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Buddhism cover art

Buddhism

By: Malcolm David Eckel, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Malcolm David Eckel
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Summary

Buddhism has captivated many millions of people around the world, its vitality and adaptability enabling it to transform the civilizations of India, Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan, and also become a lively component in the cultures of Europe, Australia, and the Americas. But have you ever wondered how a religion that doesn't even have a god could have accomplished this?

Now you have the opportunity to have your questions answered, as this series of 24 lectures by an award-winning teacher traces the history, principles, and evolution of a theology that is both familiar and foreign.

You'll learn the astonishing story of Siddhartha Gautama - who was to become the Buddha, or "enlightened one" - the Indian prince who abandoned wife, son, and a privileged life to seek the meaning of life and death, and whose "awakening" and subsequent teachings have since impacted the world as few others have.

And you'll learn what happened after his death, as his followers began to share his teachings about the "Four Noble Truths" and the "Path" to Enlightenment. You'll see how Buddhist beliefs underwent significant and even radical change, with different varieties of Buddhism having to take shape as those beliefs spread across India, Central Asia, China, Japan, and virtually every corner of the Western world, such as becoming more respectful of one's duties to family and ancestors in China or becoming reconciled with local deities in Japan.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2001 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2001 The Great Courses

What listeners say about Buddhism

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Informative, Thoughtful, Insightful, Funny!

What made the experience of listening to Buddhism the most enjoyable?

Profession Malcolm Eckel knows his subject inside and out. As a practicing Buddhist in the Zen Tradition I learnt much about Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism that was new to me. His presentation style is very much conversational and at times based on his own personal experiences of the many traditions and schools. Compassion and humor run through all his lectures. Would happily recommend to anyone interested in the subject.

What other book might you compare Buddhism to, and why?

It's hard to find a direct comparison. I have many books on Buddhism and they tend to be either very dry and academic or light touch descriptions of the practices and traditions of the various schools.

What about Professor Malcolm David Eckel’s performance did you like?

He clearly has a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the subject and a very definite sense of humor.

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9 people found this helpful

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Detailed, knowledgeable and interesting

An engaging lecturer who clearly knows his subject in great depth. Too much to absorb at one listen, I will be playing this one again.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

A great look at the development of Buddhism

I love this audible book. I wanted to broaden my knowledge of Buddhism whilst travelling around the country. The narrator brings the subject to life with his wealth of expertise in the subject. Full of stories of experience is different forms of Buddhism and how that's translated in his life. I would recommend this book as a good starting point and well worth your investment. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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6 people found this helpful

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Wonderful, scholarly and entertaining overview of Buddhist tradition and its development.

This is a wonderful overview of the Buddhist tradition from the early traditions that gave rise to Buddhism in India right through to Buddhism in the US in the twentieth centuries.

It is not able to give in depth overview of every aspect of such a vast tradition in just 22 glad hour sessions but does focus on certain key periods. Early Buddhism in India, the development of separate schools, and more in depth on the Tibetan and Mahayana schools.

I really enjoyed the lecturers style, knowledgeable always, but also with a sense of lightness and humour. He clearly has a great deal of passion for his subject and some personal experience.

Can't recommend more for anybody confused by the myriad traditions, schools snd histories of Buddhism. That was definitely me and I have a much clearer understanding of the history and development now.

Recommended.

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5 people found this helpful

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Brilliant

Clear, cohesive, comprehensive and just the right level of challenge!

Great course, thoroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it.

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5 people found this helpful

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Sans-crit

Very insightful book, enjoyed the personal narration, and in-depth accounts. Will need to go through again but this is the norm with books if detail.

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4 people found this helpful

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Great overview of Buddhism

Really enjoyed the content of this talk. It's heavy at some points but professor Eckel does very well at making it as entertaining as possible with his jokes & lighthearted style. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wishing to understand more about Buddhism.

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4 people found this helpful

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Favourite

This is one of my favourite of The Great Courses courses - Malcolm seems like one of the nicest people so you can't help but enjoy yourself

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A brisk romp through every facet of Buddhism

This is a break-neck tour of the history of Buddhism in all its guises. Professor Eckel is very engaging, and talks briefly on just about every topic from art to all the variations practised today, in a factual though entertaining manner. For someone like me, looking for a more spiritual introduction, it wasn't ideal since it didn't go into any depth about the essential teachings of the Buddha. I much preferred "Buddhism for Beginners" by Jack Kornfield also available here.

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Superb, comprehensive- very enjoyable

A thorough and engaging overview of the philosophy, historical evolution and different schools of Buddhism. Prof. Eckel has produced a course I’ll certainly enjoy again, in order to understand some of the harder aspects. He is an excellent teacher, and conveys the subject authoritatively and with great wit. One of the best audio book courses I’ve listened to. Definitely recommended!

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3 people found this helpful