Book Description

Long before people in the West started to study the workings of the human mind, Buddhism was trying to understand body and mind through introspection and meditation. This knowledge has grown to be a very thorough and detailed classification and analysis of mental and physical phenomena. This refined study is known as the Abhidhamma (literally: ‘Higher Teachings’). In Southeast Asia students normally spend more than seven years studying these teachings. Frits Koster has lived as a Buddhist monk in Thailand and Burma, where he had the privilege to study parts of the Abhidhamma. In The Web of Buddhist Wisdom he explains important themes such as consciousness, mental concomitants, physicality and the experience of Enlightenment in a clear and accessible way. In addition, he addresses the law of kamma, the process of dying and rebirth, the four Noble Truths and the value of the Abhidhamma. The Web of Buddhist Wisdom, which is illustrated with drawings by Fop Smit, offers a rich and accessible guide for anyone who is interested in the working of the human mind. It offers a clear and simple acquaintance with the world of the Abhidhamma and an old yet very accurate mirror of our existence.