Scan barcode
tattdcodemonkey's review against another edition
4.0
The book itself is flawed, disjointed and hard to follow at times. But the content is great. It gave voice to lots of things I've thought while learning more about buddhism as a westerner.
I don't 100% agree with all of Stephens conclusions but overall this book was exactly what I was looking for to expand my thoughts on buddhism.
I don't 100% agree with all of Stephens conclusions but overall this book was exactly what I was looking for to expand my thoughts on buddhism.
matthewdeanmartin's review against another edition
5.0
This is about four books in one-- it is a autobiography of a monk turned lay Buddhist meditation teacher, it is a telling of the historical Buddha's life, it is a travel guide to the "holy land" of Buddhism, it is a discussion of a methodology for creating a secular Buddhism.
The autobiography was pleasant to read, it is a good story. The story of the historical Buddha's life as reconstructed from the Pali texts using, of all things, a reference dictionary of names, to reassble the jumbled story line in the pali cannon. The historical Buddha lived in a "Game of Thrones"-like world with rival kings, kingdoms, everyong trying to get favor of the king, including Gautama with surprises and back stabbing along the way. This is the most human story of the Buddhas life and has disloged all others I've read in my preferred way to think about Gotama.
I say Batchelor presents a methodology because the book is light on specific advice with respect to practices (outside of applying the methodology of substracting out brahmanism, hindism from Buddhism and applying doubt and scepticism), this is a mild criticism because what does fill the book is good content.
The entire book is readable and light reading, unlike Batchelors more serious earlier existential books.
The autobiography was pleasant to read, it is a good story. The story of the historical Buddha's life as reconstructed from the Pali texts using, of all things, a reference dictionary of names, to reassble the jumbled story line in the pali cannon. The historical Buddha lived in a "Game of Thrones"-like world with rival kings, kingdoms, everyong trying to get favor of the king, including Gautama with surprises and back stabbing along the way. This is the most human story of the Buddhas life and has disloged all others I've read in my preferred way to think about Gotama.
I say Batchelor presents a methodology because the book is light on specific advice with respect to practices (outside of applying the methodology of substracting out brahmanism, hindism from Buddhism and applying doubt and scepticism), this is a mild criticism because what does fill the book is good content.
The entire book is readable and light reading, unlike Batchelors more serious earlier existential books.
stevia333k's review against another edition
Technically this book is more like set aside instead of DNF'd, but basically I'm not even sure whether I want to follow up or not.
I read this book to inform my own theology.
I used an audiobook version, meaning I couldn't just jump around that well. I was using CloudLibrary which means the table of contents menu wasn't labeled well.
The way it opened felt like too much & not enough, relying on USA christian centric shorthand. I've seen enough abusive relationships to be like oh this is a trigger warning & I didn't want to handle it when I didn't even know enough about the networks he was in. Too horrifying especially for my lack of context.
I read this book to inform my own theology.
I used an audiobook version, meaning I couldn't just jump around that well. I was using CloudLibrary which means the table of contents menu wasn't labeled well.
The way it opened felt like too much & not enough, relying on USA christian centric shorthand. I've seen enough abusive relationships to be like oh this is a trigger warning & I didn't want to handle it when I didn't even know enough about the networks he was in. Too horrifying especially for my lack of context.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
flijn's review against another edition
3.0
In the final chapter, Stephen Batchelor describes his writing process and compares it to creating a collage. He finds bits and pieces everywhere and lets the material guide him. The result is indeed a patchwork, and I found this lack of focus a bit distracting. There is just too much going on. To name the main issues:
1. Batchelor's personal encounters with Buddhism
This thread covers most of the first chapters and I found this very interesting. He describes his reasons for going to India, how Tibetan Buddhism absorbed him (to the point of him becoming a monk) and at the same time never completely convinced him, and how he searched for ways to sooth or absolve his uneasiness. Tibetan Buddhism, Korean Theravada Buddhism, Japanese Zen, European existential philosophy, and Western Buddhist centers are all part of his journy.
2. A search for agnostic Buddhism
This is the natural result of Batchlor's background and experiences. The book's title is misleading here, Batchelor actually denounces atheim as anti-theism, and equally unfounded as the belief in gods that estrange him from Tibetan Buddhism.
