The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen

By Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber, Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Michael S. Diener, et al.

Book Overview

With more than four thousand entries and over one hundred illustrations, this encyclopedia offers a complete survey of the four major religious traditions of Asia. It is designed not only for students and scholars but also to help general readers find their way through the thicket of unfamiliar words and concepts that are often encountered today in various fields such as the health professions, psychotherapy, the sciences, and the media. Among the subjects covered are: - Important terms such as chakra , karma , koan , nirvana , tantra , Tao , and yin-yang - The lives and teachings of mystics, philosophers, and masters of meditation - Basic texts and scriptures - Sects and schools of thought - Mythological figures and events In addition, pronunciation tables, a comprehensive bibliography, and a Ch'an/Zen Lineage Chart are provided.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877739803
• ISBN13: 9780877739807
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 488 Pages
• Weight: 1.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion

Great reference book at a small price. You will not be dissapointed. I wasn't. I love it. Just wish it was also a dictionary with roman transliteration

I LOVE this book!

This has been my best investment to help me mentally organize the plethora of terms associated with eastern spiritual traditions. The term descriptions show links to other terms within the encyclopedia so it's kinda like following hypertext links on the internet. I can't praise the authors enough for their collaborative creation. Exellent job!

An helpful Reference Book at a Reasonable Price

Usually Reference Books of this type are quite expensive and are also often difficult to find. Congratulations to Shambhala Press for providing a useful book at a reasonable price. The Book concentrates on four areas: Buddhism, Hindiusm, Taoism and Zen. The first three are covered by German and Austrian Scholars, and Zen by a Japanese Scholar. The Book is a translation (by Committee) from the German, and suffers surprisingly little as a result. All entries are Alphabetical and are coded to the four categories listed above, thus making it easy to use. Within the text of the entries arrows next to trems lead readers to related entries. The entries are by necccessity brief. An extensive but incomplete Bibliography, provides much of the most important Source Material. It is an ambitious undertaking to produce a one Volume, 468 page, Reference Book of this type. I think that the Editors have succeeded in their undertaking. I hope that subsequent editions will expand on some of the more important entries and add others. I recommend this Book highly to Students and Scholars alike.

A thorough reference book on Eastern spirituality.

An excellent source for reference or just casual reading, "The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion" is more often than not the first book I turn to when looking for a description of anything from "Advaita" to "Zazen." More than just a collection of terms on Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Zen, this book covers a wide variety of teachers and esoteric wisdom. Rarely have I been stumped when looking to this tome for a word. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in spirituality.