A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha is for people interested in learning the basics of Buddhism and those who could use an uncomplicated reference. Mapping the Dharma fills a need for a book that organizes and outlines the fundamental concepts of the Buddha s teachings in a way that is accessible and understandable, without excessive explanation of complex subject matter that can take years to fully understand and appreciate. With Mapping the Dharma you have at your fingertips an easy to read, easy to follow atlas of nearly one hundred key concepts of Buddhism. Whether you are a long-standing Buddhist practitioner or just curious about how the Buddha s teachings can help you lead a more peaceful and happy life, you will find this book a useful tool. The Buddha presented his teachings, the Dharma, in the form of relational lists. In Mapping the Dharma you will find the most important of these lists mapped out for you with brief point by point explanations to help you unravel an array of challenging ideas and relationships. The lists include The Three Characteristics of Existence The Four Noble Truths The Five Aggregates The Seven Factors for Awakening The Eightfold Path The Ten Perfections The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.
Editorial Reviews"Religious teachings can often be daunting and boring, especially when they are formulated in lists and categories;... What originally may feel like an odd tangle of advice and exhortations is in reality a connected and coherent path to freedom. I appreciate how this book helps to clarify the nature of the Buddha s teachings as an integrated whole."
"Every journey begins with a map: sketched in the sand, conjured in the mind, flowering in one s imagination or detailed in a book. The more accurate the map the more likely one will reach the goal. So too with a journey of enlightenment on the middle way of the Buddha.... Take a look at this map, study the terrain and take the journey of awakening."
"Paul Gerhards s new book, Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha, is a deep and lasting contribution to, and recording of, Buddhism s ongoing journey to the West. Clear and legible, Mapping the Dharma is a condensation of years of study, meditation, and synthesis. Gerhards has taken the many interwoven threads of the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings, and rendered them as graceful and easy-to read diagrams, definitions and lists. Lest this sound dry, the book is actually a lively and invaluable roadmap of Buddhist concepts, an atlas of the way to awakening. The terrain will be familiar to anyone who is familiar with the landmarks of the Buddha s teachings: the various lists, beginning with the Triple Gem, the Three Characteristics of Existence, the Four Noble Truths of suffering and the end of suffering, the Five Precepts, which are the foundation of ethical conduct, and so on. Gerhards's achievement is to chart and cross-reference the strands of the Dharma, enabling Buddhist practitioners at any level, from any tradition, to discern patterns and relationships between different facets of the teachings." Mapping The Dharma: A Concise Guide to The Middle Way of the Buddha, Paul Gerhards, Paperback, 114 pp., $15.95
Paul Gerhards has been studying and practicing Buddhism for more than 10 years. His principal course of study is Theravada, the school of Buddhism also known as the Southern Transmission, which has its roots in Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
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