northern India. This emphasis means thatGethin’s text relies heavily on canonical and scholarly works such as Buddhghosa’sVisuddhimagga and Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa for identifying the foundationalmaterial in Buddhist thought and practice. Not surprisingly, then, among the dis-tinctive features of this work is the author’s specialized treatment of subjectssuch as Buddhist cosmology, the No-Self doctrine, and Abhidharma thought.Gethin’s areas of expertise lend themselves to an informed exposition of thesetopics, which are often only briefly discussed in other introductory works. The dis-cussion of the theoretical parameters for the Buddhist religion makes a clear andcompelling case for acknowledging that different Buddhist sects and schools actu-ally share many presumptions and ideas in common.
3The relevant question asked: ‘If you use a Buddhism textbook in your survey course, which book orbooks do you use?’ Respondents were allowed to identify more than one text, which resulted in percen-tages that cumulatively exceed 100%.
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Some of the strengths of Gethin’s work revolve around his awareness of thoseideas that might challenge and puzzle students. Reflecting years of teachingcourses on Buddhism, Gethin’s text anticipates common student questionsand offers answers to them. For instance, he explains why Buddhist textswere originally transmitted orally rather than in written form, and why thisform of transmission was significant for Buddhist practice (Gethin 1998, 39).While discussing Buddhist practices involving the petitioning of deities forhelp with worldly matters, he points out that such practices are not inimicalto the theory of karma, since individual responsibility would not precludeone from seeking assistance from others to cope better with life’s challenges(129). An additional feature that students and scholars alike will appreciate isGethin’s incorporation of endnotes for citing scholarly sources and primarytexts used in his accounts. Including scholarly references in textbooks and intro-ductory volumes is not normal practice, but it is wise to expose students to thisstyle of critical writing.In terms of content, The Foundations of Buddhism includes numerous insights
on various features of the religion. Consistent with his approach to identifyingthe shared heritage of different forms of Indic Buddhism, Gethin explainshow Madhyamaka and Yogācāra thought represented a continuation and devel-opment of certain lines of older Abhidharma thought, and thus did not reject itoutright (Gethin 1998, 250). Likewise, in his discussion of the different scriptural‘canons’ of Buddhism, he is careful to point out the doctrinal similaritiesbetween the Pāli Nikāyas and Chinese Āgamas (44). At the same time,Gethin’s choices on what to emphasize and include in his text leave somenotable gaps. The focus on the common heritage in Buddhist traditions isfounded mainly on his reading of Pāli canonical and commentarial texts. Heeschews by design much consideration of Buddhism outside of India and SriLanka, or Buddhism in later, post-commentarial eras. There is only an abridgedtreatment of these other traditions of Buddhism. Although Gethin is careful toacknowledge the diversity to be found across Buddhist traditions and cultures,his book stops short of mapping out what this diversity actually looks likeoutside of South Asia. In general, the focus of this textbook lies mainly with out-lining the theoretical underpinnings for the development of the Buddhist reli-gion. While Gethin’s approach has its merits, one might find fault in that itsgeneralizations about what is common to Buddhism downplays the differencesacross traditions.These weaknesses notwithstanding, it is easy to see why many instructors use
Gethin’s The Foundations of Buddhism in their introductory courses. The text offersa detailed examination of the theoretical bases for the Buddhist religion, supportedby insightful analyses and informed references to contemporary scholarlyopinions. The course it imagines would be one that focuses on the origins anddevelopment of Buddhism in India in particular, while mapping out how thisancient tradition was passed on to other cultures and historical eras. It is a textbookthat lends itself to viewing Buddhism as an Indian religion that developed in dis-tinctive yet coherent ways, owing to an intellectual framework that was largelyretained by later Buddhist communities. Its content is made clearer by a handfulof tables and maps, but it presumes that the instructor will supplement this text-book with other materials to fill out the geographical coverage of the Buddhistreligion.
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Buddhism and material culture
The next book on our list to appear is the 2004 paperback edition of Buddhism: TheIllustrated Guide, edited by Kevin Trainor. Originally published in 2001, this text fea-tures lavish, full-color illustrations depicting Buddhist culture and practice. About10 percent of the respondents to my survey indicated their use of this text in theirrespective courses on Buddhism. It appeared around the time when scholars ofBuddhism began paying more attention to material culture, following the pro-grammatic essays of Gregory Schopen and others who called for reorientingresearch in Buddhist Studies away from an almost exclusive focus on textualsources (Schopen 1997, 9). Trainor and his co-authors including Mark L. Blum,David Chappell, Todd T. Lewis, John Peacock, and Michael Willis have composeda work in which the subjects of Buddhist culture and ritual are emphasized overphilosophy and doctrine. Although it still begins in Ancient India with the life ofthe Buddha, Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide highlights cultural expressions of thereligion, particularly in its material forms and practices. Indeed, devotional actsof chanting, pilgrimage, and donations appear prominently in the text and arenot subordinated to doctrine as in many textbooks. Thematic topics are coveredin short essays accompanied by several illustrations, such that the work appearsto be a coffee-table book as much as a textbook. Credit Oxford University Press,however, for recognizing that such a work could be used in courses and thusshould appear in paperback as well as a cloth edition.Organized around the subjects of ‘Origins,’ ‘Principles and Practice,’ ‘Holy Writ-
ings’, and ‘Buddhism Today,’ the various authors write about key aspects of Bud-dhist history and culture in clear prose and in the encyclopedic style of discreetentries. The material is presented in short, easily digestible essays. The text containsnumerous pedagogical features such as textboxes, sidebars, a glossary, and of courseabundant illustrations. Further, in attempting to make the work accessible to thewidest possible audience, the use of diacritical marks has been forsaken for Sanskritand Pāli terms. One of its distinctive qualities is the sections devoted to Buddhist artand architecture found throughout the text and authored mainly by the Art Histor-ianWillis. These sections enable readers to exploremore closelyaspects of Buddhismsuch as stūpas,mandalas, and depictions of the Pure Land in East Asian cultures. Fewother textbooks on Buddhism devote this amount of description, much less colorillustrations to the visual and material aspects of the religion.The focus on imagery and materiality in Buddhism counts among the book’s
greatest strengths. The illustrations are attractive, compelling, and placed suitablyto complement the written text. These pictures, along with the readable shortessays, make this work exceptionally accessible to beginners. Nevertheless, theessays also regularly make use of recent scholarship on their topics, althoughthis is not reflected in every case. One welcome addition is the assessment ofcurrent scholarly views on the beginning of the Mahāyāna as a monastic ratherthan lay movement (Trainor 2004 [2001], 55). The work also benefits fromremarks on the perspectives of Western scholarship on Buddhism, noting forexample the difficulty many earlier scholars had in understanding devotional prac-tice in Buddhism (108). Among the strongest essays are those that deal with Bud-dhist ‘wisdom’ by summarizing the basic principles of the Dharma, and a separatechapter on ‘Dharma’ that considers the material forms and significance of languageand writing for understanding the Buddha’s teachings.
