The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment

Rating:
Summary: Tao/Zen for Aging Hippies
Review: As an other reviewer remarked, one has to get by the '60's lingo (references to marijuana, LSD, highs, bummers, etc.) in order to get the full benefit from this slender but substantive little volume. On the other hand, as Golas notes, "Enlightenment doesn't care how you get there," so this is a relatively minor quibble about a generally excellent reality check (in the best possible sense of that term).

There are better introductions to Eastern philosophy (esp. the books and lectures of Alan Watts), but none is more succinct nor more direct than this one. Golas is an absolute master of the aphorism. Space (and Copyright Law) preclude citing them all here, but in addition to the one already quoted, here is another that has become a virtual (unattributed) mantra of various 12-Step programs: "What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens."

If you can find a copy of this book (good luck!), buy it; you can read it in a single sitting, and in the unkilely event that you decide it's not for you, you can pass it along to a friend who probably WILL appeciate it.

Rating:
Summary: A small book with a big message
Review: As the author of The Lazy Person's Guide to Success: How to Get What You Want without Killing Yourself for It, I can say that The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment was an inspiration to me for many years. I have the original copy I purchased long ago and even purchased an extra copy just in case I lost the first copy. Many friends have asked to purchase my extra copy, but I have turned them down because the original copy is falling apart from the many times I have read the book. This small book continues to be a great read for inspiration and the quest for enlightenment - if it ever can be attained. Although The Lazy Person's Guide to Success is different in approach and content, I must admit that The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment gave me the idea for writing my book. In short, the book The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment has been an inspirtation in many ways. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes reading small books that are big in content.
The essential message of the book is that you don't have to do anything to experience enlightenment aside from realizing that deep-down you are already enlightened.

Rating:
Summary: This writer understands life and can help us accept it.
Review: I bought this book 25 years ago, read it, was helped by it, lent it to a lot of friends, and one of them never returned it--don't remember which one. The most important piece of advice was to love yourself as you are, and if you can't, then love yourself for not being able to love yourself. Wait--I remember one other liberating principle:when you are sad or angry you are adding just as much sadness and anger to the universe as if you make someone else sad or angry. I'd like to see this book back in print so that I can re-remind myself of what Thaddeus Golas reminded me of. Note to publishers: this is an important book; it's as profound as Krishnamurti, Osho, Gurjiev, anyone, and much easier to read. Please reissue it.

Rating:
Summary: Swallow This Book (one gulp should do it)
Review: If this book finds you, you are probably lazy and undoubtedly lucky or blessed. Equally, if you are lazy and like the idea of being blessed, then you could do a lot worse than finding and swallowing this book - it won't hurt, it's tiny.

This is my favourite book bar none. If I was allowed to take one book to a desert island, it would be this. It comes and goes in my life (it has the key) so for months or even several years it will disappear without cause, reappearing again in a most obvious place, like next to my bed, presumably back from some sojourn on other equally valid levels.

The fact that this book is not up there on the best-seller list ahead of the Bible (indeed is out of print - what irony) says volumes about publishers' love of verbosity and not much about the book. Clearly the time for an 80-page book that says it all - for which read TELLS YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW - hasn't quite arrived yet.

Thank you to whoever sent Thaddeus Golas, and I'm sorry we weren't quite ready.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a lesson on unconditional love
Review: The recent reprint of this book has an addition of a short biography with photographs of the author. Included is a letter for readers that he wrote in his last years about how the book came to be and a few added thoughts that he came to in latter years.

What I have learned from this book is that no resistence is the way to love people with charity, with full unconditional love. If you can look at someone for what they are, with all of their strengths and weaknesses and love them regardless of what is right or wrong, in fact, love them for what is wrong as well as right, then you have discovered what many call the Christ love and are no longer imprisoned by what you might deny.

From reading this book it has become very clear to me that we become what we hate. The very thing that we fight against is what we become. The same with our government fighting against terrorism, it has become a federal terrorist. The terrorist fighting against unjust governments have become unjust. Self appointed Bodhisattiva's fighting against what they perceive as protecting the innocent have become the guilty.

It always works that way.... no resistence is the only answer, love that which you would hate and you will not become that. It appears that the universe is built to teach us compassion. Hate something enough and you are drawn to it like iron to a magnet, offering your soul to the very thing which you sought to deny and in the end becoming a perfect image of that which you tried to destroy.

The big joke is that because none of us see everything the same way many of the pretty or ugly colors that you might see upon others in the world uniquely exist in your own mind alone because you have colored them that way. When you see injustice, cruelty, ignorance and stupidity most of what you see does not exist exactly the way you see it, sometimes far from the truth. When you fight the image upon the mirror of your mind it's the most dangerous enemy you can possibly have because the internal oscillations of hate and dislike reflecting off of the surfaces of your own judgments take on a life as your own personal phantoms capable of haunting you to the ends of your days, never vanishing until accepted and loved for what they are, for what you have created.

Fighting against another is like offering your soul to the devil. You will be consumed by and become the very thing you sought to perish. In the end trading one for the other, you stand in its place.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely LOVED this book!
Review: This book is a miracle! How Thaddeus fit it ALL into 80 pages I'll never know!

The book basically explains the way the universe works in easy to understand language. I mean it...it's easy! Even a kid could read it, and understand a lot of what it says.

T.G. writes it like he's talking to you. There are concepts here that will blow your mind!

If you can find a copy, BUY IT. Then make a personal copy for yourself because you're going to want to lend it to everyone you know and love.

NOTE TO PUBLISHER: PLEASE MAKE THIS BOOK AVAILABLE AGAIN. JUST LOOK AT THIS LIST OF REVIEWS AND SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BUY THIS BOOK WHEN YOU REPRINT IT.

ALSO IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO CONTACT THE PUBLISHER DIRECTLY, PLEASE DO SO AND MAKE YOUR OPINION KNOWN.

IN PEACE, LOVE, AND LIGHT! --RBM