Buddhism: A Way of Life & Thought
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Nancy Wilson Ross, in Buddhism: A Way of Life and Thought, does not present anything new about the first of the world religions, but after more than 2500 years this is not surprising. Ross does not aim to discover something new about Buddhism, but rather intends to clearly and simply describe the most important elements of the religion from the birth of Siddhartha Gautama. What makes her book special, aside from the clarity of her presentation and style, is the fact that she is a Westerner who in midlife became a practicing Buddhist. Although Ross includes her personal experiences only when directly helpful to the specific subject at hand, the entire book is illuminated by the author's obvious respect, knowledge and love for this religion. She does not want to write a scholarly analysis of Buddhism, but tries to bring the reader inside the religion as much as she can with a book. Ross also does not intend to present a comprehensive portrait of Buddhism in only 181 pages of text. Instead, she aims for an intimate portrait which highlights only the more essential parts of three branches of the religion--Theravada (Hinayana), Tibetan, and Zen. The major problem of the book is the author's insistence on again and again comparing Buddhism favorably to other religions, particularly Christianity. This effort only weakens Ross' argument that Buddhism in general, and especially her own embracing of the Buddhist way of life and thought, brings about a transformation in the individual'
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ations aside, Ross' book is a clear portrait of the essence of Buddhism. A very pragmatic religion, despite the Western tendency to mystify things Eastern, Buddhism focuses on techniques and practices which change the way the individual thinks, the way he or she perceives the world and the self, and the way he or she achieves freedom. Ross writes that "In Buddhism it is ignorance, not sin, that gives man his difficulties, and ignorance can, by specific teachable techniques, be modified, even overcome" (62). The technical, practical aspects of Buddhism--focusing on meditation--are used to replace ignorance with self-knowledge, which Ross says "is the one sure, indisputable path by which we can extricate ourselves from the brambles of conditioned life" (62).
Before dealing with those specific techniques, Ross examines the history and evolution of the three approaches of Buddhism, never falling into the trap of scholastic or abstract descriptions which would alienate the average reader whom she wishes to reach. She clearly addresses her book to the person who does not know much about Buddhism, or who does know some but wants to know more. This fact is only fitting, because Buddhism, as Ross describes it, is a religion which is deepl
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Approximate Word count = 1530
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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