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Ironically, the strengths found in this textbook’s illustrations and accessibilitymay also represent some of its weaknesses. The manifold color photos alongwith the textboxes and sidebars on most pages interrupt the narrative flow of theessays, making it difficult for any reader to stay focused on the text. Indeed, thelarge photos tend to overshadow the accompanying narratives. Frequently, thetextboxes and sidebars contain material that is tangential to the essays, possiblyraising questions for students on how they should read and interpret thesedetails. Were one to read Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide as a coffee-table book, afocus on the illustrations to the subordination of the text would not be aproblem. As a textbook for teaching Buddhism, however, students would requireguidance in how to use and read this work. Similarly, the brief treatments ofselect themes related to Buddhism, while easy to read, sometimes lead to general-izations and omissions of important material. Some complex historical matters aretreated very briefly and oversimplified, as, for example, in the review of the declineof Buddhism in India in three sentences, and the division of the Sangha in one para-graph (Trainor 2004 [2001], 54). Elsewhere, a short discussion of women and Tantrasuggests only a positive appreciation for women based on the rejection of dualisticthought in tantric traditions, which is a stance that ignores more critical assess-ments of the marginal roles of women and their instrumental use for the maleyogin’s ends (cf. Davidson 2002, 96–98). The short summaries also tend to elidethe differences among Buddhist traditions in favor of identifying what they havein common.Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide carves out for itself a distinctive niche as a text-
book that gives more attention to art and material culture than any other workof its kind. For instructors who wish to emphasize the visual and materialaspects of Buddhism, there can hardly be a more useful work than this. The distinc-tive focus on materiality makes the text an effective guide for surveying how Bud-dhism appears visually across Asia. At the same time, the brevity of its essaysmeans that additional lecture or reading material would be almost essential.
The classic overview
The standard modern textbook for surveying Buddhism, The Buddhist Religion: AHistorical Introduction, was originally written and published in 1970 by the lateRichard H. Robinson. Revised and republished multiple times under the guidanceof Willard L. Johnson, a fifth edition appeared in 2005 after being extensivelyrevised and renamed Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction by ThanissaroBhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff). The updates made to this classic textbook havebrought it squarely up to date in terms of current scholarship in BuddhistStudies. The change in title reflecting a greater awareness of the plurality of Bud-dhist forms and traditions is a clear gesture to contemporary scholarly preferences.Multiple revisions to this work have also made it quite long and dense, withdetailed chapters lacking any illustrations or other pedagogical aids save for abasic glossary and some cross references to different sub-headings in the text.Respondents to the survey on H-Buddhism indicate only about 6 percent of instruc-tors employ Buddhist Religions in their courses. This result is likely due in part to thehigh list price (US$122.95), which several instructors cited as a strong disincentiveagainst adopting the text. An accompanying anthology of primary-source readingsedited by John S. Strong 2008 [2002] and titled The Experience of Buddhism: Sources
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and Interpretations was first published in 2002 as a companion to the Robinson andJohnson textbook, but my survey indicates frequent use of this anthology withoutthe textbook.The basic organization of Buddhist Religions remains similar to its previous edi-
tions. Starting with the Buddha’s Awakening, it proceeds to discuss his teachingsand his exaltation as a recipient of devotion. It then discusses early and later devel-opments of Buddhism India, before tracing its transmission and development invarious other Asian lands and finally in the West. This extensive overview of thegeographic spread of various Buddhist schools is recounted mainly within the fra-mework of political history, as the relations between the Sangha and the rulers ofstate forms the context for describing the establishment of Buddhism in differentcountries and regions. To its credit, the text also offers interpretations on broad his-torical issues such as how we should understand the rise to prominence of Thera-vāda Buddhism in Sri Lankan and mainland Southeast Asia, or the assimilation ofBuddhism in Chinese society (Robinson, Johnson, Thanissaro 2005 [1970], 150–153,175–176). There is, in other words, valuable analysis as well as description. Thecomprehensive scale of Buddhist Religions almost turns it into a reference work,and its incorporation of current scholarly understandings on various aspects ofBuddhism make it useful even for advanced students and scholars. Unlike theapproach in Gethin’s book, the fifth edition of Buddhist Religions treats the ‘ThreeVehicles’ as distinct forms of Buddhism that are more different than alike. Never-theless, this textbook clearly reveals a focus that rests on Dharma and doctrinemore than ritual and material history.The breadth and depth of this text’s treatment of ‘Buddhist religions’ is surely its
most prominent strength. The amount of information given to Buddhism in India isconsiderable, but it does not overshadow the lengthy and detailed discussions ofBuddhism in other geographical areas. The text makes copious use of technicalterms in Pāli and Sanskrit to expand upon an understanding of traditional conceptsand build a vocabulary for further study in the field. In short, Buddhist Religions isthe product of many years of deep and extensive research. It contains insightful dis-cussions on a wide variety of topics including, for example, Aśoka’s Buddhist orien-tation and role in promoting the Dharma (Robinson, Johnson, and Thanissaro 2005[1970], 59–62); an explanation for the rise of the Maitreya cult outside of the GangesValley (79); the development and use of Buddha images; the rise of Mahāyāna outof bodhisattva sūtras (80), which were themselves derived from jātaka stories aboutthe perfections and avadāna tales on the use of a Buddha-field to maximize merit(85–87); the bodhisattva ideal as originally directed toward a select elite ratherthan a universal goal (91); an examination of the effects of different schools andemperors on Buddhism in China (185–205); an informed treatment of divergentideas and ideals in different classes of tantric texts (128–131), and so on. The rich-ness of these discussions conveys much of what one could expect specialists in thefield to know. The fifth edition also includes sections on modern Buddhism in Asia,including a detailed treatment of Thai village practice of Buddhism (161–163). Ingeneral, however, the attention given to modern forms of Buddhism is lesser com-pared to ancient traditions.Despite its many strengths, there are still notable weaknesses in Buddhist Reli-
gions as a textbook. The expensive list price and lack of images and other pedago-gical tools have been mentioned already as key drawbacks. More generally, thistextbook is so comprehensive in scope and densely written in style that one
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imagines students having difficulty using this text in an undergraduate surveycourse. There is arguably an excess of information contained in this work, morethan perhaps most students could be expected to absorb. Although this may bewelcome from an instructor’s perspective, it nevertheless suggests a certain lackof consideration for what students could reasonably be expected to retain anduse. The text at times presumes a prior familiarity with the subject, since itemploys certain terms such as the ‘fabricated’ versus ‘unfabricated’ types of experi-ence that require more explanation and unpacking than what is given. Further, thetext uses comparatively few quotations from primary texts, preferring to utilizeparaphrases instead. As a whole, Buddhist Religions employs a historical frameworkthat foregrounds the development of Buddhist schools and political dynasties.There is much to learn from this approach, but it also leads to an overly detailednarrative that may overwhelm some students.The ideal course for Buddhist Religions would be one that presents a comprehen-
sive survey of the spread and development of different forms of Buddhism acrossAsia. It would give comparatively more attention to ancient forms than Buddhisttraditions in the modern era. By offering so much information and interpretationsto the reader, there may not be much more for the instructor to add as supplemen-tary material. Specialists in their fields will likely find certain details with which toquibble. Nevertheless, the instructor who uses this textbook could be confidentabout its awareness of recent research in the field, but she or he would beobliged to develop interesting and creative ways to convey and expand upon itsmaterial. Teaching to the textbook in this instance would be a challenge for bothinstructor and students alike.
