You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I loved this reimagining of the Buddha's life. The first sections were fabulous, but it lost me toward the end; there seemed less Buddha in the section called Buddha than the previous sections.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVE Deepak Chopra's non-fiction writing, and thought this would be a great opportunity to perhaps learn a little about Buddha (even if it was a fiction story). Unfortunately, after more than a half hour of listening to this audiobook I was disgusted with the violence and bored to tears by the story itself. Very disappointing.
This book really changed my entire path of life. Whether it's fictional or true, the story is incredible and absolutely changed the way I see life. Such an excellent read. I loved it!
Never-ending parable of one note characters and preaching. Finished it out of stubbornness and stubbornness alone
I was initially drawn to it because I think a lot of times fiction is a better mechanism to deliver lessons and truth…this book proves that there’s an exception to everything <3
I was initially drawn to it because I think a lot of times fiction is a better mechanism to deliver lessons and truth…this book proves that there’s an exception to everything <3
This book was a lot different than I thought it was going to be. It's separated into three parts, his early life as a prince, his life as a wondering monk, and finally his life as a Buddha. It was hard to tell what parts of this book were actually historical fact, and which were allegories of his life made to represent different parts of him. In the epilogue Chopra says that that the characters were real (like his cousin, who I didn't know existed before this book) but it doesn't say whether the events that he describes really took place, or were used to represent a stage in his life. But none of that really matters since the overall message of the book was clear.
This book helped me to get into a more intimate relationship with the Buddha. By starting in his childhood and focusing a third of the book on his early life the reader gets to see what it was like for Siddhartha growing up in the princely lifestyle. It's hard to imagine that a person like Siddhartha grows up to to be the Buddha, being shy and reserved and wanting to please his blood-thirsty father. The events that led to him leaving the palace were a bit different than I remember hearing, but they had the same impact. It showed how sensitive and caring he was. It leaps rather quickly to his life as a monk which happened when he was much older. His 20's are only shown in flashbacks of his "earlier life." It was good to see struggles he made himself in reaching enlightenment. It's the same struggles and questions we all face when we try to evolve ourselves through Buddhism. It humbles the Buddha in a way seeing him like that. It was also impressive to see that he reached enlightenment in only a few years!
The last part of the book was after he reached enlightenment and started to travel and teach his findings to others. This part of the book was a little hard to read only because it went into detail the profound messages taught by the Buddha. I'm just starting on my spiritual journey and a lot of the thoughts and teachings went a little over my head, but I think I got the overall meaning of most of the messages, even if the deeper, hidden meaning was a little past me. This book has helped open my eyes and revealed more about the Buddhism and helped me to come to a better understanding of it's teachings.
This book helped me to get into a more intimate relationship with the Buddha. By starting in his childhood and focusing a third of the book on his early life the reader gets to see what it was like for Siddhartha growing up in the princely lifestyle. It's hard to imagine that a person like Siddhartha grows up to to be the Buddha, being shy and reserved and wanting to please his blood-thirsty father. The events that led to him leaving the palace were a bit different than I remember hearing, but they had the same impact. It showed how sensitive and caring he was. It leaps rather quickly to his life as a monk which happened when he was much older. His 20's are only shown in flashbacks of his "earlier life." It was good to see struggles he made himself in reaching enlightenment. It's the same struggles and questions we all face when we try to evolve ourselves through Buddhism. It humbles the Buddha in a way seeing him like that. It was also impressive to see that he reached enlightenment in only a few years!
The last part of the book was after he reached enlightenment and started to travel and teach his findings to others. This part of the book was a little hard to read only because it went into detail the profound messages taught by the Buddha. I'm just starting on my spiritual journey and a lot of the thoughts and teachings went a little over my head, but I think I got the overall meaning of most of the messages, even if the deeper, hidden meaning was a little past me. This book has helped open my eyes and revealed more about the Buddhism and helped me to come to a better understanding of it's teachings.
A beautifully written book filled with much wisdom to be drawn out when read with an open heart, mind, soul.
I was only vaguely aware of the story of Buddha before reading this. I greatly enjoyed this fictionalized version though.
I am on page 163 and am not inspired to finish reading this book. I feel like i was only able to read a few pages at a time without wanting to put it down again. It was ok.