Buddha

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, Informative, And Spiritually Profitable
Review: There are special difficulties in writing a life of Buddha. Information is scarce or hidden beneath mythology, and there seems to have been almost an ideological aversion to recording personal information about someone whose main insight was that there is no self to write biographies about. Buddha would have approved of that benign neglect, as he probably would have approved of the Taliban's recent destruction of his colossal statues. Armstrong has tackled the problem well. She situates Buddha within the specific philosophical and theological world of the Ganges Basin and in the general movement of the Axial Age, when in the middle of the first millennium B.C.E. from Greece to China human consciousness took a great leap upward. To the framework of what is historically known about the man she weaves what is known about the influences he would have felt, the stages he would have gone through, and the doctrine he taught. She uses the mythology to portray the meaning if not the history of the man. The book is as much the story of the Dhamma (she prefers the less familiar Pali spellings) as of the Buddha; and why not, who sees one sees the other. Armstrong is a captivating writer and has a gift of elucidating whatever she turns her attention to. The book is enjoyable, informative, and spiritually profitable.

Rating:
Summary: Buddha Lives
Review: The Buddha would have been dismayed to find himself the object of a biography. Unlike many other religious leaders, he fought against a cult of personality. He wasn't important, he insisted; his teachings were worth writing and thinking about, but he wasn't. The Buddhist scriptures reflect a legend about Gotama as told three generations after his death, but they do contain some reliable historic information. No incident in the Buddha's life can be proven to be historically true, but Karen Armstrong, the former nun who has taken on the task of writing histories of God, of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, has now written a fine biography, _Buddha_ (Viking Penguin), which may have little to offer the millions of practicing Buddhists, but will inform the rest of us about the basics of Gotama's life, the process by which he came to his understanding, and the essentials of his teaching.

Gotama was raised in privilege, an easy, luxurious life into which he felt he did not fit. He saw aging, illness, sorrow, and corruption, and reasoned that there must be some other mode of existence if only he could find it. He always insisted that this other mode was nothing supernatural, that the almost universal feeling that there must be more to life did not mean that "more to life" depended on the divine world of the gods. Leaving his family, he initially encountered forest monks who were interested in finding the absolute self within, rather than speculating about any ultimate reality. From his initial teachers, Gotama absorbed the practice of yoga as a step in such a severance, and he used it all his life. Quickly he achieved the yogic feeling of "nothingness," of complete separation, but with ruthless honesty and skepticism, he realized that this was not the nirvana he was seeking; when he came out of the trance, he still had desires, and nirvana could not be temporary. He then tried enlightenment through asceticism, starving himself, going naked, and even trying to go without breathing. He eventually found his own "middle way" between asceticism and self-indulgence. He was acutely aware of human suffering, and the desire that gave rise to it, but it freed him from even the tiny frustrations and disappointments that occur every hour. He abandoned all personal preference, and adopted a disinterested benevolence.

Armstrong can describe such revelations, but of course the description can barely give insight into the mental processes Gotama went through. More importantly, she describes his career of teaching. He had enormous success in attracting devotees in the cities. He eventually retired more and more into the wilds as he became elderly. He reminded his followers that their teacher would soon be gone, but the teachings could remain their teacher forever. "All individual things pass away," he reminded them in his last words before slipping into coma. "Seek your liberation with diligence."

_Buddha_ is a useful summary of the life and teachings of an influential thinker. Armstrong has provided a sensible overview of the basics of Buddhism that will improve the understanding of anyone of another belief. She has judiciously used comparisons with more familiar religions, and she has given background information on the society and economics of the Buddha's times. Her explanations are clear, and her prose, as usual, is very readable. Buddha might not have wanted a biography, but if he had to have one, this one is close to perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Biographer of the Divine
Review: Karen Armstrong has made quite a career out of writing biographies, not only about manifestations of the divine, but the early history of the movements they inspire. If the potential reader is looking for esoteric tracts on yogic practice (and the Buddha would have abhorred such fascination) then this is not the book they need.

Rather, this delicious and brief treat of a book explains what Buddha and Buddhism meant in the context of their early history. India had become a place where great business republics were involved in rapid economic growth (like today's global economy) and were being consumed by the new monarchical states. A huge middle class was emerging that could not be pigeonholed into the old caste system, and therefore rejected it; life had become overly materialistic and people were desperately turning to anything for a sense of spiritual well-being (sort of like today.)

What Armstrong does simply and wonderfully is reveal this worldwide phase of history and the contribution of the Buddha in meeting its challenges. His teachings are decidedly NOT the mysterious, esoteric bunk that priesthoods of every religion have invented to maintain their exhalted position, but were in fact very practical means for bringing the unhappy people of the age into enlightenment-- sort of like what people are looking for today.

