Mahayana, Theravada, ancient, modern? Even at the most basic level, the diversity of Buddhism makes a comprehensive approach daunting. This book is a first step in solving the problem. In foregrounding the bodies of practitioners, a solid platform for analysing the philosophy of Buddhism begins to become apparent.

Building upon somaesthetics Buddhism is seen for its ameliorative effect, which spans the range of how the mind integrates with the body. This exploration of positive effect spans from dreams to medicine. Beyond the historical side of these questions, a contemporary analysis includes its intersection with art, philosophy, and ethnography.

Buddhism and the Body, Kenneth W. Holloway (editor), Brill, Hardcover, 276 pages, $64.00

Kenneth W. Holloway is Levenson Chair and associate professor of History at Florida Atlantic University. His first two books analyzed religion and the body in recently excavated manuscripts from Warring States China. This challenged longstanding notions of religion and philosophy as primarily focused on sectarian divisions of being Confucian or Daoist. He is the author of Guodian: The Newly Discovered Seeds of Chinese Religious and Political Philosophy (2009), and The Quest for Ecstatic Morality in Early China (2013).