Wonderful, But So Glad There Is No Final Exam!

It is all about Buddhism, focusing on its origins and history up to the present day. The Prof discusses the key figures--originators, leaders, lamas, gurus, followers. He covers its origins in India and how it morphed as it spread from country to country, from India to Tibet, China, Japan, the US and many others. You get a feeling for why Buddhism was so contagious and attractive. You learn of the different proponents even if you can't pronounce their names or remember who was who, as you proceed through chapter after chapter. You learn chants which you wish you could remember but don't because, if you are at all like me, you did not write them down or download the pdf at the start of the course. If you did download it, you many not have chosen to print it out as it contains over 100 pages as it is very inclusive of each lecture's materials.

What made this series of lectures most special to me was the love of Professor Eckel for his subject matter. He is the real thing, one of the world's leading experts on Buddhism. His interest in and love of the religion shine through the entire series. He has a wonderful sense of humor. Even if you are not a religious person, like me, you can't help but respect him and want to hear more. You may even start wondering if Buddhism could be a part of your life, if it could offer anything for you and make your life more enriched.

I highly recommend this Great Course if you are feeling curious, as I was.

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Don't forget that Eckel Teaches at BU

Malcolm David Eckel teaches at Boston University. You'll hear that about 400 times in this otherwise engaging course. He doesn't have students, he has "students at Boston University." He doesn't have colleagues, he has "colleagues at Boston University." Got it? Beyond that, the course provides a substantive, introductory overview of Buddhist history and philosophy across a number of traditions. I found the lectures on Pure Land Buddhism particularly compelling, and was grateful to have the full lectures in pdf form for review after listening. Well worth a listen so long as you remember that the most important thing about Buddhism is that Malcolm David Eckel teaches at Boston University, near the Thai place on Commonwealth.

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Much ado about Nothingness.

What did you love best about Buddhism?

This series of essays did a fantastic job of highlighting the differences between the various forms of Buddhism practiced today. As someone who came into these lectures with only a superficial knowledge of Buddhism, I was struck by just how many different interpretations of Buddhist teaching there are in the world. It makes the Protestant/Catholic divide look more like a small ditch in comparison.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Buddhism?

The bits on Vajrayāna Buddhism were certainly the most memorable parts of the lecture, primarily due to the tradition's enigmatical style of teaching . Contrasting the esoteric tendencies of Vajrayāna with the relative simplicity of Zen is almost like comparing apples and oranges, but it's this rich diversity that I found to be the most compelling aspect of the study.

Have you listened to any of Professor Malcolm David Eckel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Professor Eckel's love of the subject shone through my speakers. He approached the lecture with a zest that I wish more of the Great Courses lecturers possessed. His diction is equal parts scholastic and conversational, with a genial loquaciousness that wouldn't sound out of place coming from the mouth of a Hotei statue.

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Buddhist Culture Around the World

...is what this audiobook should have been titled. I understand touching on how Buddhism is currently practiced in different parts of the world, but the book's title and summary did not make it sound like that would be the main focus. If that's what you're looking for, I can recommend this audiobook to you. However, I was more interested in learning about the Buddha's teachings.

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Terribly Unballanced

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I'm a professor of history of China and expected to learn more about Buddhism, especially its development in China, which is the most important land next to India where Buddhism experienced major growth in thoughts and practice. After 15 lectures on Indian Buddhism, Professor Eckel chooses to first go to Tibet (which accepted Buddhism 500 years later than China) for 3 lectures, then China for only 2 lectures, and then Japan for 3 lectures. I can only say Professor Eckel's choices are baffling and disappointing.After India, China was the land where Buddhism interacted with Chinese intellectual traditions of Daoism and other thoughts to grow into half a dozen of major branches, including the Three-Treatises, the Tantric School, the Flower Adornment School/Huayan, the White Lotus School/Tiantai, Pure Land/Jintu, and Chan (Zen). It was these Chinese versions of Buddhism that found their way to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan where they enjoyed varying degrees of popularity WITHOUT significant developments. Yet, Prof. Eckel render such vast body of Chinese Buddhist teachings, not to mention Buddhist art and poetry, into a mere 2 lectures and spent 3 lectures discussing these Chinese schools of Buddhism in Japan. Chen or Zen, a Chinese invention of Buddhism by combining Chinese Daoism and Buddhist meditation practice, and Chen's practice of Gong-an/Public cases, merits only a few minutes in this course, and the professor chooses, without any intellectual justification, to discuss these how these Chinese Buddhist school were performed in Japan and how the Japanese were practicing Gong-an (or pronounced Ko-an in Japanese).

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Informative, entertaining and personal

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Very informative lectures. The balance between being high level and providing too much information is well maintained. The author is clearly an expert on the subject, he draws from personal experience and tells us many anecdotes about his personal experience with Buddhism.

Informal and relaxed lecture style; very easy to listen to. I highly recommend this lecture series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Buddhism?

He is very passionate about the subject.

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Accessible and informative

Any additional comments?

This a really good introduction to the subject. The narrator has a clear skill in making some of the complex cencepts of Buddhism (at least to a western mind) understandable. He is passionate about the subject, speaks clearly and his lectures have a good balance between 'story telling' and theory. I will be keeping this audiobook in my library to listen to again.

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Fascinating

The author is exactly what every college professor should aim to be - passionate about his subject, knowledge, funny, and interesting to listen to. He goes through the basic tenets of Buddhism and discussed the different types. He even have great reading suggestions. I very much enjoyed learning about a subject that is not well understood in western culture.

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Strictly Academic

Perhaps because I am a somewhat familiar with Buddhist practice on a personal level, I found this course to be dry and generally 'academic' in tone, which is no surprise as Dr. Eckel is a college teacher in Boston. It literally dances from one topic to the next but fails to address the 'heart' of Buddhism. On the other hand, for the complete initiate it might provide a guide to basic terms and historical events and concepts. I also found the canned applause before and after each lecture to be silly.

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A fascinating exploration of Buddhism and its schools

A must for anyone who is exploring Buddhism. Professor Eckel breathes new life into how Buddhism has adapted and spread. His passion for the subject is infectious! I’ve already listened to it twice. This series of lectures will definitely be a set I revisit again and again!

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