A utilitarian approach
The textbook Introducing Buddhism by Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown wasfirst published in 2006 before being revised and published in a second edition in2010. According to my survey, roughly 14 percent of my respondents used thisbook in their courses. Particularly noteworthy about this text is that it is alsosold separately as an ebook, of which at least two survey respondents indicatedtheir use (Prebish and Keown 2004). This textbook exceeds all others in its collectionof pedagogical tools, including an online companion website with essay questions,pronunciation guide, self-tests for students, and a password-protected instructor-resources page.4 The printed book comes with maps, chapter outlines, an extensiveglossary, chronology of Buddhist history, lists of canonical texts, and textboxes con-taining ‘key points you need to know.’ Introducing Buddhism is written in a clear,concise manner with topics including key thinkers, texts, and schools of Buddhismidentified by subheadings throughout the book. In fact, this book is organized in analmost encyclopedic manner with a series of discrete, unconnected entries. Usingthe index, the reader can go directly to the part of the book to find informationon the topic of one’s interest. Prebish and Keown have clearly put a great deal ofthought into the design of their textbook, making it as ‘user-friendly’ as possible.While the utilitarian design of this text is distinctive, the organization of its con-
tents resembles several other textbooks. Starting in ancient India, the book proceeds
4The companion website may be found here: http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415550017/
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to examine the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, before moving on to various schoolsof Buddhism in other parts of Asia and the West. It includes separate chapters onmeditation (authored by Stephan V. Beyer), ethics, and the study of Buddhism,revealing the interests of the authors. The presentation of key topics and termshas the effect of deemphasizing any overarching historical narrative, as found inseveral other works such as the Robinson, Johnson, and Thanissaro textbook.One also finds frequent comparisons made to Western religious concepts and phi-losophical ideas, such as likening Buddhist hells to Christian purgatory (Prebishand Keown 2010 [2006], 15). This method may aid understanding by Western stu-dents, but it also risks oversimplifying and distorting the Buddhist material.Certain sections of Introducing Buddhism are particularly strong. The work
includes a detailed discussion of monastic Vinaya texts and related practices thatyields more information on these subjects than most other textbooks. Its in-depthtreatment of Buddhist monastic life, including helpful distinctions made aboutearly versus modern conceptions of the Sangha, address a subject that in my experi-ence is of considerable interest to many students (Prebish and Keown 2010 [2006],60–61). Likewise, the text includes a detailed, well-researched section on Buddhismin the West that goes beyond mere description to apply a sophisticated analysis ofits development. A notable addition is a separate chapter on Socially Engaged Bud-dhism, which is a subject that seems to find its way into many Buddhism textbooks.The brief sections addressing select key terms, thinkers, and schools offers infor-mation on certain aspects of Buddhist traditions without trying to be exhaustivein its coverage. One result of this approach is that students who are relativelynew to the subject can easily engage the text and pick up key facts.At times, however, the utility of the textbook’s design works against its broader
pedagogical interests. Certain chapters bring together diverse topics in a mannerthat tends to jump back and forth without showing how the concepts arerelated. For example, in the ‘Buddhism in India’ chapter, one moves rapidlyfrom the early schools to Aśoka, stūpas, Gandhāran art, the Milindapañha, Abhid-harma, Vasubandhu, the rise of Mahāyāna, and Tantra in the span of about adozen pages (Prebish and Keown 2010 [2006], 78–92). Taken individually, such sec-tions are useful overviews. When read in succession however, the change from onetopic to the next can feel abrupt. Another drawback with Introducing Buddhism isthat some sections convey older scholarly ideas that have undergone revision inrecent years. For instance, when discussing the rise of Mahāyāna, the authorssuggest it was a broad-based movement with an expanded role for the laity,which is a theory that runs counter to current consensus (cf. Nattier 2003). Like-wise, the description of Tantra’s ancient roots and mysterious origins seems toignore more recent research on esoteric Buddhism. The sources listed as furtherreading for each chapter are somewhat dated and of questionable use. Anothershortcoming of this text is that it devotes a total of only 20 pages to discuss Bud-dhism in China, Korea, and Japan. Major schools are listed separately and summar-ized, but minimal historical details are given. Buddhism in Tibet is given similartreatment.In a course where a textbook need only cover the basics of Buddhism, the Prebish
and Keown text would likely work quite well. Students can read it quickly andeasily identify what they need to learn. Introducing Buddhism also comes withnumerous textual and online features conducive to student learning. Its utilitarianapproach is fairly minimalist in terms of content, and thus instructors would be
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required to fill in the gaps with lectures or other readings. Thematerial that appearsto be dated may be revised more quickly in the ebook version. Otherwise, afterhaving produced a second edition only four years after the text first appeared,wemight cautiously look forward to the appearance of a third printed edition soon.
A condensed overview
Cathy Cantwell’s Buddhism: The Basics was also published in 2010 in the expansiveRoutledge series entitled ‘The Basics.’ One assumes that the length and format forthis book was predetermined by the series requirements. Cantwell’s text differsfrom most others on our list for presenting a condensed treatment of the Buddhistreligion5. The bulk of this textbook deals with the Buddha, the Dharma, and theSangha, utilizing familiar emic categories to organize the work. Written in a suc-cinct manner, Buddhism: The Basics offers limited pedagogical features consistingof a single map of Asia, a short glossary of technical terms, chapter summariesin outline form, and several textboxes to highlight certain concepts and quotationsfrom texts. My survey suggests that it has not as yet been widely adopted for class-room use, but its slim size and affordable price would make it easy to incorporateinto existing courses. Cantwell opens her work with an introduction that includessome remarks on Buddhism as it appears today and some popular misconceptionsabout the religion. She is also careful to explain that a book on ‘the basics’ shouldnot imply that Buddhism has certain timeless truths but that rather even the mostcommon, longstanding aspects of the religion have appeared and change at par-ticular moments in history (Cantwell 2010, 2). Indeed, although this work is mar-keted as a concise guide to Buddhism, it approaches the subject withconsiderable critical reflection and analysis.Given the limited size of this textbook, Cantwell cannot cover certain material
that one typically finds in other works. She gives some emphasis, however, totopics such as ethical reflection on some moral dilemmas related to meat-eatingand abortion (76–80), the role of the oral transmission of Buddhist texts (94–96),and the participation of women in Buddhism despite the stratification of genderroles and statuses (129–136). The additional coverage given to such topics iswelcome, but it also means that other important subjects are treated in brief ornot at all. One also finds frequent comparisons to other religions such as Islamand Christianity to contextualize certain aspects of Buddhism. Another distinctivefeature is the relatively lengthy discussion of how Buddhism has changed intoday’s world, including accounts of political activism, laicization, and globaliza-tion. Importantly, Cantwell’s textbook includes some consideration of nationalism,political resistance, and ethnic defense in her accounts of Buddhist activism,demonstrating that ‘Engaged Buddhism’ is not the only type of modern Buddhistpractice in society.In assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Cantwell’s work, we can commend
her for its balanced coverage between different regions and traditions of Buddhism.She sets up a regional division of ‘Southern,’ ‘Northern,’ and ‘East Asian’ forms ofBuddhism, and proceeds to draw illustrative examples and comparisons from allthree areas. Unlike many other textbooks that deemphasize Tibetan traditions,
5The short introductory work by Keown (1996) is another example of this type of textbook.
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Cantwell draws on her specialization in this field to contribute examples of Bud-dhist thought and practice. Again, given the limits of the format, Cantwell oftenfocuses on points of larger significance for understanding Buddhism. Forexample, beyond the specific codes of conduct, she notes how the basic role of Bud-dhist monastics is to represent the Buddha, while acting to help themselves in theirindividual spiritual paths and providing the means to help others make progresstoo (109). She frequently makes astute, brief comparisons to illustrate the differentfeatures of some Buddhist traditions, such as pointing out how a tendency towardsspecialism in East Asian schools led to a focus on a single text, whereas NorthernBuddhist schools tended to emphasize a broad curriculum (102). While employingfairly broad generalizations, Cantwell often refines her categories by adding keydetails such as the fact that Theravāda was located far from where Mahāyānadeveloped its identity in northern India, so that the usual attempts to characterizethese two schools as polemical opponents is problematic (5). While her focus is onthe ‘basics,’ she never fails to include a diversity of interpretations and mention ofexceptions to offer a more accurate picture of the religion.The weaknesses of Buddhism: The Basics are largely the result of its condensed
treatment. There simply is not enough space to provide specific examples or com-mentary to explain certain points. Complex ideas, such as the use of magical for-mulae to invoke protection, are often introduced and covered in a sentence ortwo (86). Cantwell also elected to leave out the names of several key personagesin the life-story of the Buddha and in the historical development of Buddhistthought and schools. The discussion of Buddhist texts is limited mainly to canoni-cal discourses and scriptures in the ‘classical’ languages. The use and popularity ofnon-canonical literature in vernacular languages is completely ignored. Moreover,missing from the text are photos and drawings that could illustrate some of thematerial she discusses. While space limitations make some of these shortcomingsunderstandable, there are other elements that take away from Cantwell’s work.Her discussion of Tantric Buddhism focuses on the inversions of moral preceptsas psychological mechanisms for rooting out defilements, and neither mentionsthe possibility of transgressive acts nor specifies the ‘worldly’ motives of tantrictexts (74, 114). A few other claims made in the text are questionable if not erro-neous. The notion that the fifth precept means that laity ‘should not indulge in alco-holic drink or other recreational drugs to the extent of becoming intoxicated’ issurely a modern rather than an orthodox interpretation (71). The idea that medita-tive practices pervade everyday Buddhist ritual seems like an overstatement (81).And the report that monks in Colombo have begun to preside over deity shrinesand conduct rites for divine assistance is highly suspect and dubious (170).Leaving aside these problems, Cantwell’s book offers instructors a useful tool for
teaching about Buddhism. It would work well as a brief overview for courseswhere the instructor seeks to incorporate more primary-source texts or scholarlyarticles within a structure of his or her own design. It covers a great deal ofground quickly and effectively, allowing instructors to decide which subjects todevelop in more detail through lectures and other assignments. Her book is excep-tionally readable and thought-provoking, while adding some welcome details(such as material on Central Asia and the greater Mongolian region) not oftenfound in other textbooks.