For me, the reflection on his own beliefs is one of the best parts of this book. There is a beautiful annecdote in the first chapter about how he witnessed a lama ward off a storm. He was a monk at that time, and the belief in supernatural powers and the ability to control weather was part of the belief system of the school he belonged to. He recalls how he felt that what he saw was miraculous, while at the same time knowing he did not really believe something extraordinary had happened. It would take him years to confess this lack of belief to himself and to his mentor, and some more time to take this to its logical conclusion and leave the order.
After that, it takes a lot of travel, translating texts, and studying before he can fully integrate his agnosticism with his Buddhist beliefs. He turns to the Buddha to accomplish this.
3. A reconstruction of the historical Buddha
Batchelor's research confronted him with conflicting ideas and myths about the Buddha and led to the discovery that many of the traditional Buddhist claims about him are not based on anything in the Pali Canon, the massive collection of texts that comprise the earliest accounts of the Buddha's teaching. Batchelor has set himslef the task of uncovering the historical Buddha and reconstructing the politicial and social circumstances of his life.
He succeeds partly. I certainly learned a lot about the Buddha's life and the many political hornets' nests he had to navigate. The powerful need to be placated, the traditional Hindu brahmins need to be convinced, social hierarchy needs to be respected and revolutionary ideas need to be both attractive enough to generate interest and harmless enough not to be a threat to the powers that be. The Buddha does his best to maintain a neutral middle position, but he cannot help getting involved in some of the power struggles.
This is a portrait of the Buddha that certainly adds something to the my(s)t(h)ic, holy figure usually portrayed. But the structure of the book undermines the story: it leaves off for one of the other threads every now and then, which makes it harder to get the full picture.
4. A description of the theological and political struggles in Tibetan Buddhism
I think this is the thread that disrupts the flow of the book.
It sure is interesting how opinions differ among the Tibetan sects. Batchlor describes how differences over the veneration of an aggressive god (named Dorje Shugden) lead to a schism that seperates the Dalai Lama's Geluk school from (for example) the New Kadampa Tradition. This is not just a theological issue, since the unity of Tibetan Buddhism strengthens Tibet's cause in the West. It is therefore not surprising that the Dalai Lama tries to hide this internal struggle from the western world, including the western Buddhist communities.
I can see that this issue is relevant to the author, especially since his own doubts about the tradition he was first trained in concern the more 'magical' and 'paranormal' sides of Mahayana Buddhism. Still, I feel the issue is too big for this book. There is too little room to get a full understanding of this complicated issue. The result is a hasty summary of the problem that spikes interest but also distracts from the other issues.
Conclusion
Definitely a recommended read for anyone interested in Stephen Batchelor, Tibetan Buddhism, and the historical Buddha. If it is only one of these subject you're interested in, another book may be better because this is not a book that allows you to concentrate on only one of the mentioned subjects. The book made me curious to seek out [b:Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening|90557|Buddhism without Beliefs A Contemporary Guide to Awakening|Stephen Batchelor|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348553487s/90557.jpg|87397].
1. Batchelor's personal encounters with Buddhism
This thread covers most of the first chapters and I found this very interesting. He describes his reasons for going to India, how Tibetan Buddhism absorbed him (to the point of him becoming a monk) and at the same time never completely convinced him, and how he searched for ways to sooth or absolve his uneasiness. Tibetan Buddhism, Korean Theravada Buddhism, Japanese Zen, European existential philosophy, and Western Buddhist centers are all part of his journy.
2. A search for agnostic Buddhism
This is the natural result of Batchlor's background and experiences. The book's title is misleading here, Batchelor actually denounces atheim as anti-theism, and equally unfounded as the belief in gods that estrange him from Tibetan Buddhism.
For me, the reflection on his own beliefs is one of the best parts of this book. There is a beautiful annecdote in the first chapter about how he witnessed a lama ward off a storm. He was a monk at that time, and the belief in supernatural powers and the ability to control weather was part of the belief system of the school he belonged to. He recalls how he felt that what he saw was miraculous, while at the same time knowing he did not really believe something extraordinary had happened. It would take him years to confess this lack of belief to himself and to his mentor, and some more time to take this to its logical conclusion and leave the order.
After that, it takes a lot of travel, translating texts, and studying before he can fully integrate his agnosticism with his Buddhist beliefs. He turns to the Buddha to accomplish this.
3. A reconstruction of the historical Buddha
Batchelor's research confronted him with conflicting ideas and myths about the Buddha and led to the discovery that many of the traditional Buddhist claims about him are not based on anything in the Pali Canon, the massive collection of texts that comprise the earliest accounts of the Buddha's teaching. Batchelor has set himslef the task of uncovering the historical Buddha and reconstructing the politicial and social circumstances of his life.
