Making Sense of Buddhism

Name: Making Sense of Buddhism
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ISBN: 9781912385713

A Critical Introduction

Brian Morris

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Hardback

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English

Sean Kingston Publishing
30 March 2026

Buddhism; Social & cultural anthropology

Buddhism is a world religion, a vast and complex social movement and a

philosophical tradition with a history spanning over two thousand years.

In this volume, Brian Morris adopts the Buddha’s own ‘critical spirit’

to provide a thoughtful introduction to this expansive and important

topic.

Morris focuses on the formative phase of early Buddhism in

northern India, and on five important and widely recognized Buddhist

spiritual traditions: Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, Zen and Engaged

Buddhism. In these accounts, he takes an anthropological perspective

that emphasizes cultural diversity, while revealing a shared humanity

that enlarges our sense of moral community and places humans ‘within

nature’. Drawing on classical anthropological portraits of Buddhism as a

living tradition, Morris also delves into historical and biographical

studies, hermeneutics and political theory. He engages with Buddhist

metaphysics and the core teachings through the lens of Western

philosophy, but without giving it cognitive priority, and while

giving due consideration to cultural contexts. He explores Buddhism’s

relationship to ecology and ethics, bringing to the discussion his own

perspective of an evolutionary naturalist. While seeking to include what

is often missing from books on Buddhism, namely the role of women,

Morris discusses nuns as ‘renouncers’ of family life in the quest for

spiritual enlightenment and the movement for full ordination.

In

this wide-ranging yet accessible book, Brian Morris guides you

engagingly across continents, cultures and centuries to a greater

understanding of one of the world’s most enduring spiritual traditions.

By: Brian Morris
Imprint: Sean Kingston Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 728g
ISBN: 9781912385713
ISBN 10: 1912385716
Pages: 394
Publication Date: 30 March 2026
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , A / AS level
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction; Chapter 1 – The Buddha: His life and teachings; Chapter 2 – An introduction to Buddhist metaphysics; Chapter 3 – Early Buddhist teachings: the four noble truths; Chapter 4 – Theravada Buddhism; Chapter 5 – Mahayana Buddhism; Chapter 6 – Tibetan Buddhism; Chapter 7 – Zen Buddhism; Chapter 8 – Engaged Buddhism; Epilogue; References; Index.

Brian Morris is Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths College, University of London and author of numerous works on the anthropology of religion, ethnobiology and politics.

Reviews for Making Sense of Buddhism: A Critical Introduction

Brian Morris blazed a lot of trails. He is a scholar of genuine daring and great humanity, and his work deserves to be read and debated for a very long time to come. Davis Graeber, author, Debt: The First 5000 Years