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Summary: Great insight into Buddhism without cultural trappings
Review: The book covers all of the key elements of the Buddha's teaching in a way that provides great insight. The presentation style is simple, direct, and easy to read. I would place this on the top of my recommended list of books.
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Summary: A title that matches the contents of the book.
Review: "Consciousness is nothing more than the splitting of Reality into this and that. Consciousness is making distinctions and drawing lines." This quote is an example of the writing style of Steve Hagen. In the book, "Buddhism Plain and Simple" this writing style provides the basics of Buddhism without the clutter of cultural overlays. Beautifully presented concepts, ideas and examples are given in a deep and thoughtful manner - perfect for multiple readings and discussions. Read and enjoy.
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Summary: We want to know some more about buddhism
Review: It's a cool book. Do you have any more infomation about buddhism
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Summary: Incredible!
Review: Yes, this is the book to get if you want a straight foward look at Buddhist precepts.
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Summary: This book clearly illuminates the path
Review: This book can provide anyone with invaluable insight. The author describes how you can arrive at the truth, very plainly. It will not tell you what to do, make you feel guilty, or insistently urge you to to do anything. Read it, digest it, and the scales will be lifted from your eyes. You will see the truth for yourself.
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Summary: Clear, concise and objective
Review: After reading so many Buddhist texts and being frequently confused by the profound yet ambiguous explanations, I found this book extremely refreshing and simple. It is by far the clearest explanation of the Buddha's teachings that I have read. Hagen clarifies these seemingly simple yet complex thoughts, while maintaining a high level of objectivity.Other Buddhist writers, and philosophy writers would be well advised to adopt the style used by this author.
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Summary: An great introduction to the Buddhist way
Review: "Plain and Simple" is just that. It gets right to the point and doesn't try to give "new age" answers to age old questions. This book is for anyone who wants to understand what Buddhism is really about.
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Summary: The best, no nonsense explanation of Buddhist philosophy
Review: No mysticism here. Just a to-the-point explanation of Buddhist thinking. While the book is small, it takes some time to fully digest and apply the principles.
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Summary: Thought-provoking and profound
Review: An excellent book to read if you have evered pondered life, death, purpose, the universe, self, suffering, pleasure, beliefs, or morality. This is about buddha-dharma- the teachings of the Buddha. It is not about rituals, customs, or different interpretations of the Buddha. Instead, it describes what the human existence appears to be and how awareness is the key to Reality. The author does not make conclusions for us. He presents the information and it is up to us to use it any way we want. There are no "rules". Buddha-dharma can be considered a "non-religion". Having beliefs actually limits your conception and realization of Reality. I see no reason why not to pick up this book. If you have Western beliefs, you should open your mind to another point of view. You will get something out of it. I do not agree with many points this book brought up, but in other cases the author was right on the money. This book WILL GET YOU THINKING. And after you read it, you may think that it wasn't actually THE BOOK itself that got you thinking! (You'll know what I mean.)
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Summary: Accessable Enlightenment
Review: Steve Hagen strips away the cultural shrouds that can convolute and confuse the fundamentals of this "non-religion", presenting Buddhism's powerful simplicity in an accessible way. No matter what your spiritual background this book can profoundly enrich your life.
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