Lucid and economical, the Concise Introduction delivers a brisk, fast-moving survey. For many years, Powers' nearly six hundred-page Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism has served as the field's most authoritative and comprehensive introductory text on Tibet's distinctive Buddhist tradition. Now Powers has responded to requests to provide an introductory text in compact form. This slimmed-down reference explains the core Buddhist doctrines and the practices of meditation and tantra in an engaging manner. A survey of the four main sects of Tibetan Buddhism and a succinct history of the Tibetan cultural region complete this work.

Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, John Powers, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 2008, 165 Pages, $18.95

John Powers has published twelve books, including Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. He received his PhD from the University of Virginia and specializes in Indian and Tibetan intellectual history. He is currently Professor of Asian Studies at Australian National University.

	Contents: A Concise Introduction to TIBETAN Buddhism
	Technical Note	7
	Introduction	11
1.	THE INDIAN BACKGROUND	17
	Origins of Tibetan Buddhism	17
	The Buddha	18
	The Buddha's Teaching Career	26
2.	MAHAYANA	31
	Origins	31
	Mahayana Doctrines	36
	The Bodhisattva Path	38
3.	SOME IMPORTANT BUDDHIST DOCTRINES	45
	Karma and Rebirth	45
	Dependent Arising	50
4.	MEDITATION	55
	The Role of Meditation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism	55
	Stabilizing and Analytical Meditation	58
	The Five Buddhist Paths	60
5.	TANTRA	63
	The Place of the Tantras in Buddhist Literature	63
	Tantra as a Branch of Mahayana	67
	Tantric Symbols	72
	Entering Tantric Practice	74
	The Four Classes of Tantra	79
	The Preliminary Practices	85
	Death and Dying in Tibetan Buddhism	94
6.	THE FOUR ORDERS	103
	Similarities and Differences	103
	The Nonsectarian Movement	106
	Nyingma	110
	Kagyu	117
	Sakya	126
	Geluk	133
	Lexicon of Buddhist Terms	141
	Bibliography	149
	English-Tibetan-Sanskrit Glossary	153
	Terms	153
	Names	157
	Locations	159
	Titles of Works Mentioned	160
	Index	161