A Dictionary of Buddhism

Although Keown regretfully concedes that the vast subject of Buddhism cannot be ""compressed into the pages of a volume such as this,"" and that his illustrated dictionary is ""far from exhaustive,"" it may well be the most judicious encyclopedia of Buddhism ever to be crammed into a single volume. The entries cover Buddhist terms (20% of the text), biography (18%), scriptures (12%), important places (8%) and schools (7%), with the remaining portions given to brief discussions of ethical issues and other matters. The entries are short--""dharma,"" for example, merits only a single paragraph, and ""Mahayana"" gets just two--but such accessibility is the very reason why this should be on the bookshelf of every student of Buddhism.