3 Review(s)

From the Thinking About Religions series - a series for people aged 16+ which gives a sympathetic account of the practices and beliefs of the world's major faiths. Living as we do in a pluralist society with a wide variety of culture and religion, the study of world religions can no longer be a rapid survey that does no more than offer the student a slight acquaintance with the historical founder of a faith together with a knowledge of the more unusual customs and traditions associated with his followers who are through of as living in some remote part of the world. The religions of the world are on our doorstep, in the press and on television if not literally in our road. This book (one of a series) seeks to bring understanding and tolerance in a diverse society, and it is the hope of editor, authors and publishers that study of this kind will also help the reader to an understanding of his or her own faith at a deeper level. All human beings are confronted with the inescapable facts of ageing, impermanence and change. Buddhism teaches a way to overcome the unhappiness this brings and achieve peace. The Buddha, who lived some 500 years before Jesus, taught a new way of seeing the world and offered a practical prescription for living known as 'The Middle Way'. Buddhism has a wide appeal in the modern world and has gained many adherents in the west.