Buddhism Without Beliefs - bookrastinating.com

Read by the author

English language

Published 2013 by Sounds True.

Audible ASIN:: B00AMPGX5Y

efore it was a religion, a culture, or even a system of meditation, what was Buddhism? On Buddhism Without Beliefs, celebrated teacher, translator, and former Buddhist monk Stephen Batchelor takes us back to the first years after the Buddha's awakening to reveal the root insights of Buddhism hidden beneath centuries of history and interpretation.

In eight compelling sessions of self-inquiry - including many fascinating exercises and practices - we learn how to awaken and refine our senses, introduce the essential spirit of curiosity into the practice of awareness, and comprehend with both our hearts and our minds the Buddha's astonishing (and often misunderstood) revelations on emptiness, compassion, and the self. Before he died, the Buddha did not appoint a successor. He simply remarked that each of us must be responsible for our own freedom.

Buddhism without Beliefs is an invitation to hear what the Buddha taught - and …

efore it was a religion, a culture, or even a system of meditation, what was Buddhism? On Buddhism Without Beliefs, celebrated teacher, translator, and former Buddhist monk Stephen Batchelor takes us back to the first years after the Buddha's awakening to reveal the root insights of Buddhism hidden beneath centuries of history and interpretation.

In eight compelling sessions of self-inquiry - including many fascinating exercises and practices - we learn how to awaken and refine our senses, introduce the essential spirit of curiosity into the practice of awareness, and comprehend with both our hearts and our minds the Buddha's astonishing (and often misunderstood) revelations on emptiness, compassion, and the self. Before he died, the Buddha did not appoint a successor. He simply remarked that each of us must be responsible for our own freedom.

Buddhism without Beliefs is an invitation to hear what the Buddha taught - and to trust yourself on your own path to liberation.

2 editions

Hank G (BookWyrm) reviewed Buddhism without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor

Review of 'Buddhism without Beliefs' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There are definitely good nuggets within this book. Some of the writing tends to drag things out with overly repetitive explorations of a one word topic. I get that from the perspective of how deceptively complex some things can be. However in many places it feels like the scripture reading in the Holy Hand Grenade scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail. There is no new depth added either directly, or even indirectly because something is being described again from a different perspective. It just feels like extra word count.

If you are reading this in passing it is a quick read. If you are reading this trying to meditate on the concepts then it is best to take it one chapter at a time and explore those concepts of each chapter in isolation. It will still be a quick read in terms of time that eyes are on pages but …

There are definitely good nuggets within this book. Some of the writing tends to drag things out with overly repetitive explorations of a one word topic. I get that from the perspective of how deceptively complex some things can be. However in many places it feels like the scripture reading in the Holy Hand Grenade scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail. There is no new depth added either directly, or even indirectly because something is being described again from a different perspective. It just feels like extra word count.

If you are reading this in passing it is a quick read. If you are reading this trying to meditate on the concepts then it is best to take it one chapter at a time and explore those concepts of each chapter in isolation. It will still be a quick read in terms of time that eyes are on pages but internalizing the information takes longer. I think both ways of reading it would be equally valid.

Subjects

Buddhism
Doctrines
Religious life
Customs and practices
Introductions