Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought » (4th Edition)

Patrick Bresnan is a professor at DeAnza College in Cupertino, CA.

Awakening engages beginning students by discussing personal experience, employing a winning writing style, and approaching the subject from an historical perspective.

Awakening is an excellent introduction to comparative Eastern philosophic and religious thought. Awakening provides an engaging historical overview of the major philosophical and spiritual traditions of India, China, and Japan. Patrick Bresnan ties the past to the present and shows the relationships that exist between Eastern and Western traditions.

Booknews

New edition of an introductory text for students of comparative and Eastern philosophic and religious thought. The 16 chapters deal with the human struggle to find a truth that transcends a world that sometimes seems chaotic and meaningless. Beginning with Hinduism, topics include India before the Vedas, the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Indian movements and eras, non-Buddhist systems of China and Japan, and Buddhism (the life and teachings of Buddha, and various forms of Buddhism in Tibet, China and Japan). Bresnan (DeAnza College) has provided new material on the Tantra, and has used his own b&w photographs for illustrations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)