The Encounter of Buddhism and the West

Essay

Presentation

From Alexander the Great to Marco Polo, from Schopenhaeur to Nietzsche, from Jung to Alexandra David Neel, many Western travelers, thinkers, and artists have been fascinated by the wisdom of the Buddha. This book recounts the major stages of the encounter between Buddhism and the West. It shows how Buddhism was and remains profoundly reinterpreted through distorting cultural prisms. It also helps us understand why, after the failure of religious, scientific, and political ideologies, Buddhism is enjoying a growing audience in the West. Many see this thought as a philosophy and ethics relevant to meeting the spiritual needs of individuals. By emphasizing action on the self over action on the world, Buddhism could be called upon to correct the excesses of a Western civilization too preoccupied with technical mastery to the detriment of meaning and interiority.

Translations

Korean: SEJONG BOOK
Spanish: SEIX BARRAL
Czech: VOLVOX GLOBATOR