Items related to Buddha (Penguin Lives Biographies)

Buddha (Penguin Lives Biographies) - Softcover

 
9780143034360: Buddha (Penguin Lives Biographies)
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
With such bestsellers as A History of God and Islam, Karen Armstrong has consistently delivered "penetrating, readable, and prescient" (The New York Times) works that have lucidly engaged a wide range of religions and religious issues. In Buddha she turns to a figure whose thought is still reverberating throughout the world 2,500 years after his death.

Many know the Buddha only from seeing countless serene, iconic images. But what of the man himself and the world he lived in? What did he actually do in his roughly eighty years on earth that spawned one of the greatest religions in world history? Armstrong tackles these questions and more by examining the life and times of the Buddha in this engrossing philosophical biography. Against the tumultuous cultural background of his world, she blends history, philosophy, mythology, and biography to create a compelling and illuminating portrait of a man whose awakening continues to inspire millions.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
Writing a biography of the Buddha is not the same as writing one of most other people--even other founders of religions--as Karen Armstrong explains at the start of this excellent book, part of a series of lives of significant figures. Armstrong is a former nun who is now probably Britain's best-known popular writer on religion, the author of A History of God and The Battle for God amongst others.

Almost nothing is known about the Buddha's life as Siddhatta Gotama. The main source is the Pali Canon, a collection of texts made about a century after his death, though not written down until much later. This is a huge body of work which contains the Buddha's sermons and verses, rules for Buddhist monks, and philosophical analyses--but, apart from in passing, almost nothing about his life. In some of his discourses the Buddha illustrates a point with a personal anecdote; his "biography" has to be pieced together from these snippets. And Armstrong accepts that many of these may be mythological in nature, rather than historical in the factual sense we might wish for today. But does this matter? "The early Buddhists looked for significance, rather than historically accurate detail, in their scriptures."

Armstrong takes these snippets and puts them in order to tell Siddhatta Gotama's life story--but she does much more than that. The Buddha didn't spring out of nowhere. One of the most valuable things the author does in this book is to set him in his historical context of the changing religious ideas of the time. And in doing that she also gives an excellent explanation of what Buddhism is all about, in terms that a non-Buddhist can understand. Highly recommended. --David V Barrett

Review:
[Armstrong] offers a frequently inspiring look at this exemplary life... Invaluable. (Los Angeles Times)

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherPenguin Books
  • Publication date2004
  • ISBN 10 0143034367
  • ISBN 13 9780143034360
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages240
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780753813409: Lives: Buddha

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780753813409
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2002
Softcover

  • 9780670891931: Buddha: A Penguin Life (Penguin Lives)

    Viking, 2001
    Hardcover

  • 9783878601210: Buddha: Leben und Wirken des Wegbereiters in Indien

    Hardcover

  • 9781407233710: Buddha

    Phoenix, 2002
    Softcover

  • 9780786234288: Buddha (Thorndike Press Large Print Biography Series)

    Thornd..., 2001
    Hardcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Seller Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Penguin Books (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Softcover Quantity: 5
Seller:
GreatBookPricesUK
(Castle Donington, DERBY, United Kingdom)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 2511718-n

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 16.56
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Karen Armstrong
Published by Penguin Publishing Group (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New PAP Quantity: 3
Seller:
PBShop.store US
(Wood Dale, IL, U.S.A.)

Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # WB-9780143034360

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 16.57
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
From U.S.A. to United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Penguin Books (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Soft Cover Quantity: 10
Seller:
booksXpress
(Bayonne, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780143034360

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 12.09
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 4.76
From U.S.A. to United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Karen Armstrong
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New paperback Quantity: 5
Seller:
Blackwell's
(Oxford, OX, United Kingdom)

Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780143034360

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 17
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Karen Armstrong
Published by Penguin Books (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Ergodebooks
(Houston, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # DADAX0143034367

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 10.29
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 9.11
From U.S.A. to United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Karen Armstrong
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
CitiRetail
(Stevenage, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. With such bestsellers as A History of God and Islam, Karen Armstrong has consistently delivered "penetrating, readable, and prescient" (The New York Times) works that have lucidly engaged a wide range of religions and religious issues. In Buddha she turns to a figure whose thought is still reverberating throughout the world 2,500 years after his death.Many know the Buddha only from seeing countless serene, iconic images. But what of the man himself and the world he lived in? What did he actually do in his roughly eighty years on earth that spawned one of the greatest religions in world history? Armstrong tackles these questions and more by examining the life and times of the Buddha in this engrossing philosophical biography. Against the tumultuous cultural background of his world, she blends history, philosophy, mythology, and biography to create a compelling and illuminating portrait of a man whose awakening continues to inspire millions. A "New York Times" bestseller, this engrossing philosophical classic examines the life and times of the Buddha. Against the tumultuous cultural background of his world, Armstrong blends history, philosophy, mythology, and biography to create a compelling and illuminating portrait of a man whose awakening continues to inspire millions. (World Religions) Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780143034360

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 19.49
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Karen Armstrong
Published by Penguin Books (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # V9780143034360

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 17.26
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 2.57
From Ireland to United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Armstrong, Karen
Published by Penguin Books 9/28/2004 (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Paperback or Softback Quantity: 5
Seller:
BargainBookStores
(Grand Rapids, MI, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Buddha 0.38. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780143034360

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 12.44
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 9.11
From U.S.A. to United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen (Author)
Published by Penguin Books (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Revaluation Books
(Exeter, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. reprint edition. 240 pages. 7.00x5.00x0.50 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0143034367

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 14.62
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 6.99
Within United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Armstrong, Karen (Author)
Published by Penguin Books (2004)
ISBN 10: 0143034367 ISBN 13: 9780143034360
New Paperback Quantity: 2
Seller:
Revaluation Books
(Exeter, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. reprint edition. 240 pages. 7.00x5.00x0.50 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # x-0143034367

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 15.03
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 6.99
Within United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book