Buddhism in Practice

Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth buying, but it's not the whole picture
Review: This book lives up to its title in that it is an excellent introduction to the ways Buddhism is actually practiced. However, readers looking for an introduction to Buddhist philosophy should start somewhere else. Lopez seems to take for granted that readers know about the basic precepts of Buddhism, and spends his time in this book expounding on how different sects put those precepts into practice.

If someone reads this before developing a familiarity with the beautiful philosophical side of Buddhism, he or she runs the risk of coming away dissilusioned and thinking that Buddhism is too steeped in religiosity and obsession with ritual to have much philosophical merit.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth buying, but it's not the whole picture
Review: This book lives up to its title in that it is an excellent introduction to the ways Buddhism is actually practiced. However, readers looking for an introduction to Buddhist philosophy should start somewhere else. Lopez seems to take for granted that readers know about the basic precepts of Buddhism, and spends his time in this book expounding on how different sects put those precepts into practice.

If someone reads this before developing a familiarity with the beautiful philosophical side of Buddhism, he or she runs the risk of coming away dissilusioned and thinking that Buddhism is too steeped in religiosity and obsession with ritual to have much philosophical merit.