The Best Guide to Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Easily Accessible Information for a Richer, Fuller Life by Diane Morgan

The Best Guide to Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Easily Accessible Information for a Richer, Fuller Life Reviews

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  Jamie

  Written very much in the style of a "For Dummies" type of book, this guide provides an excellent, concise, broad-stroke overview of Eastern philosophy and religion. The manner in which the content is divided, categorized, and laid out is particularly helpful from the Western perspective, as many Eastern traditions can sometimes seem to be all over the place by our lights. This book covers Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Tantra, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, and Shinto. A super useful and interesting primer. 4.5/5
• 
  John

  A great place to start...
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  Dennis Littrell

  Good "Comparative Religion 101" type guide
  
  This is certainly a notch or two above what one would expect to find in a "Dummies" or an "Idiot's" guide. Diane Morgan, who teaches philosophy and religion at Wilson and Frederick Community College in Pennsylvania, has a light touch that sometimes drifts into something close to irreverence, which might offend some sensitive readers, although the Zen Buddhist part of me found it agreeable. For example, Morgan writes about Milarepa "an important character in the development of the Kagyupa school of Tibetan Buddhism" who, during an ascetic period of his life (before he began imbibing ambrosia), lived on nettle soup "which turned his skin completely green." She observes that Milarepa died at the age of 84 "after knowingly ingesting some poisonous curds." She adds "(Curds are quite a comedown from ambrosia, but about on a par with nettle soup)."
  
  Hers is not a true believer's approach, that is for sure; and this is only to be expected. How could a true believer of any religion be objective about the nine religions/philosophies she covers? Consequently this book is written from a secular point of view with the usual assumption that no one religion or philosophy has a monopoly on truth or wisdom.
  
  The nine religions covered are Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Tantra, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, and Shinto. The first four are covered in some depth, forming the first four parts of the book, while the latter five comprise the five chapters of Part 5. Strictly speaking Tantra is an adjunct of both Hinduism and Buddhism, and it is debatable whether Confucianism should be called a religion. Actually, as Morgan points out, in the East, religion and philosophy go hand in hand, and one is hard put to separate them.
  
  Needless to say it is impossible to do complete justice to even one religion in a single book. Nonetheless I think Morgan does a good job of introducing a religious and philosophical view from the East that is different from the Abrahamic and Greek traditions that are so familiar to us in the West. What she doesn't do--and I think this is a significant failing--is to make a distinction between the fundamentalist or literal interpretation of the religions and a philosophic or symbolic interpretation. In Christianity there is a world of difference between the fundamentalist and the more progressive branches, between strict interpretations of the Bible and symbolic ones. In Buddhism in particular there is a significant difference between not just the two main branches or between the Tibetan and Zen offshoots, but between the way the average Buddhist sees the world and the way the monk or the educated Buddhist sees it. The idea of reincarnation is taken as literal to most Buddhists, but a deeper understanding may require an interpretation that sees our individual "consciousness" as what is reincarnated, with the understanding that our consciousness is like fire, essentially the same in every manifestation.
  
  Also in Buddhism and Vedanta (part of Hinduism) there is the idea of "non-self," an idea that takes many years of study or experience (or a marvelous "enlightenment") to fully appreciate. This idea has very little relevance to the everyday practitioner. It could even be said that the idea of karma, which, as Morgan explains, can include actions from previous lives, is really just a symbolic way of expressing a general tendency in life (or even a way of hinting at biological evolution) without any need for reincarnations. In fact, strictly speaking the Buddha spoke only of the here and now, this lifetime and did not trouble himself with gods or afterlives.
  
  At any rate, this book is very much like a "Dummies" book with the usual easy-to-read, "lite" style, with sidebars, text boxes and summaries at the end of each chapter. It is especially good for someone who wants an introduction to Eastern religions such as one might get in a Comparative Religion 101 class. It is for the curious, and good place to start for those who want to go on to more in-depth studies.
  
  --Dennis Littrell, author of “Understanding Religion: Reviews, Essays and Commentary”
  
• 
  Peter Sandwall

  Brief and well written, excellent survey, good refresher.
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  Cole Blouin

  It was, for me, a very important book to read at a very decisive point in my life, and really helped me change for the better into the person I am today. The book itself has good points and bad points: it seems that, at times, it delves into the history of the religions rather than the religion itself. I was hoping, basically, for an introduction to each religion (or school of thought, rather, seems a more appropriate term) that deals more with the core ideas than where those ideas came from. However, despite the lack of intense depth into each field of study, the book certainly serves as a great guide to each individual school of thought, providing a history, important names and the basics of the school of thought itself. It's a great book for one with such a large breadth of material, and for someone with no idea what "taoism" is (and perhaps only a faint concept of hinduism), I'd certainly recommend it.
• 
  - Jared - ₪ Book Nerd ₪

  Any book claiming to be the best guide in any philosophy or religion that is under 400 pages deserves immediate skepticism. The book isn't bad but it really doesn't strike me as being anything approaching 'The Best Guide to Eastern Philosophy and Religion'. The very title sets the bar too high for a person like me who has an insatiable appetite for knowledge.
  
  Honestly, it is more or less just an introduction to from what the west regards as the eastern's foreign way of thinking. Personally, I got more out of the older 'Knowledge Products', or 'The Modern Scholar', and many of 'The Teaching Company' lectures. In sort, to speak in idioms, the book felt very watered down to me and only wet my whistle and didn't leave me feeling a glow of happiness by its conclusion. If you're just looking a little information regarding the religions and general philosophy of the East, then this may be what you're looking for. If you want a more complete understanding, then look elsewhere.
• 
  Claire S

  Looks like this has all the failings one would expect from a survey book on such huge subjects. Even buying it was a failure of sorts, obviously, an attempt to easily consume such topics based on a huge miscalculation of scale.
  What I had intended though was to move beyond profound ignorance to somewhat-less-profound ignorance.
  So am currently seeing this as a placeholder till I graduate to better materials for my journey.
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  Vanessa

  I was looking for a book that would explain each of the Eastern philosophies and it was between this and Eastern Philosophy for Dummies. I'm glad I chose this one. I was surprised at how easy of a read this was, I didn't find it to be a dry read like I was afraid it would be. She did a good job at showing the similarities and differences between the religions. I recommend this to anyone who wants to know a little about these religions without getting bogged down in the minute details.
• 
  Icebiermann

  A great contribution for the understanding of eastern philosophies
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  Chase Parsley

  This is the best book about Far Eastern religions that I have ever come across. A wonderful gift for a person who does not understand much about this topic. Captivating.
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  Julianne Larsen

  Great introduction to the Eastern philosophy. I learned a lot, but it is only the beginning, I realize now.
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  Sam Mansourou

  Diane Morgan definitely does her research.
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  Denny

  A very informative book on the history, practices and thought process of Eastern religions