Philosophy of the Buddha

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 125 pages
• Published by: Jain Publishing Company February 1993
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0875730256
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0875730257
• Book Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Weighs: 8.3 ounces

Product Description
What did the Buddha actually teach? For those seeking an answer to this question and to understand Buddhism as an important part of the world's religious and cultural heritage, Philosophy of the Buddha is an great introduction and guide.

The author's purpose is to state the philosophy of Gotama, the man himself, by a careful study of the original records. He cuts through layers of devout and theological speculation--much as higher biblical criticism has done in Christianity--and presents clearly and concisely the real humanly significant roots and permanent values of many aspects of Buddhist thought.

Reader Reviews
A.J. Bahm was a professor of comparative philosophies teaching at the University of New Mexico when he wrote and published his book _The Philosophy of The Buddha_. Published in 1958, and using the only existing translated texts available at that time as his guide -- which turned out to be the Rhys Davids', I. B. Horner, F.L. Woodward, and E.M. Hare translations, all of whom were not practicing Buddhists but rather Western enthusiasts and academics, and therefore lacking in the extensive background that a practitioner like Bhikkhu Bodhi, a contemporary translator of the Pali Canon, has -- Bahm forged as good a book as he was able considering the sources he had available. It is uncertain whether or not, had he had better translations available, he would have been able to make much more of his study than the one he presents us with in this book. Being a professor of philosophy, Bahm was more interested in uncovering the unique ideas that Gotama expressed through his Dhamma rather than the elegant empiricism wrought on the ground of a rigorous contemplative practice. He therefore missed some of the more intuitive insights and wisdom which are amply present in the teachings themselves while at the same time capturing as much of the essence of the teachings as he was privy to understanding. This latter is present in a statement he makes toward the end of the book when he says: "It is not stilling of existence, but stilling of craving, which is the goal." To his credit, Bahm does reproduce for the reader significant passages translated from the Nikayas (the main scriptures of the Discourses of the Buddha) which gives the astute reader an opportunity see and taste for himself the elegance and wisdom of the discourses. Yet, his utter lack of understanding of the Dhamma's ultimate grandeur shows through in statements like the following: "That the middle way is Gotama's most significant contribution to philosophy is a fundamental part of this book." Without taking anything away from the Buddha's wisdom to travel a middle pathway through the dualities of existence without adhering to any of the extremes of the phenomenal world, this is far from a comprehensive view of the depth and utter genius that was Gotama's want to display. Within his teaching of paticcasamuppada or Dependent Co-Arising (which was, through lack of understanding, mis-translated during that time period of the 1950s and 60s as "the teaching on cause and effect") there comes to be understood the great subtlety of profundity that composes the Dhamma. Yet this most profound of the Buddha's teachings is conspicuously missing from Bahm's exposition, while the teaching on one of the other great insights Gotama had -- that of Anatta or the "without self" doctrine of reality -- is rather poorly covered in an amazingly short nine pages! To be fair, though, the book does pretty much stay true to is original purpose which was to uncover and expose the philosophy of Gotama. It is just disappointing that it could not have presented a more accurate and indepth report of that philosophy.