lindspage 's review for:

5.0

Incredible book ~ couldn't put it down.

From the last paragraph:

"The fire of passion burns out eventually. Then you dig through the ashes and discover a gem. You pick it up; you look at it with disbelief. The gem was inside you all the time. It is yours to keep forever. It is buddha." ~ Buddha

Chopra goes on to say in the Epilogue a very defining (yet not-defining!) statement about Buddhism which intrigued me:

Buddhism survives today and thrives all around the world because it is so open-ended. You don't have to obey a set of rules or worship God or the gods. You don't even have to be spiritual. All you have to do is look into yourself and yearn to become clear, to wake up and be complete. . .

This book read like a great novel ~ I never wanted it to end! He took you through the first 40 years of Buddha's life and Buddha lived for another 40! I hope there is a sequel . . . :)