Philosophy of the Buddha

Archie Bahm was a very hip philosophy professor. He is a fine scholar, and his talent was in creating accessibility, and pleasant understandability for the modern layman, without market pretense. So you get the best of both worlds. His Tao Te King translation is recommended in the Last Whole Earth Catalog, from the 1960's (and I consider it the finest I've read), and I would bet it informed that generation as much as, say, Alan Watts, and the Yogi Richard Hittleman. His translations lack the far-fetched guru-esque sort of mystique and pretense that many translations exhibit. I would also recommend his translations of Patanjali's sutras. Again, I'm no expert, but I've read several of translations of these texts. Archie is a clear, concise, interpreter.

The most striking bit of information I got out of this excellent book is about the conversation between SiddhArtha and one of his students. The student asks if Gautama is a god, to which of course he replies in the negative. "Then what are you?" his student asks - "Awake!" Gautama replies. Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism are philosophical systems that were never intended to be religions. As a devout Christian, I am quite comfortable reading books like this one with that fact in mind. GOD didn't give wisdom only to the West - there is much wisdom in the East as well. The reader must keep in mind that this is human wisdom.

the book in my opinion was very interesting and i would recommend it very much. this book explores the levels above what other books do. Buy a copy for yourself and your partner.

This book was a welcome addition to my collection of Buddhist literature. It really helped me see a new angle on things and shake of the literalist dogma I had taken from the Thervadan writings I had read. It helped me see past to orthodoxy built around Zen. Finally, it allowed me to see Chan's preservation of the Middle Way, and thus further pursue their vehicles for use in my practice. In addition, Archie is NOT a Buddhist nor a practicioner of Buddhist ways. He offers a refeshing view of a very misunderstood, simple and helpful tool for building a life filled with joy.