An Illustrated Outline of Buddhism: The Essentials of Buddhist Spirituality (3 page)

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FOREWORD

The very small is as the very large when boundaries are forgotten.

The very large is as the very small when its outlines are not seen.

Seng ts’an, Third Patriarch of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism1

A phenomenon of vast outward complexity cal s for a synthesizing and

delineating response, lest the forest’s shape, for example, be lost sight

of amid its countless trees. The present book is a highly successful re-

sponse of this kind to the spiritual world of Buddhism. In a very small

compass, Stoddart supplies a wealth of information, so much so, that

one reviewer has called his book a “pocket encyclopedia”—not in the

sense of a mere collection of facts, but in the infinitely more stimulat-

ing sense of a coordinated collection of key ideas or reference points to

bear in mind along one’s path of discovery.

This new il ustrated edition, revised and enlarged a full genera-

tion after the first, provides a clear and succinct overview of Buddhist

teachings and practices, from their origin in 531 B.C. when the Bud-

dha attained Enlightenment, to their subsequent deployment and de-

velopment at a variety of times and places, and among a variety of eth-

nicities. Special attention is given in this regard to the distinctive forms

of Buddhism occurring, either historical y or presently, in the regions

of India, Tibet, China, Indo-China (including Burma, Thailand, Cam-

bodia, and Laos), Korea, and Japan.

Stoddart’s work also pays tribute to the overwhelming beauty of

Buddhist art—amply confirmed by the rich selection of color repro-

ductions in this volume—in a wide variety of schools.

An Il ustrated Outline of Buddhism
is thus not only useful, but

moving and inspiring, and as such does full justice to a spiritual tradi-

tion that is unique and irreplaceable among the great religions of the

world.

Joseph A. Fitzgerald

1 Quoted in
Buddhist Texts Through the Ages
, ed. Edward Conze (New York: Philo-

sophical Library, 1954), p. 298.

Opposite page
: Shākyamuni Buddha at Vulture Peak Paradise, Central or Eastern Tibet

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An Illustrated Outline of Buddhism

Meditating Buddha, Gupta Dynasty, Sārnāth, India