Different Paths of Buddhism

The Different Paths of Buddhism: A Narrative-Historical Introduction by Carl Olson, 256 pages

This is a short academic introduction to the history of Buddhism in its many forms, from the folk Buddhism of Tibet to the devotional Pure Land Buddhism of China to Japan's Zen Buddhism to the political Buddhism popularized among India's untouchables in the twentieth century.  As the book's subtitle indicates, Olson chooses to explore his subject along a narrative path, avoiding the mistake of abstracting some supposedly pure Buddhism that may never have existed.  Rather, he traces the development of different Buddhist schools, relates how they influenced each other and the cultures around them, all without stigmatizing any of them as corruptions of the true doctrine.  This is further validated by the experiential element within Buddhism itself.

The Different Paths of Buddhism was clearly intended for use as a textbook, despite being considerably better-written than most of that genre.  Unfortunately for the solitary reader, there are times when the text seems to want additional elucidation or context, although some of these problems are resolved later within the book itself (for example, Olson alludes to "Protestant Buddhism" several chapters before describing it).  Such difficulties are inevitable, however, in such a dense exploration of the rich traditions of one of the world's great religions.