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An insider’s perspective
First published in 1990, Peter Harvey’s An Introduction to Buddhismwas revised andpublished in a second edition in 2013. He has substantially updated and expandedhis textbook, adding new material to what was already a comprehensive treatmentof the Buddhist religion. The organization of the text resembles what one finds inseveral other textbooks. It begins in ancient India; outlines the life of GotamaBuddha; discusses karma and rebirth; examines the early Sangha and the sub-sequent rise of Mahāyāna philosophies; considers the spread of Buddhism toother lands; includes a focused examination of practices related to devotion,ethics, and meditation; and concludes with an analysis of contemporary forms ofBuddhism in Asia and theWest. Harvey’s textbook relies more on the Pāli literatureof the Theravāda and includes copious quotations from canonical works in thebody of his text. This attention to the teachings of early Buddhism as found inPāli texts is counterbalanced by coverage of the modern practice of Buddhism indifferent regions of the world. Based on the results of my survey, Harvey’s textremains a popular choice among instructors, with nearly 20 percent indicatingthat they use this work in their courses. It features tables and a helpful list ofweb resources for students, and the sources he employed for this text appear infootnotes.One of the notable qualities of An Introduction to Buddhism is that it is written
largely from viewpoint of a sympathetic practitioner. When Harvey writes, ‘[i]na sense, Buddhism begins and ends with the Buddha’s awakening experience,’he conveys the perspective of those who are inside the tradition (Harvey 2013[1990]], 32). He also includes material that speaks directly to modernist Buddhistvalues and concerns. In parts of this textbook, Harvey seems to address thereader both as a spiritual teacher and an academic one. We are told, for instance,that we should not passively accept karma but should strive to improve difficultsituations (41). On the subject of ethics, he writes: ‘Amoral life is not a burdensomeduty or set of bare “oughts” but an uplifting source of happiness’ (264). Such adviceand admonitions help to contextualize the Buddhist material and would probablybe welcomed by most students. It is important to note, however, that such state-ments also signal the interests and concerns of an insider to the tradition.Related to this, Harvey also includes various phenomenological descriptions ofeveryday Buddhist practices. Readers may thus obtain a better sense of what it islike to be a Buddhist in the present day – a perspective useful both to students incourses and practitioners of Buddhism. Harvey’s sensitivity to what studentswant to learn also appears in statements where he is clearly anticipating classroomquestions that many instructors have encountered. He explains the human popu-lation explosion in terms of animals and other invisible beings that are alsoincluded in the cycle of rebirth (33). He then explains why Buddhism is not pessi-mistic (54). Further, he relates how Buddhists have variously reconciled the firstprecept against taking life with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian lifestyles(271–275).Harvey’s textbook provides detailed, comprehensive explanations of the teach-
ings and practices of Buddhism. His second edition is greatly enlarged over thefirst, and he has clearly taken pains to include newmaterial that brings his textbookup to date. Throughout his text, Harvey addresses religious and philosophical con-cerns that Buddhists had in the past and have in the present. Presenting the reader
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with a clear sense of what it means to be a Buddhist, this text highlights the ethicalunderstandings and values that one could expect to find among practitioners of thereligion. From an historical perspective, for example, the informative account of thebodhisattva path shows how Buddhist values can be put into practice (Harvey 2013[1990], 151–161). Aspects of contemporary Buddhist ethics are also discussed in achapter that explores ethical values, expressions, guidelines, and the processes bywhich such judgments are made. Such topics would likely be of considerable inter-est to students who likewise are prone to explore and ask questions related to howone should live their lives. These students will also surely appreciate the clarity ofhis metaphysical and philosophical explanations on subjects such as nirvana andthe Arahat (74–79).The comprehensive presentation of Buddhism in Harvey’s book arguably gives
rise to a few shortcomings. The book can appear rather dense and overelaboratein some places, including the occasional linguistic discussions on the best trans-lations for certain technical terms. The cumulative work may well be too lengthyto assign and read in full over a course lasting 12 to 15 weeks. The textbook alsoretranslates some conventional terms used for discussing common Buddhist con-cepts. The term puñña, normally translated as ‘merit,’ is rendered here as ‘karmicfruitfulness.’ The set of ‘Four Noble Truths’ is re-named the ‘Four True Realitiesfor the Spiritually Ennobled.’ Other conventional translations for Buddhist termsare given new forms as well. Harvey generally provides good arguments tosupport his new translations, but this does not take away from their unnaturalnesscompared to how they appear in the wider field of Buddhist Studies. Further, as wehave seen in some other textbooks, the material on early Indian Buddhism out-weighs the coverage given to later developments outside of the subcontinent.Despite the substantial size of the text, the amount of attention given to thehistory of Buddhism in specific regions and in its encounters with other religioustraditions is limited. Finally, when it comes to discussing the modern history ofBuddhism in Asia, the sources used for conveying a contemporary picture of thepractice of Buddhism are often decades old.An Introduction to Buddhism would be a good choice for a course that aims for a
comprehensive presentation on the Buddhist religion. Instructors wishing to high-light key concepts and themes more than historical developments could employthis textbook to great effect. One might detect a slight bias toward Theravāda asthe standard form of Buddhism against which other traditions are implicitly com-pared and discussed more concisely. However, we have seen several textbookssimilarly privilege early Indian Buddhism as the subject of closest attention andanalysis. In setting out to present a comprehensive, sympathetic overview of Bud-dhism, Harvey’s book sets a high bar.
