Buddha

Rating:
Summary: A brief, slightly dry bio, not recommended for beginners
Review: I have to agree with many reviewers that the book is all too brief, which could be forgiven if it served as an introduction to the Buddha. However, the treatment is far to dry and accademic for the beginner. A large part of the beginning of the book is devoted to explaining the competing philosophies of the Ganges basin at the time. I fould this infomation interesting and it was communicated coherently, but I felt it was out of place in such a short treatment and I would have prefered instead more infomation on the Dhamma and how the Sangha schismed by emphasizing different parts of the Dhamma (which was only briefly touched on).

I partly agree with Mr. Lupo about the shoehorning in of the "Axial Age" connection which seemed to be more to do Ms. Armstrongs own interlectual musing, than an attempt to put the Buddha's life and Dhamma into a meaningful context.

However, my main problem with the book is Ms. Armstrong's writing style. I grow weary of the constant use of cliches. Also, I'm sorry to say, I feel Ms. Armstrong would be better suited to writing scholarly papers on the history of philosophy, than mainstream writing, as I found she could not tell what should be a very exciting story, with any passion. She often refered to first the Pali texts and then later more colourful bios to tell the story and hence weakened the narrative. It was only my interest in the subject that kept me reading to the end.

Rating:
Summary: Christianity as whipping boy.
Review: Karen Armstrong's Buddha is not a bad book at all. It is highly interesting and engages the reader to think in new directions. But not all of them are worthwhile. The deus ex machina here is the Axial age, and what follows in the book is a far-fetched attempt to line up all wisdom coming from the great philosophies and religions of the world into a nice little categorical time. Why? To show that all the world's best wisdom was explicitly pre-Christian. The undercurrent here is based on one woman's bad experience of Christianity. Stuff like that should be left aside when an author takes up a pen. Is such a tainted Christianity found in the volumes of the entire Penguins Lives Series?

I appreciate the fact that the book offers an in-depth look at Siddharta Gotama, depicting the human journey he took, inwardly as well as externally. I like the deep insights into the mindset of Gotama at key points of his life. I am not too crazy about the Axial age structure.

Gotama is presented as an anonymous Jew, an unknowing comrade of Socrates, a travelling contemporary of Confucius, and so forth. One comes away from Buddha knowing about these "axial" religions in greater detail, since these ways of living are described in depth. Unfortunately, references to Christianity are one-dimensional, or at best based on popular Christianity. For example, referring to heaven as a "place" (p.7, p.52, p.116) Christians go to after death, where the "freedom of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:21) will be experienced. Paul actually wrote about the transformation of the entire material universe. Another concept is "sin" (p.72). Armstrong beats up on introspection, and the examination of conscience to get across the point that Gotama did not believe in the later Christian concept of sin, which was something that moved you towards castigation of your humanity. I would expect something of higher caliber.

Armstrong makes it a point to beat up on aspects of Christianity. "The Buddha had no time for doctrines or creeds; he had no theology to impart, no theory about the root cause of dukkha, no tales of an Original Sin, and no definition of the Ultimate Reality..." (p. 100, emphasis mine). Again, if these came about hundreds of years after the Buddha, then why even mention them? Why not mention Jewish concepts like B'rit (covenant) or the Torah's commandments, or Greek wisdom? Did Buddha have time for these? Why is Taoism left out of the book completely? Compare axial apples with axial apples. Or if she was unable to do that, she could have offered positive aspects of Christianity as well. Read the middle paragraph of page 110. Why not mention the Sermon on the Mount?

Christian slurs continue throughout the book. Armstrong refers to the misogyny of the "Christian Fathers" (p. 154). No mention is made of Jewish misogyny (Thank God, I wasn't born a woman) found in the Old Testament, or Greek misogyny, which, again, would be co-axial.

It is so sad that Armstrong had to make such extemporaneous references to prove her point. It is sad to see such effort being poured into making the god-inspired Buddha visibly better than a human Christian church that would follow him hundreds of years later. Had she left all that stuff out and I would give the book four stars. It would have been that good.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Short Book on Buddha
Review: I have just finished reading this book and I agree with most of what David Cortesi said about this book. However, I disagree about his ranking and his comment that this book is not for Buddhists. I grew up as a Buddhist (although I don't consider myself a Buddhist anymore) and consider myself pretty knowledgeable about Buddha and the many stories and legends associated with his life. Yet Karen was able to draw out a number of insights that I had not previously considered until now. I pretty much read this book non-stop and could not put it down.

My only issue with the book is that it is too short and I was left wanting more more. And I was very surprise that a former Christian nun was able to write such an insightful and sympathetic book about Buddha.

