As prayer is to the Christian life, so meditation is the very heart of Buddhist life. This introduction explains the meaning and purpose of meditation. Its series of devotional exercises include instructions on maintaining mental and physical awareness during meditation, with advice on postures, breathing, repudiation of the sensory world, and more. Unabridged republication of the edition published by Harper Torchbooks, New York, 1969.
The Living Thoughts of Gotama the Buddha by Ananda Coomaraswamy, I. B. Horner Scholarly, highly readable volume offers concise introduction to tenets of Buddhism. After a brief biography and an overview of Buddha's doctrine, a series of Pali texts focuses on the founder and his prophesies.
Buddhism: Its Essence and Development by Edward Conze Classic guide introduces Buddhism as both religion and philosophy, discusses its common ground with other faiths throughout the world, contrasts monastic and popular Buddhism, and defines old and new schools of thoughts.