The spirituality of Buddhism
Another notable Buddhism textbook that first appeared in 2002 but was revisedand published in a third edition in 2014 is Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experi-ence by Donald W. Mitchell and Sarah Jacoby. Jacoby was added as co-author afterserving as a reviewer for an earlier edition of the work. As a result of this collabor-ation, the work has been significantly updated and transformed to include moreattention to the globalization of Buddhism and to Buddhism in Tibet, a subjectthat is often underdeveloped in other textbooks. This work covers much the
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same ground as other textbooks by offering a comprehensive look at the culturaldiversity of Buddhist traditions from around the world. It does so, however, in arather innovative style that focuses attention on Buddhist experiences and spiri-tuality as seen in various processes of religious cultivation (Mitchell and Jacoby2014 [2002]], 2). In other words, the book highlights the personal experiences andtestimonies of Buddhists from around the world. These stories are woven intoeach section of the book from the religious world of ancient India, through thelife and teachings of the Buddha, Theravāda Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhism,Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Korean Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism,and Global Buddhism. As a result, there is a pronounced aspect of contemporaryviews and expressions of the Buddhist religion alongside the more typical historicalaccounts. This textbook appears to be a popular choice among instructors today,since slightly over 20 percent of the survey respondents indicated that they use itin their courses.Along with its distinctive focus on the experience and spirituality of Buddhism,
Mitchell and Jacoby’s work incorporates other features that set their textbook apart.It incorporates passages in translation from primary-source texts to reinforce doc-trinal ideas and expose readers to different styles of Buddhist writing. Althoughother authors include material from Buddhist texts in their works, Mitchell andJacoby do so more consistently and in a manner that is clearer and better correlatedto their own writing. One also finds a considerable amount of pedagogical featuresto help students learn. There are numerous text boxes, figures, and maps that serveto break up and clarify the readings. Each section comes with suggestions forfurther reading. A glossary of technical terms and definitions appears in the backof the book. More generally, Mitchell and Jacoby’s Buddhism has a clear and enga-ging writing style that makes profitable use of both analysis and description in amanner that remains accessible to students.The authors’ careful consideration of contemporary Buddhist thought and prac-
tice as found in various cultures around the world is one of the book’s merits. Thereare even brief sections on Buddhism in Europe, Brazil, and Africa, which are hardto come by in other textbooks. This contemporary focus also involves relating Bud-dhist teachings to contemporary ideas and experiences. For instance, one findsexplanatory remarks on what duhkha could mean for people in today’s world(Mitchell and Jacoby 2014 [2002] , 48). Other notable sections include the work’sdetailed and insightful discussion of Mahāyāna schools and their systems ofthought. As alluded to above, this work also contains the most descriptive andinformative material on Tibetan Buddhism. Overall, one finds an exceptionallygood balance between historical and modern accounts on how Buddhism hasbeen practiced and understood across a myriad of different cultures.Like all books, however, Mitchell and Jacoby’s Buddhism has its share of weak-
nesses. While many Buddhism textbooks give ample consideration of the ancientIndian context, this text gives a decidedly cursory account of the setting fromwhich the Buddhist religion arose. The subsequent discussion of early Buddhismis also unfortunately more or less conflated with Theravāda, whereby the earlyelder monks are directly linked to later Theravāda ones without qualification(Mitchell and Jacoby 2014 [2002], 71). Recent scholarship has called into questionjust how ancient the Theravāda School really is, making its attribution as one ofthe original Indian schools debatable (Skilling et al. 2012). More worrying to thisreviewer is the text’s reliance on a fairly uncritical, under-theorized notion of
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what ‘experience’ actually means, and how it has been used to study Buddhist cul-tures (cf. Sharf 1995). The term appears to serve as a kind of ‘catch-all’ term todescribe how Buddhists think and feel on the inside when practicing their religion.Such insights would be valuable indeed, but they are certainly more difficult tocome by than what the authors presume in their text. An example of this moveis seen when the authors rationalize the story of the Buddha’s conquest of thehostile deity Māra, positing that ‘Buddhists see an important lesson in thislegend, namely, that when one makes a sincere commitment to the true path ofspirituality, there arise certain trials that test one’s resolve’ (Mitchell and Jacoby2014 [2002], 16). It may be, of course, that some Buddhists interpret the traditionalaccount of the event in this manner. And yet we can still doubt that many Buddhistswould offer this particular interpretation of the battle with Māra, or that theywould describe the bodhisattva’s path as a ‘spiritual’ one.Indeed, the effort to portray the Buddhist religion in a positive and rational
manner is particularly conspicuous in Mitchell and Jacoby’s work, but by nomeans unique to it. Many Buddhism textbooks take similar steps to presentmaterial about the religion in a largely sympathetic light. When one considersthe overt hostility and negative biases displayed by some early Orientalist scholarson Buddhism, as well as contemporary evangelical Christian authors, it seems per-fectly reasonable to write about Buddhism in a more generous and fair manner. Itdoes lead, however, to a less critical assessment of Buddhist movements. In Bud-dhism, the descriptions of contemporary Buddhism are almost exclusively ima-gined in terms of ‘Engaged Buddhism.’ The work on figures and movements likeThich Nhat Hanh, Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu, and Sarvodaya receive disproportionateattention, while more politicized and nationalist Buddhist groups are politely over-looked. A review of Buddhism textbooks makes it seem that Western scholars arereluctant to discuss the more nationalistic, xenophobic Buddhist groups such as UWirathu’s ‘969 Movement’ in Myanmar or the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist PowerForce) in Sri Lanka who organize protests against local Muslim populations.While such groups might be objectionable to many, they still belong in any discus-sion of contemporary Buddhism.Mitchell and Jacoby’s textbook is an informative and expansive work that would
suit many types of courses on Buddhism. It would work particularly well forinstructors who wish to stress how Buddhism is practiced and experienced. Thetextbook also gives special focus to autobiographical writings, which makes forinteresting perspectives to discuss with students. There is much to be gained byreading first-person accounts of how people practice and identify with the religion.The ease in which this work makes it possible for students to sympathize and relatewith Buddhists would surely be appealing to many of them. Further, in thosecourses where one wishes to give significant attention to modern forms of Bud-dhism, this textbook appears especially well designed for such an aim.
Stories of Buddhists
A new textbook edited by Todd Lewis appeared in 2014 and takes an innovativeapproach by using short biographical essays about particular Buddhists to learnabout the Buddhist religion. Buddhists: Understanding Buddhism through the Livesof Practitioners picks up on some of the same themes of lived experience and con-temporary expressions as seen in Mitchell and Jacoby’s work. The key difference
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with Lewis’ book is that its accounts of the modern practice of Buddhism comple-tely supersede an examination of historical developments and doctrinal teachings.It is included in this survey as an example of a textbook that takes a wholly differentapproach to teaching about Buddhism. The book contains short biographicalessays on 33 Buddhist practitioners, including monastics and laypersons fromancient legends, to the recent past, up to the contemporary period. Only ahandful of these Buddhist practitioners are widely known, whereas the majorityare somewhat obscure but are deemed to be representative of one or anotherfacet of Buddhist practice. Each short biography, composed by a different scholarwho responded to Lewis’ call to contribute to this text, serves to convey in differentways what it means to be Buddhist. Lewis adds a brief introduction at the begin-ning of each essay to place the material into a wider context for learning about Bud-dhism. One finds a measure of coherence in these essays in their examination of‘lived Buddhism,’ or the religion as it is actually practiced by people in the worldfor mundane reasons. Lewis designed this textbook to focus on non-elite viewsof Buddhism, or the perspectives and interests of the vast majority of Buddhistswho are otherwise not represented in texts composed by celibate monks (Lewis2014, 1).Organized in chronological and geographical terms, the book presents several
