Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion

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Summary: A thorough reference book on Eastern spirituality.
Review: An excellent source for reference or just casual reading, "The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion" is more often than not the first book I turn to when looking for a description of anything from "Advaita" to "Zazen." More than just a collection of terms on Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Zen, this book covers a wide variety of teachers and esoteric wisdom. Rarely have I been stumped when looking to this tome for a word. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in spirituality.

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Summary: Not what the title suggests
Review: I can not give this book one star or less as a reflection of my disappointment in what I was expecting. I was expecting an "encyclopedia" of eastern philosophy. I received a "dictionary" of eastern philosophy. I write this review to prevent others from spending money as I did in hopes of getting some kind of overview of eastern philosophy. You will not. Do you wonder what Abhava means? Or Miroku? How about Hsi K'ang? Then buy this book. This is a thorough (very thorough) glossary of terms. I have been reading western and a mix of western and eastern philosophy by western authors. So I thought I'd pick up this book to ease myself into eastern philosophy, to get an idea of what is out there and what might be to my liking. If you are looking for the same, save your money. If, on the other hand, you are a student or a reader of eastern philosophy who needs reference material to help you along the way I would not hesitate to recommend this book. It is smartly organized (just like a dictionary) with an impressive bibliography. Keep in mind though, this is strictly a reference book. My hope was to find an introduction to eastern philosophy. You will not find yourself reading this book but rather augmenting what you are currently reading through its vast definition of terms. I look forward to using it when I am finally introduced to real eastern philosophical writings. I must give this four stars for its content (I'd like to give it none in comparison to what I was expecting but that would be inappropriate) However, "The Dictionary of Eastern Philosophy and Religion" would have been a more appropriate title. Had that been the title, I would have stayed away and saved twenty-five dollars. Hopefully I will have a use for it in the future.

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Summary: I LOVE this book!
Review: This has been my best investment to help me mentally organize the plethora of terms associated with eastern spiritual traditions. The term descriptions show links to other terms within the encyclopedia so it's kinda like following hypertext links on the internet. I can't praise the authors enough for their collaborative creation. Exellent job!

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Summary: An EXCELLENT reference source....
Review: This is an excellent book. If you are looking for a reference source concearning the above mentioned philosophies and religions this will be a valuble resource. Its only MAJOR flaw is that it is not reader friendly. If you don't know ANYTHING about Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism or Zen you should not buy this book. There are other books more simple yet thorough and enjoyable enough to satisfy the "beginner" on this subjet matter, such as "World Religions" by John Bowker (The only flaw of THIS book is that it is thin, rectangular and long in shape....not bookshelf freindly). If you think(being COMPLETLY honost with yourself) you know enough about the subject matter to purchace this book, then you PROBABLY are right and should get this book.

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Summary: An helpful Reference Book at a Reasonable Price
Review: Usually Reference Books of this type are quite expensive and are also often difficult to find. Congratulations to Shambhala Press for providing a useful book at a reasonable price. The Book concentrates on four areas: Buddhism, Hindiusm, Taoism and Zen. The first three are covered by German and Austrian Scholars, and Zen by a Japanese Scholar. The Book is a translation (by Committee) from the German, and suffers surprisingly little as a result. All entries are Alphabetical and are coded to the four categories listed above, thus making it easy to use. Within the text of the entries arrows next to trems lead readers to related entries. The entries are by necccessity brief. An extensive but incomplete Bibliography, provides much of the most important Source Material. It is an ambitious undertaking to produce a one Volume, 468 page, Reference Book of this type. I think that the Editors have succeeded in their undertaking. I hope that subsequent editions will expand on some of the more important entries and add others. I recommend this Book highly to Students and Scholars alike.