TO SEE THE BUDDHA

Malcolm David Eckel takes us on a contemporary quest to discover the essential meaning behind the Buddhas many representations. Eckels bold thesis proposes that the proper understanding of Buddhist philosophy must be thoroughly religious--an understanding revealed in Eckels new translation of the philospher Bhavavivekas major work, The Flame of Reason. Eckel shows that the dimensions of early Indian Buddhism--popular art, conventional piety, and critical philosophy--all work together to express the same religious yearning for the fullness of emptiness that Buddha conveys.