What the Buddha Taught

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Summary: The Bible on Buddhism
Review: I was a student at Oxford University, England and was given this informative book to read for my studies. I was born into Buddhism and had practiced, even intensely at times, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. So I had good experience going into my class. This book answered and made clear many of the questions I had been pondering for many years. It is the definitive book on Buddhism. The Chair of the Buddhism department at Oxford, use to tell us that "What The Buddha Taught" by Walpola Rahula will change the way you think about life and Buddhism. It has. I encourage everyone to buy this jewel of a book. It is rare you find a book so masterfully written.

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Summary: The best over-view of Buddhism I have ever seen.
Review: This is an excellent book for people who are not clear on what Buddhism really is. It features careful translation and detailed analysys of various texts. This book attempts to answer questions such as "Do Buddhists believe in a God?" and explains concepts such as Anatta and how the Buddhist idea of reincarnation differs from the traditional Hindu view.

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Summary: This is the best beginers book for Buddhism to my knowledge
Review: I found this book very usefull in learning about Buddhism and its doctrine, I have read many books on buddhism and find this one to be the best of them all.

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Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This book is very precious to me. After visiting many temples while travelling in Sri Lanka, I came across this book in the Buddist centre at Colombo airport and decided to purchase it. I am glad I did, as it has proved invaluable as a starting block for learning more.

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Summary: very good introduction to buddhism
Review: This is an excellent book. It is written by someone who understands buddhism. It is very well written and probably the best introduction ever to buddhism. Too bad critics of buddhism, are so ignorant of this religion. If they read this book they would find that much of their criticism is unfounded.

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Summary: A unique contribution toward Buddhism in the modern world
Review: Many non-traditional religions in North America have experienced an increase in their membership numbers, not the least of which is Buddhism. For this reason alone, _What the Buddha Taught_ may have a greater pragmatic value today than it did when it was first published in 1959. The principle value of this text is its' descriptive depth on the fundamental and foundational concepts that constitute the religion of Buddhism. Rahula gives a succinct and concise elucidation of the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and the doctrine of 'anatta' or no-self. For this reason alone this book is worth owning. However, to leave the discussion at that would be to underestimate its' potential utility. It is obvious that _What the Buddha Taught_ is useful toward the study or understamding of Buddhism, but it is of equal value in the context of camparative religion or in the philosophy of religion. The fundamental concepts of Buddhism can be found in a wide variety of texts, Rahula's unique contribution is via his insight into the ways in which the ancient teachings of Buddhism can be incorporated into the modern world. To this end he devotes the last chapter of this book. A thoughtful addition to this edition, (1974) is the selection of translated Pali texts which enable the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to be understood within the beauty of their original context. In addition, since many of these texts are in the form of parables, they provide an interesting comparative opportunity with traditional Christian biblical parables. An excellent primer for this text is Huston Smith's classic _The Religions of Man_ (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1958) and an excellent in depth follow up text is _Buddhism: The Religion of Analysis_ by Nolan Pliny Jacobson, (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1966).

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Summary: Excellent introduction
Review: An excellent, short introduction to buddhism. I really enjoyed it

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Summary: Joy and peace never had before!
Review: I know there are some people trying to make this a battleground to point out their differences and views between Theravada and other. no Self or Soul etc. I see this as two bulls walk to clear water to drink, but they fight over no clear or reasonable reason and leave the water muddy, which is undesirable to others or to them to drink..
Forget about soul or not soul, but there is much more important, logical and beautiful things to learn from this book. Those things are free from all opinions but universal. It shows the world in a completely different way from other religions. It does not ask anyone to believe. But come and see for yourself. IF you disagree, that is fine. But clear understanding that gives you confident and assertiveness. Buddhists are free to question their own religion. There are no universal powers to watch your wrongdoing but you watch yourself.
I am very glad that I came across this book. Now I learn to meditate and learn to love and be compassionate to everyone with no different regardless they are friends, enemies or unknown. I am not perfect but I am learning. The joy I get from this cannot explained by words.
This book is not really for beginners as I see it. It needs an analytical mind to analyse it on your own time. Just reading it is not enough. My way is questioning while reading.
But still I have lot to discover and understand. So far what I understood is rewarding.
If you want to enjoy this book, make yourself free from conclusions before start. Have an open mind don't be afraid to question it try to understand it before you jump to conclusions.
My doubt about rebirth is not scientifically proven but I found there is lot of researches and investigations have proven that this is very much a possibility.

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Summary: the path out of the Samsara of fake clichés
Review: This book is an amazing introduction to Buddhism, instead of all the new age rubbish (that is as far from Buddhism as the Hippi return to nature was far from the Native American's way of life)it presents a simple and I'd say uplifting summary of the major themes and theories at the heart of the original teachings of the Buddha.
Well written, simple and truly compelling, this presentation will be very useful to anyone studying religion or precisely Buddhism. It doesn't pretend to be exhaustive but still follows a very demanding line that tries to avoid any cliché and easy summary. It doesn't present the schism between Theravada and Mahayana traditions since it focuses on the original basis.
I recommend it to anyone curious about Buddhism.

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Summary: Great book
Review: This is a good book for all those who are guided to find out more about Buddhism without most of the one-sided different sects. Thats one reason I liked it. Also the history,dates,times. Pictures are a plus in here. This was one of the 3 or 4th books I read that changed my mind on becoming a Buddhist.Clear,precise. Beside the Dalai Lamas books I recommend this to others searching.