Rating:
Summary: An Ideal Buddha Bio for Westerners
Review: Karen Armstrong is a great writer. Her writings on various religions is always interesting, insightful and rivieting. This short book is no exception. She puts Buddha in context of a great shift in world thinking that was taking place around a half a millenium before Christ, the Axial Age. She also explains the alienating rise of commercialism and urbanization and consequent breakdown of a sense of a stable community that led up to the Axial Age. We are informed about Buddha's privileged background and his rejection of earthly desires but never in the extreme form of such contemporary groups as the Jains. She also tells us of the influences of Hinduism and yoga on his evolving spiritual quest and his critical position vis a vis the Brahmins. We are dgiven a detailed look at his clever and dinsightful sermons. Her discussion of the Buddha's attitude towards women followers is also interesting as is his commitment to a religious discipline that starts with the self but ultimately transcends the self and does not forget compassion and concern for the masses. This book is enthusiastically recommended as is Herman Hesse's Siddhartha.

Rating:
Summary: A commendable attempt resulting in a wonderful work
Review: The author makes a commendable attempt at assembling a biography of a figure who did not prefer to be glorified. She covers the various stages of the Buddha's life, and along the way provides insightful summaries of key Buddhist concepts as well as the events in the India of that time that eventually fed and shaped a broader world religion. Such related information more than makes up for any lack of more personal details that are may not be available or accurate. The end result is a wonderful work to read and own.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent biography regarding the life of Budha
Review: An excellent primer on the Buddha's life and teachings. Departing from her usual Judeo-Christian stomping grounds (The Battle for God, 2000, etc.) to pen a biography of Siddhatha Gotama (circa 563-483 b.c.), Armstrong admits up front that she has set herself no easy task. The little information available about his life simply will not "satisfy the criteria of modern scientific history." In addition, Gotama himself would likely reject an effort to chronicle his doings, as "throughout his life he fought against the cult of personality and endlessly deflected the attention of his disciples from himself." In response to these difficulties, Armstrong has produced not so much a rendering of the few extant details of Gotama's quotidian life, but an account of how his circumstances led him to develop one of the great religions. She makes vivid the vanished world of the turbulent Ganges basin from outlines provided by the earliest texts available, those written in the North Indian dialect of Pali and preserved by Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. Beginning with Gotama's rejection of his family to join one of the many bands of mendicant monks in search of a higher truth, Armstrong creates a profile of an intensely practical man. When he cannot reach Nirvana using any other teacher's practice, Gotama makes up his own, rejecting "abstruse theories about the creation of the universe or the existence of a Supreme Being" in favor of a series of practices to be strictly followed. The resultant religion was based entirely on actions and was open to all, something truly revolutionary in a land whose culture was based on an unshakable caste system. Armstrong details these practices and theories and also provides an invaluable glossary. Those who wish to acquaint themselves with how Buddhism came to be, and with the individual who created it, will find this an essential text.

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary Synopsis
Review: A great biography. With limited written historical information, Armstrong does an extraordinary job of providing a look into the Buddha's life. Definitely recommended for all open-minded thinkers out there. Can't wait to re-read it.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books about Buddha for the Westerner
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I could't put it down until the last page.

Rating:
Summary: Ah, Armstrong again
Review: The first things I should say about this book is that it seems a bit odd that the publisher would ask a non-specialist to write a biography of the Buddha. Obviously, the selection of Karen Armstrong had much more to do with her high book sales and name recognition. She's written on everything from the enormously ambitious "History of God" to the city of Jerusalem to Fundamentalism. Her area, I suppose is Western monotheism. So, it's a tad bizarre that we now have a book on Buddhism from her. The book is good for an introduction--in some ways--to the historical Buddha, but it is plagued by a number of annoying aspects.

First of all, Armstrong follows many other contemporary exegetes of religion in interpreting all mythological aspects of religious 'experience' (a vexed, almost useless word) in existential categories. In her treatment, for example, the Buddha's battle with Mara becomes a battle with the dark side of his self (a la the 'Dark Side of the Force'). I suppose that many would argue that this is an apt interpretation of the psychological dimensions of Buddhism, but it's seems a horribly anachronistic way to write a biography. Secondly, she takes a rather ahistorical approach: she situates the Buddha in the milieu of Karl Jasper's Axial Age, but this doesn't make for very illuminating categories. Brief mention is made of Vedic religion, but this doesn't get fleshed out much.

All that being said, I used it for a class and found it helpful and accessible to the average reader--just don't expect a fountain of wisdom.

Rating:
Summary: Another Fine Addition to Karen Armstrong's Books
Review: Karen Armstrong tackles the life of Buddha for the Penguin Lives series with very good results. It is a difficult life in which to write a biography as the only sources for the life of the person were written down much later (centureies even) and are entirely part of a religious canon. The author does a superb job of handling this challenge, treating the subject's religious significance with the care she shows to the more Middle Eastern monotheistic religions (Judiaism, Christianity, and Islam) that she usually tackles. This book may frustrate those interested in the Buddha the man without a examination of the religion of Buddhism (impossible) or those looking for a book essentially on Buddhism in addition to a biography of Buddha (not possible in this small format). This book is a wonderful compromise that should get readers excited about Buddhism and having having them explore further. It not, the reader will still be left with the wonderful story of this incredible man and his beliefs.