1 review for:

The Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan

Yoshito S. Hakeda, William Theodore de Bary, Philip B. Yampolsky

2.5 AVERAGE

dereksilva's review

2.0

informative slow-paced

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My goal with this book was to better understand the key differences between major Buddhist sects (Theravada, Mahayana, Zen) and to get a general idea of what others sects of Buddhism exist in different countries. This book did succeed in showing me the main sects and their key differences, but it also felt like it was written by authors who didn't have a good grasp of Buddhism themselves. The authors did say up front that much of this book was copied from other sources and their objective was to compile all the key bits, but with their clear lack of knowledge of Buddhism, I did question how much of their commentary was accurate. So I think this book is great for getting a broad look at the main Buddhist sects, but you should take the information and commentary with a grain of salt. This isn't very suitable as a book for learning the core teachings of Buddhism and the Buddha. This could be the perfect book for you if you want to get a sample of readings from dozens of Buddhist sects.