While acknowledging the extreme difficulty of the task, Lopez (Buddhist and Tibetan studies, U. of Michigan) hopes to provide a representative sampling of canonical Buddhist texts by presenting English translations of works from a variety of historical periods, geographical origins, and literary styles. Sixty selections averaging five pages have been chosen to reflect the development of Buddhist studies to date, but also to provide a more balanced view of the tradition than Lopez's 1995 Buddhism in Practice, which stressed recent scholarship by avoiding works on doctrine and texts already famous in the West and including more works from traditions beyond India and China. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)