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Buddhism cover art

Buddhism

By: Malcolm David Eckel, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Malcolm David Eckel
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Summary

Buddhism has captivated many millions of people around the world, its vitality and adaptability enabling it to transform the civilizations of India, Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan, and also become a lively component in the cultures of Europe, Australia, and the Americas. But have you ever wondered how a religion that doesn't even have a god could have accomplished this?

Now you have the opportunity to have your questions answered, as this series of 24 lectures by an award-winning teacher traces the history, principles, and evolution of a theology that is both familiar and foreign.

You'll learn the astonishing story of Siddhartha Gautama - who was to become the Buddha, or "enlightened one" - the Indian prince who abandoned wife, son, and a privileged life to seek the meaning of life and death, and whose "awakening" and subsequent teachings have since impacted the world as few others have.

And you'll learn what happened after his death, as his followers began to share his teachings about the "Four Noble Truths" and the "Path" to Enlightenment. You'll see how Buddhist beliefs underwent significant and even radical change, with different varieties of Buddhism having to take shape as those beliefs spread across India, Central Asia, China, Japan, and virtually every corner of the Western world, such as becoming more respectful of one's duties to family and ancestors in China or becoming reconciled with local deities in Japan.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2001 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2001 The Great Courses

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A Fascinating Insight into Buddhism

A great overview of the history and development of Buddhism covering many of the different schools and permutations of the Buddhist teaching

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Exquisite, Beautiful, Enthralling!

It's a beautiful listen for lay people like myself, I have no intellectual understanding of Buddhism, but I was keen to try and understand the meaning of it, how it came about, and how life can be guided by its philosophy.

A really interesting and educational resource.

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Excellent

Absolutely deserves it's sub title of a 'Great Course' - an astounding breath of knowledge shared in a truly accessible way. I hope there will be more...

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Fair treatment of a subject.

Well researched, written and presented. Detailing faults, warts and all, not showing any personal prejudices.

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Great delivery

Good introduction to Buddhism. if you haven't already read a lot about it. Gives you a comprehensive overview of early Buddhism and how other Buddhist schools developed.

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Wonderful, scholarly and entertaining overview of Buddhist tradition and its development.

This is a wonderful overview of the Buddhist tradition from the early traditions that gave rise to Buddhism in India right through to Buddhism in the US in the twentieth centuries.

It is not able to give in depth overview of every aspect of such a vast tradition in just 22 glad hour sessions but does focus on certain key periods. Early Buddhism in India, the development of separate schools, and more in depth on the Tibetan and Mahayana schools.

I really enjoyed the lecturers style, knowledgeable always, but also with a sense of lightness and humour. He clearly has a great deal of passion for his subject and some personal experience.

Can't recommend more for anybody confused by the myriad traditions, schools snd histories of Buddhism. That was definitely me and I have a much clearer understanding of the history and development now.

Recommended.

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5 people found this helpful

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Fantastic overview of Buddhism

Great lectures told with fascinating enthusiasm. It really goes into detail and spans from ancient Indian Buddhism to modern day western schools. Highly recommend if you’re dipping your toes into Buddhism for the first time. Malcom David Excel is amazing to listen to, I wish I could meet him in person.

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1 person found this helpful

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A great look at the development of Buddhism

I love this audible book. I wanted to broaden my knowledge of Buddhism whilst travelling around the country. The narrator brings the subject to life with his wealth of expertise in the subject. Full of stories of experience is different forms of Buddhism and how that's translated in his life. I would recommend this book as a good starting point and well worth your investment. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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6 people found this helpful

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perfect start to learning about buddhism

lots of different perspectives, informed and well spoken lecture, has helped me (a total novice), a lot with understanding buddhism

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Superb, comprehensive- very enjoyable

A thorough and engaging overview of the philosophy, historical evolution and different schools of Buddhism. Prof. Eckel has produced a course I’ll certainly enjoy again, in order to understand some of the harder aspects. He is an excellent teacher, and conveys the subject authoritatively and with great wit. One of the best audio book courses I’ve listened to. Definitely recommended!

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3 people found this helpful