cuts through the crap..May 28, 2007 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
i know this isn't very buddhist of me, but honestly, some people are so so damn dumb...i couldn't believe some of the reviews posted on here...this is by far, the best book on the subject i have read...and i have read many
dangerMay 14, 2007 0 out of 21 found this review helpful
Don't read this book. It will take your energy away and drain your brain. You will become a will-less little turdle. I hate this book.
If your looking for an unbiased look at Buddhism look somewhere elseMarch 16, 2007 0 out of 10 found this review helpful
I bought this book to give me a nice overview of Buddhism. I was encouraged by the introduction. Unfortunitly after that the author began to make fun of every other religion. I know that buddhism isn't about that. And i think by putting people on the defense about their childhood religon will make it very difficult for them to remain openminded to the spiritually enlightening concepts that buddhism has to offer.
Best book I have readFebruary 10, 2007 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have never written a review for a book, but I was compelled to do so for this one. It is one of the best books ever written about Buddhism. I would recommend that you read this book as it provides a wealth of information.
where the cow isNovember 12, 2006 35 out of 47 found this review helpful
I haven't yet finished this book, but I like it very much so far. It's a succinct, clear discussion of the essence of Buddhism, without all the trappings. I'm finding it very illuminating.
-------------------------------- Additional comments after finishing the book:
I should have finished the book before rating it, because I can't change my rating and having read the whole thing I would not give it 5 stars. I'll remember that for the next time I review a book.
I liked the beginning of the book and found the author's spin on Buddhism to be interesting and useful, but it deteriorated badly towards the end, after he finished describing the 8-fold path. His conceptualization of Buddhist thought in the last few chapters is narrow to the point of absurdity, and so logically flawed that if this were my first exposure to Buddhism I might conclude it was a load of bunk.
The author gives example after example of how noticing the input of your first five senses (excluding the "sixth sense" of thought) constitutes "mindfulness", but then says that the input of your senses is illusory - a delusion that leads to duhkah. In the beginning of the book, in describing the Four Noble Truths, he talks about how morality exists as an ultimate Truth though it can't be put into words. Then at the end of the book he insists that there is no self BECAUSE it can't be put into words. Huh? If things can exist though they can't be put into words, then you can't prove that something doesn't exist because it can't be put into words!
I could go on with examples like these of logical contradictions, but what was most disturbing to me was the author's nihilistic view of Buddhism, which is not nihilistic at all. He says Buddhism is not nihilistic, but his description is nihilistic because he does not emphasize - or even mention - what for me is the heart of Buddhism - that all is one.
The main point is not that we don't exist as individuals (which is not really exactly true). The point is that we are all part of a whole, and when you experience this directly (as I have at moments), you feel like the curtain has been pulled back and suddenly you SEE. All fear of dying falls away because you realize you are ONE with everything, part of the interdependency of everything. You can't die because Everything doesn't die.
It's not that you are Nothing, it's that you are part of Everything - something so much bigger than you are, something that always was and always will be. You are a wave in the ocean, and while the wave may break on the shore, the ocean remains and the wave that was "you" still exists in some other form. It's possible to FEEL that - I've felt that - and it's very profound when you do. He doesn't talk about this at all.
The other thing I disliked about this book is that the author's conceptualization gives no place for intellectual thought, science, or any kinds of attempts to be all that you can be in any sphere (intellectual, athletic, compassionate, whatever). According to his description of Buddhism, you might as well lie on the couch all day and do nothing since nothing matters but some cultish-sounding "seeing", and anyway anything you do with intention will lead to duhkah.
I know there is more to Buddhism than is described in this book, and I hope that those reading this book as their first exposure to Buddhism will read other books besides this one, which gives some very distorted and unfortunate impressions.
REQUEST - please vote this review as "useful" so it will stay on top and people can find the description of the picture on page 28, which follows. Many people posting reviews here stated that they could not see the image in the picture on page 28. --------------------------------
For the sake of those who have not been able to identify the image on page 28, I thought I'd describe it. I didn't see it at first, even knowing what it was supposed to be, but it is there. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK YET, DON'T READ THIS SPOILER. I'M ONLY POSTING IT BECAUSE SO MANY HAVE VOICED FRUSTRATION.
SPOILER - STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK.......... You are seeing the head and shoulders of the cow. The head is on the left side of the picture. The black blob in the lower left is the cow's nose. The left side of the cow's face is in shadow. The two dark areas in the upper left are the cows ears. In the lower part of the dark spots that are the ears are knobby black spots that are the eyes See it now?
