Buddha

Rating:
Summary: A moving read
Review: The strength of this writing lies in the writing itself. We should note that the title of this book is "Buddha", not "Buddhism", and furthermore, this book is part of the "The Penguin Lives Series". To expect it to be a discourse on Buddhism or even an introduction to Buddhism is to not only expect too much, it also sets out to expect something which Karen Armstrong didn't even set out to do.

Armstrong makes it clear that written sources were not available during the time of the Buddha, and that her account of the Buddha was gleaned from scholarly writings that were made available over the ages; she makes frequent references to scriptures and to legend. Why should we take her writing for gospel? Then again, no one said we have to - and certainly Armstrong had not said that herself. Her book is not a review of the historical authenticity of sources that are available; her book is merely an account of the Buddha's life, written through the one Western scholar's perspective - well and fine.

I need to add that Armstrong makes several mistakes about Buddhist thought in her book, which will not be at once apparent to the reader new to Buddhism. Those interested in Buddhism ought to look to other introductory texts to Buddhism for a better understanding of the philosophy. I would recommend Thich Nhat Hanh, or the Dalai Lama.

In the end, Armstrong has written a compelling, a moving and an interesting account of the Buddha's life based on written sources that are available. That is all I needed to give this book 4 stars. Whether the Buddha existed or not, whether the written sources available are authentic or not, and what Buddhism is or is not, are really subjects for another book.

Rating:
Summary: Buddha gets lost in translation.
Review: I read this book during my 3 month stay in Bangkok, and found it somewhat useful understanding the culture. The book does great job in connecting the dots. It includes multiple historical facts, interpretations, and comparisons to other religions.

The book became difficult to read after 40 pages. She uses quite a few terminologies (long and hard to remember). It became frustrating to remember their meanings and follow the text.

After Buddha dies, the book ends. I was also hoping to come to the final section and learn more about how Buddhism became a religion, and how Buddha's influence changed overtime and in what ways. This book needs another chapter at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Limited
Review: Karen Armstrong who obviously has a deep respect for Buddhism and the man who started it all provides a less than reliable analysis of the life, times and teachings of Siddhatta Gotama, Buddha. This may not be her fault as no contemporary written source exists about Gotama's teachings or anything else about him. Gotama's teachings were passed down through oral tradition for centuries until a written language was developed. What IS her fault, however, is that this fact is almost completely ignored by Armstrong who makes only the slightest mention of it about a third of the way into the book. This fact, however, is quite consequential and downplaying it as she has done calls into question Armstrong's integrity as a researcher, scholar and writer of religious histories. She provides no analysis of evidence, not even a disclaimer about the quality or reliability of the information that exists. Instead, Armstrong attempts to bolster her findings (which are largely based on the Pali Cannon written in the 1 century BC) by stating that the monks responsible for verbally passing down Buddha's teachings took great care to ensure accuracy. That's it. End of discussion. I was really quite surprised and disappointed that she did not delve into the issue much more. It is the unfortunate problem with Armstrong's book and, quite frankly, with Buddhism - the vast timeframe for when events took place and when they were written down.

As I read this book I kept imaging how the Jesus Seminar and other biblical scholars would have treated similar evidence about Jesus. The answer: They would have dismissed it outright and left it at that. But then the standard for Jesus has always been quite high.

Rating:
Summary: Enlightenment
Review: Writing a biography of Buddha is an un-Buddhist thing to do. Buddha means enlightened or awakened one. The process of preserving the traditions of Buddha's life began shortly after his death in 483 B.C.E. About a hundred years after his death the Pali Canon was established. Other texts exist. They do contain reliable historical material. There is no developed chronological account of Siddhatta Gotama's life. Of emphasis are his birth, his renunciation of normal domestic life, his enlightenment, the start of his teaching career, and his death.

In the accounts the Buddha is presented as a type. When Gotama was 29 he took to the road. He had a yearning for existence that was wide open and complete. Family life was incompatible with higher forms of spirituality. Attachments to things interfered with spirituality. He was a near contemporary of Confucius and Socrates. He sought Nirvana to overcome the endless cycle of death and decay.

800 to 200 is known as the Axial Age. Socrates, Confucius, and Buddha have been mentioned, and in addition to them, others who established the ethos under which men still live include LaoTzu, Zoroaster, Plato, and the great Hebrew prophets. New religions emerged-- montheism in Iran and the Middle East, Taoism and Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Greek rationalism in Europe. Study and debate became important religious activities. There was a new cult of kingship in Gotama's lifetime. The image of the Universal Monarch became his alter ego.

Gotama rode out from the family house when the existence of suffering penetrated his world. He was able to look at Vedic society with the objectivity of an outsider. Gotama joined some of the wandering monks. They had become almost like a fifth caste. Gotama found a teacher who taught that ignorance rather than desire lay at the root of our problems. He was taught to look for holiness everywhere. Even suffering had a redemptive role. An ascetic often finds it is extremely difficult to liberate himself from the material world. It is not known when the first yogic exercises evolved in India. The word Yoga comes from a term to yoke or bind together.

The sages and prophets of the Axial Age were coming to realize that egotism was the greatest obstacle to experiencing the absolute. The abandonment of selfishness and egotism would be the basis of Gotama's own dharma. Yoga and ethical disciplines were practiced by him. He practiced withdrawal of the senses and concentration. Gotama did not think the elevated state of consciousness reached through the use of Yogic methods was Nirvana because afterwards he still had the same desires. He tried asceticism and that proved as fruitless as Yoga.

In seclusion Gotama found his way to enlightenment. He fostered wholesome states of mind, disinterested compassion. He adopted a habit of mindfulness. The transitory nature of life was one of the chief causes of suffering. The prosperity of one person usually depends upon the poverty of another. Gotama developed a new Yogic method. Scholars traditionally give the enlightenment of Gotama as around the year 528 B.C.E. What he found was not a new invention. His plan could not be understood by rational thinking alone. Nirvana is a still center. It gives meaning to life. Buddhism is essentially a psychological religion.

His first attempt at teaching was a failure. At a later stage the Buddha probably developed one of the most frequent subjects of meditiation, the Chain of Dependent Causation. The fire sermon was a brilliant critique of the Vedic system. The three fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance were an ironic counterpart to the three holy fires of the Vedas. The followers of the Buddha, little Buddhas, are as impersonal as he is in the accounts. Notes and glossary appear at the end of the book. This biography is correct and succinct, and yes, enlightening.