Meditational practices constitute the very core of the Buddhist approach to life. An intensely practical religion, Buddhism is by contrast inclined to treat doctrinal definitions and historical facts with some degree of unconcern. As prayer in Christianity, so meditation is here the very heartbeat of the religion. Enlightenment, or the state of Nirvana, is, of course, the ultimate aim of Buddhist meditations. On the way to Nirvana they serve to promote spiritual development, to diminish the impact of suffering, to calm the mind and to reveal the true facts of existence. The book discusses all the aspects of Buddhist meditation and emphasizes that even householders can practice meditation and benefit from it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Edward Conze
Dr. Conze, widely known as a leading Buddhist scholar through his many publications (among them Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, which has become a classic), has published during the thirty years of his working life a great number of important articles which are scattered over many periodicals difficult or almost impossible to obtain. To meet a growing demand for the most important of these articles to be re-published we are presenting this volume which contains both translations and original essays: the indispensable report on Recent Progress in Buddhist Studies; the survey of Mahayana Buddhism which is still the only account based on the actual sources; the comparisons of Buddhist and European philosophy; the essay on Buddhist Saviours. The remaining articles deal with the Prajnaparamita on which the author is the leading authority in the West. The translations included will be specially welcome because reliable English translations of Buddhist texts are still rare. Thus this volume will be invaluable and indispensable for all students of religion and philosophy.
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