Buddhism Plain and Simple
by Steve Hagen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Steve HagenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-12-29
ISBN: 0767903323
Number of pages: 159
Publisher: Broadway Books
Product features:
- Introduction
- 3 major divisions: Perennial Problem/ Way to Wake Up/ Free Mind
- Epilogue
- Appendix
- Two Ways to View the Twelvefold Chain
Book Reviews of Buddhism Plain and Simple
Book Review: where the cow is
Summary: 5 Stars
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
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?
Summary of Buddhism Plain and Simple
"Buddhism Plain and Simple" offers a clear, straightforward treatise on Buddhism in general and on awareness in particular. Steve Hagan presents the Buddha's uncluttered, original teachings in everyday, accessible language unencumbered by religious ritual.You might want to digest this book slowly, a few pages at a time. Although Zen teacher Steve Hagen has a knack for putting the philosophy of Buddhism in a "plain and simple" package, it may take a while to sink in. There is so much there. Seeing reality, realizing the wisdom of the self, breaking free of dualistic thinking--this is pretty heady stuff. Thankfully, Hagen passes it along in the form of examples from life, psychological tidbits, and stories from Buddhist teachers past and present. And when it clicks in, it can be life-transforming. Hagen explains this shift in outlook and how the fundamental way we look at the world affects everything we do. As an outline, Hagen follows the basic teachings of the Buddha, and we see that, rather than dogmatic truths, they are reminders for us as we reconsider the life we have taken for granted for so long. As it turns out, Buddhism is life, plain and simple. --Brian Bruya
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