Review by Choice Review
Beginning with a description of the concept of rebirth in early Buddhism, Becker includes chapters on the nature of Nirvana, the after-life in Pure Land Buddhism, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and Japanese ethics of death and dying, the last of these concerned with such issues as suicide and euthanasia from a Buddhist perspective. These chapters provide a solid survey suitable for undergraduates. However, in discussing alternative interpretations of Nirvana, Becker often relies on outdated sources and seems unaware of G.R. Welbon's standard The Buddhist Nirvana and Its Western Interpreters (CH, Jun'69). In some sections of the book the author loses his scholarly objectivity, and the text becomes more an example of speculative philosophy, defending the "reincarnation hypothesis" and such concepts as that of an "ethereal astral world." Undergraduate; general. J. P. McDermott; Canisius College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
