Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 A.D. (Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Vol. 7)

Rating:
Summary: Good review of Buddhism
Review: Volumes VII and VIII of this series deal with early Buddhism a few centuries after the life of the Buddha. These volumes render quite well the early schisms that emerged from the various understandings and interpretations of the followers of what one could call "the original Buddhist teachings" (which we have almost no chance to know what they really were). Buddhism is really that : a bunch of different and sometimes contradictory schisms that each show the particular biases of the members of each schism. However, being aware that the goal of Buddhism should not depend on the means to attain it, one should use his intelligence to determine what statement is due to the misbeliefs or assumptions of each schism to understand its purpose. Don't think that consistency is a good criterion to judge philosophy, scholarly accounts rely on scientific beliefs of consistency and logical thinking. Philosophy transcends such petty intellectual biases modern scientific thinking takes as true.

These two volumes coupled with the volumes edited by Bhikkhu Boddhi (Middle-length, long and connected discourses of the Buddha published by Wisdom books) will provide you with everything you need to undertand what Buddhism is about. Do not let scholars prevent your heart and soul to feel what the Buddhist teachings can provide.