Book 3

The Foundations of Buddhism

 Rather than try to cover everything, Gethin focuses on a few key concepts that he explores in depth in about 300 pages.

• begins with the narrative of the story of the Buddha
• discusses textual traditions
• provides the framework of the Four Noble Truths
• examines the interactions between the monastic and lay ways of life
• explores the cosmology of karma and rebirth
• studies the path of the bodhisattva

Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.