short biographies of Buddhists who lived in premodern India and Tibet, butfocuses more heavily on modern Buddhists who live (or lived) in the West, inSouth and Southeast Asia, in the Himalayan region, and in East Asia. Clearly,the familiar divisions between Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna are still atwork, even in a textbook as unconventional as this one. Rather than rehearsingthe distinctive histories and teachings of these schools, however, Lewis’ textemploys life stories as an entry into understanding how ordinary Buddhists prac-tice their religion. The not-so-subtle implication of this approach is that Buddhisttexts are poor sources for conveying any information other than what a small per-centage of learned elites define as Buddhism. To underline this distinction, Lewisacknowledges the difference between ‘pragmatic’ and ‘transcendental’ Buddhism,before further asserting that most Buddhists have a primary concern with earningmerit rather than attaining nirvana (Lewis 2014, 4–5). Since many textbooks inLewis’ opinion tend to ignore or downplay the lived experiences of ordinary Bud-dhists, he undertook this project to introduce this perspective into survey courseson Buddhism.The 33 essays are consistently strong and written in a lively, readable style. The
textbook succeeds in humanizing Buddhists and making them appear more com-plicated and relatable as real-world people, as opposed to exotic ‘others’ whofunction merely as stereotypes. By focusing on what these Buddhists do asthey live their lives and practice their religion, the text privileges ritual over doc-trine, and ethnography over textual analysis. For instance, one learns from thelife of a Thai lay upāsikā how the ideas of merit and gender play out in a Bud-dhist context (Lewis 2014, 151–154). Elsewhere, the altruistic ethos of a bodhi-sattva is enacted by a contemporary Tantric master who practices medicine tohelp others (243). We also meet the ‘Auntie Li,’ the owner of a dumpling shopin a Chinese city, who seeks to reconcile her personal practice of being a ‘goodBuddhist’ with the demands of operating a business (312–313). In these storiesand others, the reader learns firsthand, as it were, how people engage, value,and embody the religion. The pragmatic orientations of such Buddhists are in
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this way brought to the fore rather than being submerged next to abstract discus-sions of doctrine and philosophy. Likewise, accounts of Buddhists in the West areintegrated more seamlessly into other parts of this textbook, rather than simplybeing tacked on as the last chapter that details recent developments in thereligion.At the same time, this novel approach to studying Buddhism carries with it some
significant drawbacks. The broad cross-section of individuals and themes inevita-bly leaves some gaps. The 33 essays are organized into thematic sections and pre-faced by brief introductions, but they are otherwise not directly connected witheach other. The collection of Buddhists discussed in this textbook is thus somewhatidiosyncratic. Wemeet people who are said to represent typical Buddhists, but withfew exceptions we do not learn about other figures who would be universallyrecognized as important and influential for the tradition. It is not entirely clearwhy these individuals, who are often informants, teachers, and friends of the con-tributing authors, should be considered as representative or paradigmatic. Whilethe boundaries of what counts as ‘Buddhism’ are expanded by these biographicalessays, the reader might not learn much more about the religion other than anappreciation of its diversity. It should also be said that these stories are told inthe third person rather than by the figures themselves. Thus, the purportedrealism of ‘Lived Buddhism’ in this work is still mediated by the choices andinterpretations of scholarly authors.The course that Lewis’ textbook imagines is one with an anthropological
approach that highlights the diversity found in the modern practice of Buddhism.It would work well for instructors who wish to emphasize the ‘human side’ of thereligion, especially in its popular, ‘non-elite’ forms. It is also a textbook that wouldrequire a considerable amount of supplementary materials, since it contains verylittle on the history of Buddhism and its spread across Asia. This fact is acknowl-edged by Lewis himself, as he remarks that Buddhists is intended to complementother textbooks and translations that serve to introduce the doctrinal foundationsof the religion (Lewis 2014, 3). For accounts of ‘Lived Buddhism,’ this textbook iswithout rivals. Students could, however, obtain similar information in a moremeaningful way by visiting temples and meeting with Buddhists themselves.Nevertheless, as pointed out by one of the contributors, stories about peoplehave long been used to teach about the Dharma (18). Buddhists takes a similarapproach to help students learn about Buddhism through the memorable storiesof some of its practitioners.
An interpretive analysis
Alexander Wynne’s Buddhism: An Introduction is a recent addition to our list of Bud-dhism textbooks. It covers familiar ground but takes a distinctively criticalapproach by going beyond mere descriptions to offer explanations for the develop-ment and spread of Buddhism. Wynne’s interpretations offer something substan-tively novel to the textbook genre, even if not everyone will concur with hisreasoning. The introduction explains the distinction he makes between a ‘worldreligion’ with universal aims and a predestined mission of its founder, and a ‘reli-gion of the world’ that lacks a religious teleology and missionary impulse (Wynne2015, 1–2). According to Wynne, only Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam qualify as‘world religions,’ and he sets out in his book to account for the remarkable spread
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and impact that Buddhism has had, especially in Asia. Chapters follow on theBuddha, Meditation, the Dharma and Vinaya, before the book shifts to examinethe historical development of the religion in India and other parts of the world.There is, however, a greater emphasis on Buddhist India, and much of Wynne’sinterpretive work takes place in the earlier chapters.The distinctive features inWynne’s Buddhism are numerous and noteworthy. This
textbook makes a strong argument for coherence to be found in the various formsof Buddhism and tends to trace these features back to the Buddha and the initialdevelopment of the religion. Wynne cites, for example, how the canonical teachingsandmaterial culture of the religion derive from the early movement founded by theBuddha (Wynne 2015, 6). Other descriptions of early Buddhism highlight thecentral role of meditation and its reformulation of karma as intention to allowcity-dwellers to participate more fully in the soteriological path (22–23, 65). Bud-dhism in its original form is said to have been universal in its scope and pragmaticin its approach, and these features are largely responsible for its geographicalspread and cultural diversity. At the root of this approach is a conviction thatknowledge of the Buddha and his teachings are recoverable and form the basisfrom which to understand how the religion developed and, at times, departedfrom its origins. Key developments according to Wynne include the transformationof the ‘constructed realism’of the early canonical teachings – discounting the objec-tive reality of both the world and individual existence for the workings of the mind,to the ‘reductionistic realism’of Abhidharma thought on ‘no-self,’and finally to the‘meditative realism’ of Pudgalavāda Buddhist thought about the inexpressiblereality behind existence (6–7). Another significant feature is his use of the models‘guild monasticism’and ‘state Buddhism,’which account for how various Buddhistcommunities engaged the tradition’s ascetic ideal either closer or further from thecentralized rule of political power across Asia. These two models are then usedin place of the problematic Theravāda-Mahāyāna dichotomy to describe the devel-opment of Buddhist traditions chiefly in terms of how they functioned in society(212–213).Scholars can appreciate the original approach Wynne takes in discussing the
characteristics and development of Buddhism. His approach emphasizes the philo-sophical and institutional types that underlie the tradition’s diverse culturalexpressions. Early teachings related to karma, virtues, and divine abodes areexplained philosophically and said to have had popular appeal. Even in instanceswhere later teachings are said to deviate from the early foundations of the tradition,such as in the cases of an economy of merit andmerit-transfer, Wynne explains howthese later developments contributed to the needs of devotees and monasteries(Wynne 2015, 121). Further, Wynne does the reader a service by pointing out thelimitations of the Theravāda-Mahāyāna dichotomy, how these terms refer to differ-ent things rather than simply Buddhist ‘schools,’and how these communities sharesignificant commonalities in a mythic heritage, as well as devotional and ethicalnorms (178–179). Intentionally downplaying the significance of this division,Wynne chooses instead to discuss later forms of Buddhism in terms of portrayingeither guild monasticism (as found in ancient India and China) or state Buddhism(as seen in Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan, and Tibet). The author’s critical analyses of theBuddhist material contribute much that is new and significant to the textbookgenre.
