[.ca] What Do Buddhists Believe?: Meaning and Mindfulness in ... (ISBN 0802716555)

A hike through the foothills of enlightenment:
What Do Buddhists Believe? What indeed? The body of Buddhist philosophy is so vast - 'the 84,000 teachings' according to one popular description - that it's hard to know where to start. Add the fact that a lot of the doctrines are downright contradictory - from traditionalists who insist that the Buddha's words should be followed to the letter, to Zen priests who argue that his teachings cannot be conveyed in words at all - and it would seem that the author has set himself an impossible task. Especially in a volume of, well, modest size - 96 pages, to be exact. But that's the beauty of Tony Morris's book. He doesn't set out to scale the wonderful mountain of enlightenment but to lead you on a brisk hike through its foothills; and a delightful companion he is, too. This is a clear, direct and easy-to-read introduction to a fascinating subject that mixes the personal with the deeply philosophical. Morris describes, for example, his own link with the Buddha (also known as Siddartha Gautama or Shakyamuni - more confusion...), down through 2500 years of history via a thirteenth century Japanese priest and an Oxford milkman called Bob Lynch, whose wife brought to the UK the type of Buddhism that Morris practises. Above all, for all the esoteric and 'mystic' trappings usually associated with Buddhism, the book stresses the essentially pragmatic and practical nature of the teachings. As Morris notes: 'Buddhists aren't primarily concerned with believing and thinking; their main interest is in being and doing .' The Dalai Lama is even more direct: 'The very purpose of life,' he says, 'is to seek happiness.' How to do that in the midst of daily life - struggling with the kids, the boss, the in-laws - is at the heart of this delightful little book. If you want to explore further, better pull on your climbing boots...