The Vision of Buddhism: The Space Under the Tree

Destined to become a classic in its field, The Vision of Buddhism constitutes a dramatic departure from most Western treatments of Buddhism. Holding that the usual historical approach is not only irrelevant to Buddhism, but also destructive of its distinctive world view. Corless takes a nonlinear approach, one more faithful to the Buddhist tradition itself. Most Western treatments of Buddhism are historical, tracing in detail the chronology of Buddhism’s emergence and growth and its division into dozens of competing schools. This lucid and elegant introduction to Buddhism takes a non-historical approach, one that is more faithful to the Buddhist tradition itself. Author Roger Corless presents and explains Buddhist teachings and practices in light of events in the life of Buddha. He examines the mythologized version of Buddha’s life and the differing descriptions of Buddha’s life given by his followers. In the major section of the book he considers the matter of greatest importance to modern readers–how the Buddha’s life, in all its descriptions, may be repeated by each individual practitioner.