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To be sure, the innovative approach taken by Wynne in Buddhism will invite itsfair share of criticism. For scholars less confident in our ability to know what theBuddha taught and thought, Wynne’s readiness to use the Pāli Canon and tra-ditional narratives about early Buddhist Councils as historical source materialsmay cause some unease. His approach results in some debatable conclusionssuch as positing that Buddhism was originally apolitical, shunning social and pol-itical affairs for the most part (Wynne 2015, 78). This view, however, does not leadWynne to argue that later forms of Buddhism are somehow inauthentic. Instead, hesuggests that such later developments were pragmatic responses to new culturaland political realities. Another shortcoming to this work is that it tends topresume a substantial amount of knowledge in the reader about Buddhistthought. It contains fairly complex philosophical arguments that might needunpacking for students. An example of this is when Wynne considers how theaccounts of miracles performed by the Buddha may be the logical consequenceof teachings about beings beyond the conceptual construction of individual exist-ence in space-time (65). Complex philosophical observations in the first part ofthe text are accompanied by highly condensed, detailed descriptions of Buddhisttraditions beyond India in the latter part. Aspects of this text will surely prove chal-lenging to novice learners.Wynne’s Buddhism is a text for courses that wish to stress the Indian origins of
Buddhism, along with its points of coherence with later developments elsewhere.It would work well in classrooms where groups of students can engage thought-fully with the author’s interpretive analyses and likewise participate in the practiceof forming their own hypotheses. For instance, in the insightful section on WesternBuddhism, Wynne proposes that one of the reasons behind Buddhism’s popularityin the West is the spiritualized sort of ‘enchanted individualism’ that it offers topeople who typically live in a world determined by scientific materialism(Wynne 2015, 267). Such a theory should not simply be accepted and memorized,but rather students should discuss and debate it vigorously. Wynne’s book offers afine starting point to exercise the critical thinking of its readers.
The variety of Buddhisms
The most recent Buddhism textbook under consideration here is John S. Strong’sBuddhisms: An Introduction. Composed by a senior scholar in the field based onseveral decades of experience in teaching undergraduate Buddhism courses,the Buddhisms textbook both complements previous approaches as well asstrikes out in some new directions. Its guiding principle is to recognize boththe multiplicity and unity found in Buddhism. Although computer databasesdo not allow for the term ‘Buddhism/s’ to be used in the title, Strong employsit in the body of the text to signify how there are aspects of both plurality andsingularity across the tradition. One finds reverence for the ‘Triple Gem’among all Buddhist communities, but the text highlights the idea that the under-standing of who and what the Buddha was (or is) has varied radically from placeto place, from tradition to tradition, and from time to time (Strong 2015, xx). Theemphasis in this text is on the tremendous variety of ideas, practices, andsymbols within Buddhism, a fact signaled by the opening chapter that takesthe reader on a tour of the different Buddhist temples established around the pil-grimage site of Lumbini in Southern Nepal. This original approach foregrounds
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the bewildering variety of Buddhist communities that co-exist, while offering a‘snapshot’ of the various traditions to be discussed in more detail later in thetext (5). Subsequent chapters examine the story of the Buddha, strategies forovercoming the problem of the Buddha’s absence from the world, different con-cepts of the ‘Middle Way’ employed in Buddhist thought, the formation and div-ision of the early Buddhist community, the development of Mahāyāna andVajrayāna forms of tradition, before dealing with contemporary ‘Samgha Situ-ations’ that describe particular places and practices of Buddhism in Thailand,Japan, and Tibet.Strong’s approach in Buddhisms reflects a kind of ‘Middle Way’ between breadth
and depth found in other Buddhism textbooks. Favoring a cultural history of reli-gion that focuses on the importance of place, Strong gives an in-depth treatment ofselect Buddhist traditions, preferring to give an indication of the great variety of‘Buddhisms’ without discussing each and every type. Ethnographic details fromcertain Buddhist sites are used as examples through which one can speak moregenerally about different traditions. Helpful pedagogical features include chronol-ogies of events for Buddhist traditions in different lands and ample footnotes for anarray of scholarly texts to reference his sources and offer guidance for additionalreading. The organization of the textbook – as well as frequent reminders fromthe author himself – continually emphasizes the existence of a diversity of Bud-dhisms. The idea of coherence is noted but largely outweighed by the focus onthe sheer variety of Buddhist forms found throughout history and in the present.The text is written in a clear and engaging style, which makes it possible to intro-duce various important and complex ideas about the religion in a manner thatremains accessible to students. Strong is particularly good at correcting mistakenconceptions about the religion, such as noting that despite is modern popularity,meditation was not universally practiced by Buddhists in Asia (Strong 2015, 19–20). The focus on concrete examples offers vivid portrayals of what Buddhismcan look like ‘on the ground’ in different lands.Scholars might find fault with some of Strong’s choices in this textbook. One
finds little on Buddhist traditions in Cambodia, Korea, Nepal, and Mongolia,for example, which may be problematic omissions for some instructors.Strong’s decision to emphasize the variety of ways people have understoodand transmitted the Buddha’s teachings, while devising various ways to encoun-ter him in devotional practice makes for informative and insightful reading. Like-wise, his discussion of ‘sudden’ versus ‘gradual’ paths for the bodhisattva, theTantric siddha, and the Chan/Zen monk is well suited to help students recognizesome distinctive differences in Buddhist practice. At the same time, one does notfind a recounting of the history of Buddhism in specific countries, or a detaileddiscussion of broader movements like Tantric Buddhism. The chronologiesoffered at the end of the text seemingly take the place of fuller, narrative historiesof these topics. Furthermore, the discussion of ‘Buddhisms’ in the West remainlimited and anecdotal, signaling the author’s preference to focus more onAsian traditions.Strong’s Buddhisms is an intriguing and informative book that would work well
in courses that aim to emphasize the diversity of the religion while still offeringdetailed discussions of certain expressions and traditions. The historical develop-ment of key aspects of Buddhist thought and practice is covered in the text. Yetthere is equal coverage given to ethnographic descriptions of contemporary
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forms of Buddhism. The text includes many helpful tables that organize relevantdetails related to Buddhist texts, concepts, and schools. This recent addition tothe textbook genre takes an exceptionally thoughtful and balanced approach tothe subject. As the product of wide, up-to-date research, Buddhisms offers studentsand instructors a reliable guide to make sense out of the religion’s diversity andcomplexity.
