JSS 045 2G Reviews
BOok REVIEWS Kenneth W. Morgan, 'Phe Path of the Buddha. The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1956. 432 pages, including index. The subtitle, Bu,ddhism Inte~·preted by BHddhists, indicates the real nature of this volume. The editor, Prof. Morgan of Colgate University, with the hacking of the Hm~en Foundatioll, made two trips to Buddhist lands to secure material from living sources for this book. Tho eleven contributors we1•e recommended by their fellow Buddhists as men distinguished f01· their knowledge of dif1'erent aspects of the history and development of their religion. In consequence the discussions on Buddhist history, doctrines, and schools of t,honght bear the stamp of authorit.y. The contribntors consist of seven .Japanese professors, a Tibetan official, and three monks-a Burman, a Ceylonese, and an Indian. Disappointment arises Lecanse no 'fhai writer was chosen to represent the large monastic order in 'l'h.ailancl. Political con ditions prevented the editor from contacting qualified Buddhist writers in China. '!.'he preponderance of Japanese authors is explained pal'tly by the subject matter, e.(}., the rather full treat ment of the Shin, Zen, and Nichiren sects in Japan, and partly by the eompetcuce of Japanese scholars in research. Prof. Tsukamoto, President of the Institute of Hnrnauistic Studies at the University of Kyoto and Director of Research in Religion, to cite an example, gives a masterly presentation of "Buddhism in China and Korea." In assembling and editing the material in this book Prof. :Morgan follo\YS the technique he used in preparing The ReUgion of tho Hindus, 1953 (Reviewed in this J ournnl, August, 1955 ).
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