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Book's Description
An introduction to Buddhism including: The Buddha, History of Buddhism, The Major Schools of Buddhism, The Dhammapada, Metta Sutta, Basic Buddhist Dictionary, Buddhist Festivals and Holidays, and teachings on Kamma (Karma).
Customer Reviews
Awesome Book ,10/12/2005
Unlike most books of this sort which dance all around, and you find yourself searching for facts or readin and rereading. This book just lays it all out for you. It starts with telling you about the Buddha, then it moves on to history, types of Buddhism, holidays, and a dictionary to tell you what all the words you see mean. It also contains two important Buddhist texts, both which in and of themselves lay out the beliefs in Buddhism for you.
Highly recommended. If you want a book on Buddhism, that gives you the facts in a straight forward manner...then this is the book for you!
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Probably informative..... ,30/05/2006
"The Buddhism Primer" was loaned to me by a friend at work. My expectation, based on the fact he paid $18 for it, was that I would be treated to an informative and professional introduction to Buddhism. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it past the first 10 pages because (IMO) this book read like a working draft of a theology thesis. I found the awkward writing style, the frequent grammar and punctuation errors, and the confusing formatting frustrated any appreciation for the information it contained.
If you are not as easily distracted as I am by an unpolished presentation (and I suspect I am in the minority), then it appears by the other reviews that this book is well worth your consideration. If you are, however, I found both "How to Practice" by the Dalai Lama and "Buddhism for Beginners" by Thubten Chodron to be great introductions.
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Straight Forward ,11/12/2005
This book is just what a beginner or even an intermediate practioner needs. Straight forward information without any 'intepretations' by the author. Everything in the book is based on history and actual facts. I love the fact that there are some actual Buddhist texts included in the book, this gives something to compare what you are learning to. I also love how the book touched on every school of thought equally, not leaning in one direction or the other. Impartiality is something missing in many of the Buddhist books I have read.
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Wonderful Book ,08/12/2005
This book is for biginners and gives you a wonderful understanding of Buddhism. It teaches you about the history of Buddhism, the life of the Buddha, the different schools of thought, a basic Buddhism dictionary, and holidays.
What was best about this book is that it included the Dhammapada, as well as the Metta Sutta (the Buddha's teaching on loving kindness). This gives extra knowledge into Buddhism aside from just having general Buddhism outlines.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Buddhism. A great resource!
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Great Introduction ,05/02/2008
I thought this was a great book and just bought 2 more for friends. Though I read another review comparing it to a textbook or thesis, it is after all a tool to teach people about Buddhism. This is exactly what it does! If you want a book about Buddhism this is the one for you.
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