I was especially happy to read this book because of these larger, "global" contexts that are expressed or implied. Buddhism belongs in the hall of great world religions, as Buddha belongs among the great manifestations of the divine. Armstrong has delivered a fine portrait of the Buddha's life that puts them both in their proper place, yet she avoids the trap of making them such objects of adoration that the text would become a mere tract.

I sincerely hope that Karen Armstrong will see fit to examine other religions and manifestations like this. I would particularly like to read anything she has to say about Zoroaster or Baha'u'llah.

Rating:
Summary: Understanding Buddha in the context of his culture and times
Review: Karen Armstrong has written a number of works on religion such as a history of monotheism (A History of God), the Battle for God (about fundamentalism in many religions), a history of Islam and a book about Genesis. She also wrote an incredibly good autobiography, Through the Narrow Gate, which describes her own search for God and truth. All her books are written for the general reader to get a good overview of these religious topics. Now she has written A Biography of Buddha, to continue the series on understanding the world's major beliefs.

It's questionable whether the Buddha himself would have sanctioned a biography; he definitely preached against the cult of personality. Instead his life and principles were devoted to avoiding authority cult figures and instead taking a personal path to develop enlightenment. However, his life as a teacher gives a good example about how he took his path to becoming the Enlightened One and it is also an important story for those who want to understand his influence over most of the East.

Buddha was 29 when he chose to leave his comfortable home (parents, ife and new baby son) and take up a life of searching for truth. At this time in India, many people took up a life of asceticism in order to find the true meaning of life and even to this day this strong tradition continues; you can see holy men in India who own only a loincloth (or not even that much) who wander the land, seeking and teaching and getting their daily bread from donations. The search for spiritual enlightenment is deeply rooted in Indian tradition.

After a period of time of self-mortification, which he found was ineffective in achieving enlightenment, Buddha took the middle path and sitting under the famous Bo tree, found enlightenment.

As Buddha wandered, he developed his principles and began to teach them widely. He had followers and was friend to kings and noblemen. He taught 8 principles, some of which seem Christian in nature (ie compassion) and which he himself said were ancient teachings that he merely re-discovered and wished to teach.

Armstrong explains the background of the times when Buddha lived and taught; this gives insight into his development. This is a good short biography to understand Buddhism in the light of its founder and the times in which it arose in India.

Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Introduction to Buddhism
Review: Armstrong beautifully and economically explains why Buddhism is such a turning point in the history of thought and religion. She sorts out with admirable clarity the main lines of religious thinking and practice in Buddha's era, and discusses what is known about his life. But her illumination of what the ideas that are at the heart of Buddhism makes this book a really useful and enjoyable introduction. Anyone interested in Buddhism, or in world religions and Eastern philosophy, will find a lot in this book--as will those who have enjoyed Tom Cahill's "Hinges of History" books ("How the Irish Saved Civilization," etc.).

Rating:
Summary: A classic book is born.
Review: Karen Armstrong lectured before a packed house at the Jesus Seminar Winter meeting on March 1,01 before an overflowing audience of 500. A portion of her introduction went like this. "Karen's book was published 6 weeks ago, and it is in its third printing and 19th on the New Times best sellers list." Afterward, she received a standing ovation.

There is one sentence in her book that stands out from her 40 thousand word classic that summarizes the majestic process of "enlightenment", "... as a dye penetrates and colors a clean piece of cloth." pg.117 We are that piece of cloth and the message of the Buddha is the dye.

A great companion book to Karen's classic is "Going Home,Jesus and Buddha as Brothers."

Karen introduces us to the Axial Age and its similarities to our own in which the Buddha 2500 years ago rescued humanity from its greed and hatred. We have much to learn from this Buddha, this gentle giant. It is this "mindfulness" of others that Karen reintroduces to the Western World which seems to have lost as a counter culture to the "market place".

There should be a warning label put on this book, BUDDHA. "Danger, this book will change your worldview." Like Karen's other classics MUHAMMAD,and A HISTORY OF GOD,her process of awakening us to our human history in the struggle to be human will be legacy for a return to "transformation". This little book is a must read and certainly will be a book that will remain very close to your finger tips as a reference for your own daily "Quest".

Rating:
Summary: A beautifut Dispassionate account
Review: One of the reviews for this book states that it is "Destined to become the classic source for anyone delving . . . into the life and teachings of the religious icon." - Christian Science Monitor.

I believe that they are right. It is the most interesting interpretation of his life and teaching that I have read. She draws from both the Pali texts and fragments of the early "lost" Indian material which can be found in translations of the scriptures into Chinese and Tibetan scriptures, which give some of the earliest collection of Sanskrit texts. She spends a good amount of time on the "did Buddha believe in God" issue. Her conclusion is that the use of "phenomena" to dazzle and amaze simple people and from that secure a belief of God was what Buddha objected to. She also talks about the axial age. I had not heard about that before and aparently the veracity of it is debated by some historians.

