Concept of Buddhism

In its main outlines, the doctrine of Buddhism is now pretty widely known, but a full understanding of it must necessarily depend upon the interpretation of the many technical terms and phrases in which it abounds, e.g., two of the shortest and most widely known words in the literature of Buddhism-Dhamma and Nibbana are precisely the words which have given rise to the greatest degree of controversy. The learned author, Dr. imla Churn law who had to his credit a number of volumes throwing light on the history and culture of Indian people, has taken up on himself the task of interpreting such technical terms. The author has devoted the greatest amount of space to the two most important concepts of Buddhism mentioned above. He has then full explained the concepts of the four Noble Truths in which are proclaimed the existence, the cause and the possibility of escape from suffering and finally the means of escape by way of the Noble Eightfold Path. According to Dr. Law, the central point in the Noble Eightfld Pth is jhana or Samadhi, other seven practices constituting steps leading up to it. As Jhana and Samadhi are not very simple concepts, Dr. Law has devoted a chapter, based on a wide selection of texts from the Buddhist scriptures and commentaries, to a careful analysis of these essentially important terms. Another important chapter of this work is the one on Pudgala, in which the case for and against the existence of an individual soul as a permanent entity is discussed. The Buddhist concept of rebirth and Kamma have been similarly analysed in the work. The author has utilized a vast quantity of material in Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and Chinese.