The Buddhist Catechism

About this book

Is Buddhism a religion, a philosophy or a practical discipline? Henry Steel Olcott arranges his answers as a series of questions and replies intended for students.

The Buddhist Catechism was influential in the modern presentation of Buddhism, particularly within movements seeking to explain it in a systematic form. Olcott's Theosophical background and reformist assumptions shape his selection of ideas. Reading it today gives two histories at once: an introduction to Buddhist concepts and a glimpse of how those concepts were reframed in a colonial-era encounter.