She brings her excellent command of history and research to the subject. In the January issue of Shambhalla Sun magazine she contributed an article that was also excellent.

I recently read that Buddha was considered by some to be one of the incarnations of Vishnu, the preserver and protector of creation and the embodiment of mercy and goodness. His incarnation as Buddha was to remove suffering from the world. Much of her interpretation would lend credence to this.

This book is well worth the time spent to read it. I have read it several times. It is an excellent source for those just beginning to learn about Buddhism and also for seasoned Buddhists.

Rating:
Summary: "Everything in moderation...
Review: ...including moderation," are among my favorite words of the Buddha, and for me, neatly sum up an ideology that some people refer to as complicated or esoteric. I have considered myself a Buddhist for several years now...didn't plan it that way...just started meditating to help me alleviate anxiety, eight years ago last month, and after about a year-and-a-half of insights that just arose naturally from my mindfulness practice, I finally read a book about Buddhism and had the realization that my perception had shifted to the point that my personal ideals are closer to Buddhism than any other "major world religion."

I prefer not to think of Buddhism as a "religion." I think of it as being more of a spiritual ideology, that's just as much about psychology as it is spirituality--and, by the way, too many western psychotherapists and clergymen don't seem to get the fact that psyche and spirit are inextricably linked--one of the realizations that most practitioners of meditation/mindfulness eventually have for themselves is that all things are connected, and that borders and boundaries are merely man-made illusions: if we would all realize that, there would be a lot less conflict and environmental problems in the world.

Buddhism is mostly about creating a proper "MENTAL CULTURE" that helps us to overcome our egocentric hatred, prejudices, jealousy, obsessions, and petty resentments, that all fall under the category of "ignorance;" and to recognize that "god"--or whatever one wants to call the creative force that continues to create in a continuous cycle of arising and subsiding--exists equally in all beings. This is why the Buddha wanted to be remembered not for his life, but for his message. As human beings, it is a projection of our egocentric tendencies that we tend to focus too much on the actual events of peoples lives than the real value of their legacies. It's not forgetting the events of history that condemns us to repeat them, but failing to learn the lessons of history...that's why many of us make the same mistakes over and over again; and, like Phil in the movie, Groundhog Day, we don't get to move on to a new day until we get it right.

Now on to this book. I agree with other reviewers that the book is more informative for non-Buddhists, because it does provide some good information about the Buddha's teachings, although I agree with others that I'm not sure that a biographical account of a life, the details of which are purposely sketchy so as not to emphasize his life over his message, was the best way to communicate this message. The thing I find most problematic about this book is that it does treat his teachings as an ancient, esoteric practice, rather than one that is just as pertinent today as it was 2,500 years ago...in fact, maybe it's even more pertinent today, in a human world that is currently embroiled in degenerative political and ideolical conflicts that have arisen from the ego, that uniquely human reality filter that prevents us from seeing things as they really are, and gives us the false impression that we are separate from our neighbors.

I also wanted to echo the sentiments of another reviewer that pointed out that human "desire" is not what creates problems for us (the Buddha's second noble truth, as stated in the book is that human "suffering" is caused by "desire," which is not the best translation of the Buddha's words). "Desire" is a creative vehicle of nature: what gets us in trouble is when desire becomes excessive and turns into uncontrollable cravings, obsessions, and compulsions.

Whatever spiritual path you choose, please make sure you choose it mindfully, that it really works for you--that is, that it really answers your questions about existence satisfactorily, rather than just raising more questions--and that you don't just do it because this is the "religion" that your family has always practiced. Explore multiple ideologies, and make a conscious decision about what path you choose. Beliefs can be used to wound or heal, and humanity can't really afford to have too much more "worshipping on auto pilot."

Rating:
Summary: A Good Effort on a Difficult Subject
Review: This isn't really a book about Buddhist philosophy. It is an attempt to examine an important life, that was lived over 2,500 years ago. Given the fact that The Buddha and his followers didn't choose to create a cult of personality, there aren't many available sources for information about the human side of The Buddha. As such, I think the author did a good job of examining the world that The Buddha experienced and piecing together limited information to add a human element to an enlightened being. I was especially touched by the account of The Buddha's final days, when he was venerated by many, but chose to pass on in relative isolation as a means of furthering his message. If you are looking for philosophical insights, you should look elsewhere, but if you want to know about the world from which The Buddha sprang, this is a good, readable choice.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book but contains errors
Review: The book has some errors that I would like to point out:

Rebirth not Reincarnation
Reincarnation as a plant is not possible (not sentient)
Craving not Desire

Also a Buddha does not arise every 32,000 years; only after a very very long time (usually measured in eons). There has and will be immeasurable Buddhas arising in the world (not 25). I did also note that there was a references to the Buddha and monks going to and eating "dinners"; this is not possible as eating in the afternoon is forbidden. The book was a nice read overall but needed a more knowledgeable editor.