He succeeds partly. I certainly learned a lot about the Buddha's life and the many political hornets' nests he had to navigate. The powerful need to be placated, the traditional Hindu brahmins need to be convinced, social hierarchy needs to be respected and revolutionary ideas need to be both attractive enough to generate interest and harmless enough not to be a threat to the powers that be. The Buddha does his best to maintain a neutral middle position, but he cannot help getting involved in some of the power struggles.
This is a portrait of the Buddha that certainly adds something to the my(s)t(h)ic, holy figure usually portrayed. But the structure of the book undermines the story: it leaves off for one of the other threads every now and then, which makes it harder to get the full picture.
4. A description of the theological and political struggles in Tibetan Buddhism
I think this is the thread that disrupts the flow of the book.
It sure is interesting how opinions differ among the Tibetan sects. Batchlor describes how differences over the veneration of an aggressive god (named Dorje Shugden) lead to a schism that seperates the Dalai Lama's Geluk school from (for example) the New Kadampa Tradition. This is not just a theological issue, since the unity of Tibetan Buddhism strengthens Tibet's cause in the West. It is therefore not surprising that the Dalai Lama tries to hide this internal struggle from the western world, including the western Buddhist communities.
I can see that this issue is relevant to the author, especially since his own doubts about the tradition he was first trained in concern the more 'magical' and 'paranormal' sides of Mahayana Buddhism. Still, I feel the issue is too big for this book. There is too little room to get a full understanding of this complicated issue. The result is a hasty summary of the problem that spikes interest but also distracts from the other issues.
Conclusion
Definitely a recommended read for anyone interested in Stephen Batchelor, Tibetan Buddhism, and the historical Buddha. If it is only one of these subject you're interested in, another book may be better because this is not a book that allows you to concentrate on only one of the mentioned subjects. The book made me curious to seek out [b:Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening|90557|Buddhism without Beliefs A Contemporary Guide to Awakening|Stephen Batchelor|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348553487s/90557.jpg|87397].
erinray82's review against another edition
4.0
I had always thought Buddhism as less... dogmatic than Christianity. I saw it as more flexible, more open to the inquisitiveness and ambiguity in people. From this book I learned that in some ways this is true, but in others it is rigid and unrelenting. It is still very much a doctrine with rules and principles that cannot be questioned if one claims to be Buddhist. I knew this to be true of course, because all religions have absolutes, which is part of the problem, but eastern religions always seemed to be imbued with a duty to self and a respect for all living things, which I admired. Before I read this book I was intrinsically aware of the fact that Buddhism had its own core doctrine for which there was surely no compromise, but its peaceful nature that seems to embody a certain...seeking, helps one to forget that. Buddhism only invites challenge and debate as long as one adheres to its fundamental "truths." For one, I did not like the devision between the body the mind, a principle that did not dissolve or adapt along with science. And yet, as far as religions go, I feel warmer toward Buddhism than I ever did Christianity, and somehow still do, for it exhibits an understanding of behavior and pain that I find soothing. It is no wonder that it caught on. It seemed more like a way of life, a guide, a way of living simply and purposefully, rather than avoiding a set of taboos in which one earns a desired afterlife. However, it turns out the escape from rebirth isn't all that different. Like Christianity there are schools, like Tibetan and Zen. There are variances, such as with art: is it a distraction or a vehicle for compassion and enlightenment? In the end, I still feel strongly about meditation and am more sure than before of the fact that Buddhism does embody some truly admirable core principles. I had some trouble following the life of Siddhattha Gotama, but I did like the way the writer chose to approach him as a man and tried to understand him in the proper context in terms of his era. I love how he showed how that contrasted with that of today. I like that Gotama was depicted not as an enlightened being, but as a human man with flaws. I liked that he exposed him as someone who evolved and changed through his own seeking. I appreciated the quest, the torment, the belonging, and the transitioning of the writer himself. For an evolved perspective, it's worth reading.
goatsbookgarden's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting insight into a mans travels and struggles with Buddhism. Though it was not what I initially expected it to be, I still found it enjoyable. More importantly, I found it educational.
cainscr's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
He was raise non-religious and became a Tibetan monk. Had problems with the religious side of Buddhism, left being a monk. Continue to peruse the philosophy side of Buddhism. You will either like it or you won’t.