An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices

·期刊原文

An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices

Reviewed by Collett Cox

The Journal of the American Oriental Society

Vol.112 No.4

Oct-Dec 1992

Pp.665-666 Copyright by American Oriental Society

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In proposing to write a new introductory text on Buddhism, an author

sets a difficult task. The vastness of the topic demands radical

selection both in content and in method; heuristic considerations

constrain ideal intentions; pedagogical objectivity taxes personal

limitations of specialized competence and interest. A partial

inventory of types of actual and potential introductions might

include: conventional chronologically or geographically organized

surveys of important names and dates; a doctrinal survey that

presents supposed core teachings, emphasizing possibly early

Buddhism, select later traditions or schools, or select individual

teachers; annotated selections from essential Buddhist canonical

scriptures or from other Buddhist texts, again emphasizing one or

another sect, school, or teacher; thematically organized surveys

that detail aspects of doctrine, practice, or communal and lay life

and organization without special regard to historical period or

cultural context; attempts to capture the "essence" of Buddhist

doctrine, worldview, practice, or life--again without regard to

historical period or cultural context; biographical accounts; social

or political histories; anthropological studies of the Buddhism of a

particular area; presentations of Buddhist teaching and practice via

art-historical, ethnomusicological, or literary materials. Choosing

a "best introduction" thus appears as unreasonable as deciding what

is best (or essential) in Buddhism; ultimately individual taste and

experience will determine which type or combination of types is

preferable or better suited to a given audience.

Accordingly, the thirteen chapters comprising Peter Harvey's An

Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices reflect

his own response to these confining demands as he attempts to

accommodate the diverse aspects and expanse of Buddhism. The first

four chapters are an exposition of the main events and doctrines of

early Buddhism, largely as presented in the Pali canon. Harvey

clearly judges this material as, for the most part, representing the

teaching of the Buddha himself, and therefore, of primary

importance. Thus, numerous technical terms are cited here in Pali,

and unlike most of the rest of the work, which is footnoteless in

textbook style, there are frequent scriptural references embedded in

the text. The fifth and sixth chapters deal with Mahayana: chapter

five reviews Mahayana "philosophy," particularly Madhyamaka and

Yogacara; and chapter six treats Mahayana "holy beings," including

the doctrine of the Buddha and Bodhisattva practice as well as

"heavenly" Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The seventh chapter treats the

later history and expansion of Buddhism, in Tibet, in Central, East,

and Southeast Asia, though unfortunately much more briefly and with

still fewer textual references than the preceding section on early

Indian Buddhism.

Differing from many expository introductions, Harvey extensively

covers Buddhist practice in chapters eight through eleven. In

contrast to the more historical narration of the preceding chapters,

these chapters adopt a decidedly present tense, even where citing

classical sources. Perhaps in order to underscore the actuality of

practice in contemporary Buddhism or to assert certain shared

features of practice assumed to characterize Buddhist religious life

in all times and all cultures, chapters eight, nine, and ten on

devotion, ethics, and the sangha, are arranged in common topical

subsections, rather than separately by historical period or

tradition. The eleventh chapter on meditation, though again focusing

on an assumed common feature of practice, adopts an organization by

tradition, such as Southern, Zen, etc. Harvey concludes his

introductory text with a twelfth chapter on Buddhism in contemporary

Asia and a thirteenth chapter on Buddhism beyond Asia, touching on

both scholarship (briefly) and religious groups. The volume is also

furnished with a guide to the pronunciation of Pali and Sanskrit,

with some maps, figures, plates and tables, and with a topically

arranged bibliography and both a concept and a name index.

Quite naturally, scholars when first perusing an introductory text

might especially check the treatment given their own areas of

interest. Encouragingly, the Sarvastivadins are found to be covered

in about a page. However, reservations arise when reading that a

council, precipitated by doctrinal disagreements, was held under

Kaniska in A.D. 100, a council that eventually produced the

Mahavibhasa--from a strict historical point of view, certainly a

problematic legend. Similarly, one cannot assert unequivocally that

Vasubandhu wrote the Abhidharmakosabhasya from a Sautrantika

perspective. But these are the kinds of problems and quibbles

lurking in profusion under the surface in any introductory text,

which is artificially smooth by virtue of the inevitable pedagogical

perspective of harmonious generalization. On this and all other

matters of historical and textual detail, it is important to note

that Harvey's intent and tone are certainly not critical-historical,

but animated by a genuine enthusiasm and pietistic respect for his

subject matter. Whether lecturers will find in this or any volume

the ideal introductory course text is a matter of preference and

circumstantial needs; its commendable virtues, however, merit its

being so considered.