The Buddhism Omnibus: Gautama Buddha

The three works brought together in this collection explore Buddhism as a rich source of literary legend, an austere ethical guide, and a contemporary philosophy very relevant in the modern world. In view of the resurgence of interest in the Buddha and his philosophy, this volume provides a basis for an understanding of the life of Buddha and his teaching as well as for a comparative view of Buddhism as a world religion. Mathew T. Kapstein’s introduction, written especially for this edition, provides a concise historical overview of Buddhism in India and the renewal of interest in the Buddha’s teachings. He situates the works in their proper contexts: the first two are discussed with reference to the place of Buddhism in mid-twentieth-century Indian thought and the third from the perspective of a post-modern thinker posing an entirely new set of questions. Gautama Buddha by Iqbal Singh views the life of the Buddha in the context of the eventful age in which he lived. The book deals with the man in all his complex but ennobling humanity, keeping in mind the significant connection of the personality of Gautama and his understanding of the nature of human experience and destiny with the deeper problems of our age. The Dhammapada or the ‘Path of virtue’ is the founding text of Buddhists teaching. The verses of the Dhammapada are believed to have been the utterances of Gautama the Buddha himself. Presented here in both Pali and English this classic edition was translated, edited, and annotated by S. Radhakrishnan, one of India’s foremost philosophers. The Philosophy of Religion by Arvind Sharma is an illuminating study in which Sharma interrogates key philosophical issues such as the nature of evil, belief or disbelief in God, human destiny, immortality, karma, and reincarnation, from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy and compares them with the tenets of the Western-dominated ‘Philosophy of Religion’. This book will be read with great interest by scholars and students of philosophy and religion, and lay readers interested in knowing more about Buddhism and its relevance in modern times.