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Publisher Releases Guide to the Teachings of the Buddha

Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha is a lively and invaluable roadmap of key Buddhist concepts.

Vancouver, WA—Parami Press releases Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha by Paul Gerhards. “My vision was to bring into the world a book that would offer those interested in Buddhism an introduction and a guide to the many and varied teachings of the Buddha,” says Gerhards. Mapping the Dharma assists newcomers to Buddhism and seasoned students. Newcomers see at a glance the central teachings, and long-standing practitioners can use it as a quick reference to familiar ideas and concepts.

Clear and legible, Mapping the Dharma is a condensation of years of study, meditation, and synthesis. Gerhards consulted often with Ajahn Chandako, abbot of Vimutti Monastery in Bombay, New Zealand, on points of doctrinal accuracy.

In this heartfelt work, Gerhards has taken the many interwoven threads of the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings, and rendered them as graceful and easy to read diagrams, definitions, and lists.

About the Author:

Paul Gerhards has been a Buddhist practitioner since 1996. His writing career started in 1981 and he has written six books for Stackpole Books in Mechanicsburg, PA, including Birdhouses You Can Make (1999), Backyard Play Areas You Can Make (1995), and How to Sell What You Make: The Business of Marketing Crafts (1990). Living abroad has deepened Paul’s compassion for the world. He now resides in Vancouver, Washington and is available for speaking engagements and book signings.

Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha
ISBN: 978-0-9779774-0-6, Price: $15.95

 

Paul Gerhards’s new book, Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha, is a deep and lasting contribution to, and recording of, Buddhism’s ongoing journey to the West. Clear and legible, Mapping the Dharma is a condensation of years of study, meditation, and synthesis. Gerhards has taken the many interwoven threads of the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings, and rendered them as graceful and easy-to read diagrams, definitions and lists. Lest this sound dry, the book is actually a lively and invaluable roadmap of Buddhist concepts, an atlas of the way to awakening.

The terrain will be familiar to anyone who is familiar with the landmarks of the Buddha’s teachings: the various lists, beginning with the Triple Gem, the Three Characteristics of Existence, the Four Noble Truths of suffering and the end of suffering, the Five Precepts, which are the foundation of ethical conduct, and so on. Gerhards’s achievement is to chart and cross-reference the strands of the Dharma, enabling Buddhist practitioners at any level, from any tradition, to discern patterns and relationships between different facets of the teachings.

 

Why did you write Mapping the Dharma?

I wrote Mapping the Dharma because it is just the kind book I was looking for a dozen years ago when I first began my study and practice of Buddhism. It's a very good introduction to the Buddha's teachings. Anyone who has an interest in learning more about the basics of Buddhism will find Mapping the Dharma a valuable resource because it explains very complex material in easily digestible portions. Also the book shows graphical relationships among the various concepts.

What is the purpose of Mapping the Dharma?

Mapping the Dharma has three purposes. First, it serves as a simple introduction to Buddhism. Second, it serves as an easy-to follow-reference. Its third purpose is to map out complex material is a way that makes sense.

The Buddha taught 2,500 years ago, long before written language was understood, and the teachings were transmitted orally for 500 years. Also, the Buddha taught for 45 years, so there are massive amounts of scripture. Because Buddhism began as an oral tradition the Buddha made use of several devices to make it easier for people to remember his teachings. One of those devices was the use of numbered lists. For example there are the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Three Characteristics of Existence, the Seven Factors for Awakening, and so on.

What I've done with Mapping the Dharma is put many of the most important lists together in an easy-to-read format. Then, I've linked the lists together to show how they relate to one another.

Why might someone want to purchase Mapping the Dharma?

Anyone interested in learning about Buddhism in an easily digestible format will want Mapping the Dharma. And, as I've said, it's a great basic reference. Also, in the Appendix, I have an article on meditation practice and another on the three main contemporary schools of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Not all Buddhism is Zen Buddhism.

According to Adherents.com there were one an a half million Buddhists in the United States in 2004, and the number of practitioners increased 170 percent from 1990 to 2000. This indicates a tremendous interest in an ancient spiritual practice that 50 years ago had little exposure in the Western hemisphere.

Will you say a little on what Buddhism is about?

The Buddha's mission – before he became the Buddha – was, first, to determine the causes of all forms of suffering that is natural to being human. Second, he was determined to find the means to the end of that suffering. In his moment of Awakening, he succeeded in both counts. What he discovered, and what he taught for 45 years, was that one's intentions and actions in the present have a direct impact on the future. This means it is possible to bring suffering to and end in this lifetime. Of course, it's easier said than done, but the gist of it is: good actions bring good results, bad actions bring bad results. Sometimes those results are immediate, and other times they may not become apparent for many years.

The practice of Buddhism is based on living a virtuous life. Ideally, one who is truly virtuous is blameless in all respects and is therefore incapable of harming another being in any way. Buddhism is a practice, a way of life as well as a philosophy.

 

Paul Gerhards is author of Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha, published by Parami Press. He has half a dozen other titles to his name, published by Stackpole Books. Five of these titles are a series of woodworking projects he designed and built. His first book, How to Sell What You Make: The Business of Marketing Crafts, has sold more than 160,000 copies in two editions. Background for his woodworking books includes several years as a carpenter and cabinet maker.

Gerhards has been studying and practicing Buddhism for a dozen years. He is cofounder of Vancouver Friends of the Dhamma, a meditation community in Vancouver, Wash. His principal course of study is Theravada, the school of Buddhism also known as the Southern Transmission, which has its roots in Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. Gerhards began Parami Press to publish Mapping the Dharma and other related titles.

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Mapping the Dharma
A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha
by
Paul Gerhards

Category: RELIGION/Buddhism/General
Edition: First
ISBN: 978-0-9779774-0-6
LCCN: 2006934074
Price: $15.95
Publication Date: October 2007
Specifications: 7” x 10”, 4-color paperback, b&w text with illustrations & index, 120 pages
Distribution: Baker & Taylor • New Leaf

Parami Press, LLC
PO Box 65372
Vancouver WA, 98665
360-828-5268

Read the story by Nancy Haught, Oregonian, June 28, 2008

Read the version syndicated by Religion News Service