Textbook cases of Buddhism
Over the last few decades, scholars of Buddhism have produced a range of works tointroduce the religion to students. Each work presents a particular ‘textbook’ viewof what defines Buddhism as a distinctive and influential religion in human history.Although not without their faults, the ten works examined in this essay could allserve as informative guides to the religion. Certain textbooks focus more on theIndian origins of Buddhism, while others stress the cultural variations of the tra-dition across the globe. Some works deal more with philosophy and doctrinalteachings, while others emphasize ritual and material culture. Some textbooksinclude generous excerpts from primary texts, while others rely more on narrativesummaries or ethnographic descriptions. The ten textbooks under review here gen-erally cover the same material on Buddhism, but employ rather differentapproaches in their presentations. Their differences are usually more a matter ofform than content, and they reflect some of the different perspectives in the fieldof Buddhist Studies more generally.Buddhism textbooks are distinguished in part by the aims of their authors and
the pedagogical tools used to achieve them. Some books work to build a vocabu-lary for talking about Buddhism, employing and defining technical terms to doso. When this occurs, the addition of a glossary can be particularly helpful. Somebooks incorporate pronunciation guides, but this feature seems superfluouswhen many of those same terms are discussed aloud in the classroom. Forauthors who wish to impart a comprehensive picture of basic facts related to Bud-dhism, the use of maps, chronologies of key events, and tables of texts and doctrinalnotions are useful. Indeed, for generations of students who rely on visual sourcesfor information and entertainment, it seems unwise not to employ illustrations andcharts in some measure. Many scholars seem to want to convey some acquaintancewith original Buddhist texts, although there is no consensus on how to accomplishthis. Mitchell and Jacoby incorporate quoted passages from texts into the body oftheir work, which helps to integrate these two types of writing. Others rely on text-boxes that separate primary-source material from the instructional material, butthis method often fails to show how they are connected and why one shouldbother reading the primary texts. It would be refreshing to see authors explainwhy the primary sources are important for students to read or, alternatively,why they downplay or omit them from their textbooks. Such a decision shouldbe made more transparent and intentional in a field like Buddhist Studies, whichrelies heavily on reading and interpreting texts.As we have seen, authors of textbooks typically wrestle with the tension over
whether to stress Buddhism’s coherence or its diversity. ‘Textbook Buddhism,’that idealized form of religion that emerges out of scholarly writing, can appearto share certain basic features or, alternatively, it can be a diverse set of traditionsthat have become thoroughly reworked by cultures and communities in different
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lands. There are risks in overemphasizing either aspect. On the one hand, recogniz-ing and demarcating a common core for Buddhism easily leads to essentialist viewsof the religion and overshadows the particular ideas and expressions that makeBuddhism look different in various cultural and historical settings. On the otherhand, simply remarking on the cultural diversity of Buddhism can become a roteexercise in listing different forms and features without attempting to explaintheir significance or account for their discontinuities.One example of how existing textbooks could deal more productively with the
challenge of coherence versus diversity in Buddhism would be in their discussionof the three main Buddhist ‘schools’ – Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna Bud-dhism. A few textbooks (e.g., Wynne, Cantwell) acknowledge the difficulties inusing these categories, since they refer to different things about Buddhism (e.g.,a textual transmission and monastic lineage, an ideological position, and an eso-teric movement) and emerged in different contexts. Most, however, simply adoptthese terms for describing the development of different types of Buddhism inancient India. Scholars would do better to stress that the connections between‘Early Buddhism’ on the one hand and Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna onthe other are more diffuse and complicated than usually acknowledged. ConflatingTheravāda with Early Buddhism or ‘Hīnayāna’ is an oversimplification that dis-torts the different histories attributed to all three of these traditions. Likewise,more authors need to recognize that Mahāyāna was not a popular, lay-oriented tra-dition in ancient India. Scholarly discomfort with positing the origins of Vajrayānaand with recognizing the transgressive and sexualized rites of some of these tra-ditions ought to be overcome.As such, depicting the development of Buddhism in terms of polemics and a
rivalry between Theravāda and Mahāyāna ‘schools’ is a serious distortion ofthese traditions. This conventional opposition, which ignores the divergent inter-ests and locations of these communities, is rarely expressed in our textbooks.Many could, however, do more to dispel the misunderstandings about thiscommon portrayal of Buddhism as found in other scholarly and popular works.More generally, authors of textbooks could advance the understanding of Buddhisttraditions by explaining more clearly how Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayānado not simply originate in India and then spread to other lands as more or lessfully realized schools. It is more accurate instead to remark how Theravāda,Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna represent distinct conceptualizations of Buddhist iden-tities that took shape largely outside of India proper, in places like Sri Lanka,China, and Tibet due to conditions and processes specific to their newer settings.The geographic spread of Buddhism is a conventional feature of textbooks, butthe subject requires a more nuanced historical discussion than what can befound in works with an Indo-centric bias.A further issue for any survey of Buddhism textbooks is the question whether
comprehensiveness is a virtue or a liability. There is of course an impetus for theauthor of a textbook to present a comprehensive picture of Buddhism in all of itsforms and traditions. Textbook Buddhism is typically a pan-Asian tradition withancient roots in India and later formations across East, Southeast, and CentralAsia. More recently, it has spread to newer locations, notably in Europe andNorth America. As a scholarly construct, Textbook Buddhism exists nearly every-where and nowhere at the same time, since no individual or community canembody the full range of its features. As in other religion textbooks, such a
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presentation of ‘Buddhism’ inevitably departs from its particular manifestations onthe ground, leaving us with ‘maps’ that are only approximations of ‘territories’(Andreassen 2014, 3). The panoramic scope of Buddhism in such textbooks leadsmany of them to be written in densely detailed fashion in well over 300 pages inlength. As research in Buddhist Studies expands, almost exponentially, with eachgeneration of scholars, it is becoming more difficult, if not impossible to conveya complete picture of Buddhism in a single text. As evidenced by my survey,some instructors are opting to use alternative texts that are narrower in scope.Some instructors opt for more regionally based studies such as my South Asian Bud-dhism: A Survey (Berkwitz 2010) or Paul Williams’ Buddhist Thought: A CompleteIntroduction to the Indian Tradition (Williams et al., 2011) in order to examinecertain, culturally contiguous forms of Buddhism in greater depth. Anotheroption is found in works that focus more specifically on doctrinal thought suchas William Edelglass and Jay L. Garfield’s Buddhist Philosophy: EssentialReadings (Edelglass and Garfield 2009) or Stephen J. Laumakis’ An Introduction toBuddhist Philosophy (Laumakis 2008). Finally, there are many scholars who relyon anthologies of primary texts, such as Strong’s The Experience of Buddhism orDonald S. Lopez, Jr.’s Buddhist Scriptures (Lopez 2004), to present textual materialfor students to read and interpret directly.The various approaches to ‘Textbook Buddhism’ represent different scholarly
interpretations of a tradition that can and should occasion critical analysis andreflection in the classroom (Derris 2009, 356; Berkwitz 2004, 143–146). TextbookBuddhism may be an inevitable byproduct of the ‘World Religions’ approach toteaching major traditions on a global scale. Indeed, much of what one finds in Bud-dhism textbooks resonates with Tomoko Masuzawa’s account of the developmentof Buddhism as a world religion in the 19th century. Accordingly, Textbook Bud-dhism tends to reflect a tradition that places a ‘premium on the supposed thoughtsand deeds of the reputed founder [i.e., the Buddha] and on a certain body ofwriting that was perceived to authorize, and in turn was authorized by, thefounder figure’ (Masuzawa 2005, 126). The life-story of the Buddha and the textsused to explain his Dharma occupy central places in the modern expression of Text-book Buddhism. Normative judgments on what constitutes Buddhism as a univer-sal tradition, including but also exceeding what may be found in any particularcorner of the Buddhist world, are commonplace. In the process of outlining whatgets included in an overview of the tradition, Textbook Buddhism represents atype of ‘power text’ that depicts some aspects of the tradition as important whileomitting what the author views as less so (Andreassen 2014, 4). Note that such amove occurs even in textbooks that articulate and emphasize the diversity of Bud-dhist traditions. Any attempt to convey in a comprehensive way that which charac-terizes Buddhism, or that which connects different forms of the religion, yields anauthoritative claim about the nature of the religion. This, of course, differs littlefrom the assertions of practitioners and polemicists from within Buddhist tra-ditions, who also define what is within and outside of the religion. To be fair, toteach about the Buddha and the discourses attributed to him is an exercise thathas educational value. And to ignore the features that give coherence to differentforms of Buddhism would result in an incomplete picture of the religion and effec-tively deny what generations of Buddhists have asserted about their own tradition.Nevertheless, while seeking to satisfy student interests in learning about Buddhismas a whole and its core teachings around the world – ‘Textbook Buddhism’ in a
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nutshell – those of us who teach survey courses on Buddhism would be welladvised to assess both openly and critically the assumptions found in the sourcematerials we choose to use.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank the respondents to the survey I created and administered through arequest on the H-Buddhism listserv. Their answers and comments influenced mychoice of texts and my understanding of how such texts are regularly used inBuddhism courses. Jan Nattier and Naomi Appleton shared several helpfulobservations about Buddhism textbooks at the outset of this project. I also wishto acknowledge the assistance I received from the keen observations and sugges-tions made by Michael Stausberg and an anonymous reviewer of this essay.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Stephen C. Berkwitz is Professor of Religious Studies at Missouri State University. His research focuseson Buddhist literature and culture in Sri Lanka. His most recent book is Buddhist Poetry and Colonialism:Alagiyavanna and the Portuguese in Sri Lanka (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2013).
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Submitted: May 28, 2015Revised version submitted: July 27, 2015Final version submitted: August 16, 2015
Accepted: September 2, 2015
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![Uvodna riječ [Introductory word.]](https://img.pdfslide.net/doc/110x75/63369337b5f91cb18a0be2f6/uvodna-rijec-introductory-word.jpg)
