Buddhism for Beginners Paperback – January 1, 2001

I enjoyed this book. Good info and I’d read again. Thanks.

I'm glad I did. The format is questions the the Abess. She answers in clear and straightforward style.I intended to look through it before giving it to my friend and ended up reading almost the entire book.There are many ways to be introduced to Tibetan Buddhism. This is a very satisfactory first book.I would also recommend Thich Nhat Hanh, and of course H.H. The Dalai Lama. They both write with wisdom and clarity that are suitable for new students and seasoned meditators.Many of my friends who read Dharma, not as a spiritual path, but to make sense out of the crazy times in which we live also receive benefit from Pema Chodron's books.

Beautiful writing style with the knowledge and experience to back it up. This is a great companion to anyone exploring, studying, and/or practicing Buddhism.

The perfect book for those of us who were curious about Buddhism. It is written in form of questions and answers, sorf of like a Buddhism FAQs. This book is for you if you want to get familiar with the main Buddhist principles, their beliefs, practices and philosophy. It's written clearly and straight to the point. No words wasted. Everything you need to know as an introduction is here. The book may not be for you if you want specific spiritual guidance, or if you already know about Buddhism. The author is not preaching, nor teaching how to meditate, or how to pray mantras to the Buddha. She does talk about how they do it, and the meaning it has, but it is not going to teach you how to do it. It's an introduction to Buddhism for non-Buddhists who are intelectually curious about the topic. Now, if you are also considering becoming a Buddhist, this can help you too to find out if it is really what you're looking for, and can be a great first step. Also, if you want an academic dissertation, you won't find it here. Thubten Chodron is a buddhist nun, not a PhD. For me, this is a great advantage, but if you want academic jargon, not the book for you. Amazing book all the same. Highly recommended. The Audible narration is great too.

I bought this book because I wanted to learn about Buddhism. I had questions, and this book covered them all. It even covered questions I did not have. Once I was done reading, I was left with a few questions that were generated from just reading. That's the great thing about learning. This book inspired me to dig deeper. I already knew that this book may have a Tibetan twist to Buddhism because it says outright that the author is a Buddhist nun that follows the Tibetan tradition. Simply put, I was not surprised nor disappointed to find out that I was right. What's wrong with that, though? It is not designed to answer every question that can be asked, the goal is to provide information for someone that is new to Buddhism. This book did exactly that.Anyone that knows absolutely nothing about Buddhism should start here. There is a lot to learn and this is a great place to start. Just do not make it your last stop. I started here and moved on to Budhism Plain & Simple by Steve Hagen, personally.Expect to have a few questions when you're done. Expect to feel like there is more to learn. The truth is, there is. That does not mean this book should be ignored. It is simply a great place to begin the search.

I will agree with some of the others; this is a great book if you're vaguely familiar with some of the concepts. If you've never heard anything about buddhism except the name, this may not be the best place to start. What it did for me was to clarify some of the concepts I had read about in other books that those authors did not elaborate on, either for lack of room or their belief you already understood the concepts. I did find this to be a fascinating read. Some of it in other ways gets repeated in other books on the subject to varying degrees, but this is a bit more simplified. Well worth the read.

EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE!!! Perfect for the beginners. I love this book so much. Common Sense and works in our daily lives, I don't see how EVERYONE should not become Dharma. I am proud to be reading this book, if someone asks me at the gym what am I reading I proudly show them. Many want to know if this is how I am so calm being a military wife (husband always gone), 4 kids (little ones) and always so positive. I tell them, it does help :) The calm state and meditation does help. I strive to always stay positive throughout my days and not complain about LIFE. I am a changed woman because of this book and I would read it OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

While this book does provide an overview of all Buddhist traditions, it clearly has a Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) bent.I was hoping for a book that gave all traditions equal treatment thus allowing me to pick the tradition that suited me best.This book simply isn't that.As such, the title is misleading (it should be called "Tibetan Buddhism for Beginners") and the fact that the content doesn't really cover the other traditions in much detail.

This book is easy to read and straight forward, and answers many questions about Buddhism. It does touch on somethings that I wish were explained in more detail but overall gives a good understanding of the ideals and practices of Buddhism.

I bought 4-5 books on Buddhism this one by far is the most concise and perfect for beginners.

Dear, İ found this book very good ,but now it is not opening in my kindle Apps. while i am able to read other books . Please do needful . Thanks

Very well written, easy to understand, and covers all the main topics on Buddhism. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Buddhism from the beginners mind to the advanced practitioner.

I would recommend this book to anyone seeking for some information regarding bhuddism. I like the way the author describes the fundamentals of bhuddism. It looks like she is talking to us directly. The format of Q&A is very interesting.