Buddhism Without Beliefs

I'm grateful for the many life lessons this book taught me.

I really found this book to be insightful and the title is accurately stated, Buddhism Without Beliefs. I will refer to this book again and again in the future.

It seems to me that many of the criticisms of this book here (and elsewhere) come from Buddhist who are offended at Batchelor's "corruption" of their sacred teachings. However, I think this book targets people whose desire is to find out how the teachings of Buddhism could benefit their lives without necessarily being "Buddhists". That is to say that a non-Christian could, for example, find many of the teachings of Christ very enlightening and beneficial, without accepting all of the tenets of the Christian church. Batchelor provides this point of view regarding Buddhism. He provides the framework for the secular philosopher to incorporate much that is wonderful about Buddhism into their daily lives while not requiring faith or adherence to any specific religious dogma. But there is nothing in this book that would hinder the person so inclined form pursuing Buddhism from a religious standpoint. Again by analogy, I could envision a secular title promoting many of the teachings of Christ (such as turning the other cheek) while saying that it is possible to follow these teachings without buying into all the stuff about virgin birth and heaven and hell. Such a title might enrage a certain type of Christian, but would be a breath of fresh air to those of us who don't wish to "throw the baby out with the bath water" when it comes to a critical examination of Christianity. Batchelor's book does this for Buddhist teaching. I do have some critisisms of this book; Batchelor makes some points that I would have prefered he address differently. But I have strongly urged many friends and loved ones to read it. I can give a book no higher praise than that.

Originating in Northern India some twenty five hundred years ago, the teachings of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni have spread across many countries: south to Sri Lanka, south and west to Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam, across the Himalayas to Tibet and China, and West to Korea and Japan. In each case, the country as been changed by the teachings, and the form of the teachings has been changed by the country, by the particular circumstances, the history and temperament of the people. As the historian Arnold Toynbee wrote, "The coming of Buddhism to the West may well prove to be the most important event o the twentieth century."This book is not an introduction to Buddhism, a Buddhism 101. If you're looking for an overview of the beliefs and practices of Buddhists, there are many more appropriate texts available. My personal recommendation would be Lama Surya Das' Awakening the Buddha Within : Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World. In contrast, the book under discussion is a provocative attempt to reinterpret and (re)introduce the core of the Buddhist teachings to the west, in a form easily understood and assimilated by the western student. Just as Christ wasn't a Christian, the Buddha Sakayamuni was not a Buddhist: he was a teacher, a spritual friend. His teachings have been filtered through thousands of years of history an individual cultural circumstances. This is one more take. The book resonates strongly with me. Perhaps it will with you, too.

Mr. Batchelor's dual background - first as a Tibetan monk and translator then later as a Korean Zen monk - gives him two eyes to see Buddhism with. It gives him cross-cultural depth perception that allows him to see the essense of awakening separate from the cultures that encrust it. Perhaps that helps him write such a succinct, clear, and radiant book. It's odd that Batchelor is an unwitting lightning-rod for the Buddhist religious right. (Bet you didn't think that was even POSSIBLE, did you?! Surprise! Sadly, Buddhism isn't all that different from any other religion.) He doesn't attack their beliefs. He stays in the vast middle and says that he honestly doesn't know.When I saw him lecture, I saw a student of Thinley Norbu's stand up and beg him to believe in rebirth! It was like watching a fundamentalist Christian begging someone to accept Jesus as his personal savior, as though Buddhism was about embracing the right conceptual beliefs. It was the oddest and saddest thing! Why bother becoming a Buddhist if you're going to behave like that?He handled it with great patience and compassion, I thought. I asked him about it afterwards and apparently it happens to him all the time!Wonderful book.

In this wonderful, concise introduction, Batchelor has captured the essence of the Buddha's teachings . By going directly to the source and peeling away the accumulated dogma of various traditions, he makes Buddhism relevant for our time. He shows how, despite the Buddha's wishes, over time Buddhism became a religion and an institution unto itself. Of course, rigid doctrinaire thinkers like Bob Thurman will see red when they read Batchelor's simple wisdom, which eliminates the need for hocus-pocus and a priestly class. Batchelor even questions the need for belief in karma and reincarnation, long accepted as essential Buddhist beliefs.Batchelor presents his ideas in simple, but not simplistic, prose, with easy-to-grasp examples. His credentials as a Buddhist and a scholar are beyond reproach, and while others may disagree, no one can question his seriousness and authority. Unlike self-styled gurus and flim-flam artists like "Lama Surya Das" (Jeffrey Miller), Batchelor is not interested in self-aggrandizement; merely in conveying his ideas.He succeeds admirably in this book.Highly recommended.