Basic Buddhism: Exploring Buddhism and Zen

My tradition reveres Master Nan. I have no complaints other than the publisher’s choice of title. More a basic history than a basic instruction manual, but highly recommended as such.

This book was recommended to me by a friend in China. It is not light reading, but is an indepth examination of Vedic and annimist roots of Buddhist philosophy. It is a peerless eximination of the evolution of Buddhism as it has developed to guide and shape Chinese thought. Along with Taoism and Confucianism, Buddhism is passively reflected in several thousand years of Chinese cultural development.Great indepth view!

I began reading this book with high hopes, and left knowing I could not tolerate the inherent prejudices stated by the author. His pro-communist statements while ignoring the murder of some 45-60 million Chinese under Communism, bias against European society is simply dishonest, and his pretending the Chinese were some united collective before the communists took over forced me to NOT by the book that I otherwise would have.(They certainly weren't too united against the Japanese despite being on their home turf and outnumbering the Japanese by the hundreds of thousands)Next time I would advise sticking to the topic of religion/philosophy, and leave politics for a different book.

To begin with, this is no ordinary dry history book written by some random academic. This is a concise introduction to the history of Buddhism written by Nan Huai-Chin, a renowned Zen master in China. Nan really helps the material to come alive, and explains the basic history in a way that is both fresh and accurate.An excellent added bonus is a full description of the Zen monastic system in the Chinese tradition. This is great because it is coming from someone who has "been there" and "done that." This is a guy who grew up in the early 20th century, visiting great masters and lamas throughout China and Tibet, and who is an expert on Chinese culture. This sort of information has not only the accuracy we expect from scholars, but the flavor of real first-hand experience.I cannot recommend this book enough for students of Buddhism, or, for that matter, anyone with an interest in the tradition.

Buddhism is not a religion because it demands cultivation and realization. It is therefore essential to select only writings written by the enlightened; or one can be led astray. Master Nan has been a Buddhist practitioner almost all his life and is believed by many to have seen the path. This book reviews all the basic concepts in Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism. Being written by someone who really knows, it is very different.Like all Master Ma's books, it is a book that you would like to keep for your whole life and then pass onto you children. For those who are interested in this area, you will never regret owning this book.