The author, a professor of religion at Duke University, sets up a unique method for teaching this introductory course on Buddhism. The subtitle: “The Space Under the Tree” immediately tells us something of his way of proceeding, namely the use of the Bodhi tree as an allegory of the growth of Buddhism throughout its long history. Its seed is the life of Buddha, the space under the tree is the vision of reality and the tree itself is the historical reality of Buddhism.

The method is set up in Part I by telling of the story of the Twelve Acts of the Buddha. Thereafter, each chapter is paralleled to an Act of Buddha’s life. A short resume of the method will give some idea of the clarity that this provides for describing the wealth and complexity of the tradition, but also of the limitations that the author has set for himself.

The first three acts of the Buddha: waiting in Tushita heaven, growing in the womb of Mayadeva, birth as a human for the last time—are seen as paradigms for the content of Chapter 1: “Where do the Buddhas come from?”

Act 4: The “Attainment of Intellectual and Physical Skills” is coupled with Ch. 2, a treatment of the “value of Worldly Skills” as conceived in the various Buddhist traditions. Act 5: Marriage and the Enjoyment of Sensuality is paralleled in Ch. 3 with “Buddhism in Family Life.” Act 6: Renunciation of the Worldly Life is treated in Ch. 4 as “Monastic Life.” Act 7: The Practice of Extreme Self-Denial becomes the “Controversies with non-Buddhists.” (This appeared rather contrived until we read that the “extreme self-denial” which Buddha later rejected was taught to him by those he termed atheists!). Act 8: The March to the Center is “The Center” in Ch. 6. This chapter is a study of the physical cosmos with its world-systems and the mythological center, Mt. Meru, as well as the study of the centered mind.

Act 9: Overcoming Mara becomes Ch. 7, “Removing Obstacles.” Act 10: Attaining Enlightenment is fulfilled in Ch. 8 “The Pinnacle.” This chapter is surprisingly short, given the fact that enlightenment is sure to be the subject of most interest to beginning students of Buddhism. Rather surprising also is the injection of the teaching of Piaget on how children “construct” their world and become locked in it, much as adults become locked in their world and become prisoners of it.

Act 11: Teaching is simply repeated in Ch. 9 “Teaching,” and is a description of the more familiar and famous teachings of the First Sermon of the Buddha, the Fourfold Truth and the Eightfold Path, the transmission of the teaching, and the Silence of Buddha (interpreted especially in the Zen tradition.) Act 12: Final Nirvana is paralleled in Ch. 10 by “Complete Openness” and brings us to the teachings on Compassion, some clarifications about Tantric practices and a conclusion about the nature of liberation.

An excellent job is done throughout the book in carefully making distinctions between the major lineages of Buddhism, particularly Mahayana and Theravada. This is very helpful amid the sometimes confusing presuppositions of authors who are writing out of one or other context and make no comparisons.

One regretful lack in the book is a thorough indexing of sunyata (sanskrit: Shunyata) which the author describes as “the central object of investigation.” He prefers the translation “transparency,” which he acknowledges as originated by Lama Govinda in his book Creative Meditation and Multidimensional Consciousness, 1976. “Transparency” is given several references in the index, but far from fully covered since it is frequently mentioned in the section on Tantric practice at the end of the book. Sunyata is completely omitted in the index, although it receives a good explanation in the comprehensive glossary. The absence of a discussion on Compassion, a subject dear especially to the hearts of Tibetan Buddhists, may help to give rise to the feeling that the book projects more of the nature of a scientific treatment than the warmth of the “Vision of Buddha.”

These last remarks probably present only minor difficulties with Professor Corless’ book in which he has surely achieved something of the miraculous in accumulating and clarifying the monumental details and fundamentals of the millennia-long phenomenon of Buddhism. His work provides a needed modern treatment in English on a subject of growing interest and fascination.