Teachings of the Buddha Mass Market Paperback – October 9, 2007

If I kept one Buddhist book, it would be this one. It's small enough to carry around, yet unfailingly gives profound advice about practice and about the philosophy, the view of Buddhism. The practice of four establishments, instructive parables from the Buddha and wonderful passages like this: As a blind man feels when finding a pearl in a dustbin, so am I amazed by the miracle of awakening rising in my consciousness.

The teachings of the Buddha and of various Chinese, Japanese and Indian Bodhisattvas are offered in this wonderful book. Each teaching is to be savored, Kornfield instructs us, so that the words may sink in and that we may connect with the teaching. I am new to Buddhism and was curious to read what he actually said. This is a wonderful book in that regard, and it gives one a great deal to reflect on. I recommend it. (If you're new to Buddhism, like me, there are several wonderful YouTube videos of talks by Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dali Lama, Pema Chodron, Jack Kornfield, Susan Piver, and many other, that will be helpful in giving you a good grounding in Buddhism. There are also magazine publications such as Lion's Roar and Buddhadharma - all of which are wonderful resources for learning about Buddhism.) All of my exploration prior to purchasing this book is helping me to get even more out of each teaching, but the book also stands on its own. You don't have to be Buddhist to get a lot out of it, either.

This book may be hard for a person who is new to Buddhism. If you are, I recommend Pemma Chodron or Thutben Chodron first. If you're not, and you want to know more about the specific teachings of the sacred texts, this is a great book. The Audible narration is amazing too. Try to read one chapter every day. It's better and deeper like that.

Small and very concise collection a few of Buddha's teachings. Small enough that I own three; one for car, one for handbag and one for home. Short passages if you are looking for inspiration and wisdom to reflect upon at any time. Highly recommend for anyone already familiar with Buddhist teachings or those who are curious and simply want to investigate this approach to living life.

It’s very small, I don’t recall it saying “pocket size”… in description… there was a photo and it didn’t look smaller than a man’s hand. But it is. . Worth money. Exactly what I was looking for. Great quotes and words to try and live by….. the only reason it didn’t get 5 stars, is due to thr size

This was my first exposure to The Teachings of the Buddha in college. I was so happy to find it when I was looking for a little stocking stuffer for my niece and nephew in their first years in University.

I LOVE the Shambhala Pocket Classics series. I have probably a dozen of their titles and have replaced this one several times after losing it or giving it to a friend. The book is diverse and has nuggets of wisdom from the many branches of Buddhism and all of them are fairly short. The vignette style of the teachings makes this a great book to carry and read on a break and then just spend a few minutes contemplating the passage.

Not really as good as I'd hoped it would be. There are definitely some enriching anecdotes, but there are some that are just in my opinion very bland and not useful.

Great book. It is a pocket size so beware. Never the less gained some great knowlege about life and perspective

Good simple book containing quotes and extracts from many old Buddhist sutras, many schools, places and times.Good book to pick up for ten minutes.

Life changing book..Buddha bless everyone

A book I’ll be certain to re-read over and over. Imbues wisdom without the necessary involvement of a dogmatic credulity.

No matter your preferred flavor of buddhism, you'll most likely find some nice anecdotes and quotes in here. If that's the kind of thing you want, go ahead.I very much doubt this kind of book will deepen anybody's practice or provide a good introduction to / overview of buddhism to the newcomer. This is little more than a spiritual netflix binge.