Jacobson presents Buddhism unen-cumbered by Western categories and concepts, free from the cognitive bias, from the concept-oriented, definition-minded preoccupations inherited from the ancient Greeks. It is an interpreta-tion of the central ideas that have charac-terized all forms of Buddhism for 25 centuries. Kenneth K. Inada notes that "Jacobson has explored a field with authority and force. . . . He is at the 'cutting edge' where others must now listen and follow." According to Herbert Guenther, "This book is undoubtedly a major contribu-tion to the field of sociophilosophical and sociocultural studies and to an under-standing of the impact Buddhist thinking has on the contemporary Western mind."