What do Buddhists mean by enlightenment?
Does enlightenment unfold gradually or is it revealed in a sudden flash of insight?
Does spiritual experience create belief or does belief create spiritual experience?
Does the study of Buddhist philosophy hinder meditation or enhance it?
What is the role of compassion in the theory and practice of Buddhism?
What (and where) is nirvana?
And what does it mean to be a Buddhist in the twenty-first century?

In a series of insightful, instructive, and entertaining conversations, renowned Buddhist scholars Robert Buswell and Donald Lopez tackle these and other crucial questions in the history of Buddhism. Drawing from the Buddhist schools and teachings of India, Tibet, China, Thailand, and Korea, Buswell and Lopez explore why these traditions seem so different while still sharing so much. In the course of their conversations, they recall their fifty-year journeys from spiritual seekers to university professors, encountering some of the greatest Buddhist masters of the last half century along the way.

Talking About Buddhism will appeal to anyone who has sought answers to some of Buddhism’s most fundamental questions or who may have wondered: How did two Westerners become so intrigued by the religion that they chose to become Buddhist scholars? And what do scholars of Buddhism really do?

• Robert E. Buswell, Jr., Author

  Robert E. Buswell Jr. is the Irving and Jean Stone Endowed Chair in Humanities, Emeritus, and Distinguished Research Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

• Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Author

  Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan.

• This rare and revealing book consists of a dialogue between two top scholars of Buddhism who together embody over a century of learning. It offers something for virtually all readers. Beginners will find a sampler of key ideas and developments in Buddhism. Teachers and specialists will find a convenient snapshot of the state of the field over the last fifty years. And general readers will find a poignant account of the interplay between the Buddhological mind and the Buddhist heart.
  —James Dobbins, author of Behold the Buddha: Religious Meanings of Japanese Buddhist Icons
• Buswell and Lopez are learned, companionable interlocutors, whose discussions of traditional and modern approaches to Buddhism bring out much of interest and importance. Reading their conversations is like listening to two great teachers who know how to communicate with each other, and with us, without getting lost in the scholarly weeds.
  —Roger Jackson, author of Rebirth: A Guide to Mind, Karma, and Cosmos in the Buddhist World
• Talking about Buddhism presents not only the expected academic rigor and depth that both of these scholars have become known for but also a deeply personal look into the lives of two of the most influential Buddhologists of our time. While many scholars have understandably held their experience of the lived tradition at arm’s length, with this work Buswell and Lopez bring together study and practice in a way that elevates the virtues of both.
  —James Shaheen, editor-in-chief, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review