Wider understanding of Buddhism

Buddha Impetus to Primitive Psyche
Author: Shelton Ranasinghe
Pages: 91

The book Buddha Impetus to Primitive Psyche discusses the human mental process in accordance with the Buddhist doctrine. The author with his deep knowledge on Buddhism analyses what Buddha taught in 2500 year ago making comparisons with the modern science.

In addition the author goes extra mile to discuss the elements of other religions hence providing a broader vision. This book gives wider understanding of Buddhism and it is presented in a reader friendly language.

-Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge M.D.

An unconventional approach to Buddhist doctrine

I read this book from cover to cover and it is brilliant. I have not read any book about Buddhism as good as this one. His analyses, the use of computer models, logical presentations of facts and flow diagrams are amazing and clear.

The author obviously has read many books on Buddhism and is extremely knowledgeable. Now I have had the benefit of educating myself through what he has written and this has given me an opportunity to re-evaluate my thinking on this subject.

The author’s ability to read the Buddhist scripture and extract what Buddha really meant or said (also not said) is the greatest contribution he has made in this book.

He has shown how and why rebirth and karma have been included as parts of Buddha’s philosophy as practised today, and why those aspects have become cornerstone of the conventional Buddhist teaching.

The cessation of suffering and anatta (non-self) are the two pillars of Buddhist teaching that Buddha regarded as the essence of his doctrine and the subsequent discourses he made during his life time.

In this context the author has shown that the concepts of karma, rebirth, existence of gods and even nirvana were part of Hindu culture prior to Buddha’s time.

Buddhism, as known and practised today, has unfortunately married them to the original teachings of Buddha to make Buddhism more palatable to a greater mass of people.

Dr. Ayal Jayatilaka, United Kingdom

This book is a ‘must’ for anyone with an open mind, irrespective of one’s religious background.