Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
by Stephen Batchelor
List Price:
Our Price: $7.16
You Save: $6.84 (49%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.81 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen BatchelorEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-03-01
ISBN: 1573226564
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Book Reviews of Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
Book Review: Buddhism without jargon
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading most of the other reviews for this book, I'm wondering if maybe I read a different edition than everyone else. The 1-star folks claim that this book throws away such venerable Buddhist ideas as karma and rebirth, that author Batchelor asserts his view of a "Buddhist agnosticism" as the "original, pure, true" Buddhism, and that this book is tantamount to heresy and should be reviled. Most of the 5-star reviews view this book as something akin to the Fourth Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. From where I'm sitting, this book is significantly less offensive and dismissive than the 1-star people would have you believe, while also being slightly less earth-shattering than most other 5-star reviewers assert.
Basically, *Buddhism Without Beliefs* boils down to Buddhism without jargon. Batchelor discusses a good deal of traditional Buddhist ideas, but he does so without using the Pali and Sanskrit terminology and threadbare traditional examples that can hinder clear communication. In fact, it is this judicious reframing and masterful retranslation of many received Buddhist teachings that makes this book so powerful. For example, instead of discussing the Four Noble Truths (always written with initial caps), he talks about "four ennobling truths." While this might seem to be a mere exercise in semantics, he makes it clear that it is not: "Yet in failing to make this distinction [i.e., that each truth requires a particular action on the part of the practitioner], four ennobling truths to be acted upon are neatly turned into four propositions of life to be believed" (p.5) Right out of the gate, Batchelor's point is clear. If Buddhadharma is to be a lived reality, a practice with efficacy in one's life, then for many of us it cannot be approached like an ossified belief system.
The rest of the book is equally powerful and lucid. "We discover that we have been thrown, apparently without choice, into a world not of our making" (p. 22). How much more succinctly and clearly can one summarize the existential dilemma---*dukkha* in Pali---intuited by the Buddha? And using language that also invokes Western thinkers like Heidegger and Ortega y Gasset in the bargain! "Evasion of the unadorned immediacy of life is as deep-seated as it is relentless" (p. 25) Breathtaking and to the point! He discusses Buddhism's unique approach to ethics (*shila*) in his chapter on integrity--"Dharma practice cannot be abstracted from the way we interact with the world. Our deeds, words, and intentions create an ethical ambience that either supports or weakens resolve. If we behave in a way that harms either others or ourselves, the capacity to focus on the task will be weakened" (p. 45). Spiritual friends and gurus, like the Socratic ideal, "are like midwives, who draw forth what is waiting to be born. Their task is not to make themselves indispensable but redundant" (p. 51).
About awareness and mindfulness he says, "one of the most difficult things to remember is to remember to remember" (p. 58) That is one of the craziest things I've ever read, precisely because it captures my own often absurd experiences on the zafu so vividly! Commenting that "focused awareness is difficult not because we are inept at some spiritual technology but because it threatens our sense of who we are," Batchelor could be accused of channeling Trungpa Rinpoche (p.62), hardly the model heretic.
And in his most provocative chapter, he does not dismiss the possiblity of rebirth out of hand, as many reviewers have alleged: rather, as he says quite clearly, "it may seem that there are two options: either to believe in rebirth or not. But there is a third alternative: to acknowledge, in all honesty, *I do not know.*...Dharma practice requires the courage to confront what it means to be human....To cling to the idea of rebirth can deaden questioning" (p. 38) Again and again and again, in cogent chapter after chapter, Batchelor explores what it means to practice Buddhadharma without necessarily clinging to a religious orthodoxy that can numb as easily as it can awaken.
Does someone who gets a good deal out of this book have to then chuck any tendencies toward Buddhist religiosity that naturally arise within them? Of course not. Readers also, if they are like me, don't have to get rid of any tendencies toward Christian religiosity that naturally arise within them either. That's the beauty to me of Batchelor's Buddhist agnosticism. It is about experiencing what arises without prejudice and just seeing what happens. In that sense, this book echoes all the other meaningful dharma books I've read. What it adds is an openness to doctrinal uncertainty and ambiguity that is refreshing for those of us looking to awaken while taking refuge from dogmatic religiosity.
Summary of Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
In this simple but important volume, Stephen Batchelor reminds us that the Buddha was not a mystic who claimed privileged, esoteric knowledge of the universe, but a man who challenged us to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, and bring into being a way of life that is available to us all. What the Buddha taught, says Batchelor, is not something to believe in but something to do—and as he explains clearly and compellingly, it is a practice that we can engage in, regardless of our background or beliefs, as we live every day on the path to awakening.
As in all the major religions, there is a wisdom behind the theology of Buddhism that informs the believer in daily life. Stephen Batchelor would argue that the difference with Buddhism is that the wisdom is in fact independent of the theology and is not informative to believers only, but to everyone. In Buddhism Without Beliefs Batchelor lays out the major tenets of Buddhist wisdom, commenting on their relevance to modern life. The Buddha said that seekers must find the Truth for themselves, and Batchelor offers this book as a roadmap.
Buddhism Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Buddhism Books
Zen Buddhism: A History; Vol. 2: Japan (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture)by Heinrich Dumoulin
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1989-12; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
History Zen Buddhism 2 Volumeby Dumoulin
Macmillan Library Reference; Published: 1990-06-18; Paperback; Book
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Livingby Gary McClain, Eve Adamson
Alpha; Published: 2000-11-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.15
Price in other shops:
365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the Heartby Dalai Lama
Element Books Ltd.; Published: 2003-05-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $46.95
The Power of Compassionby Tenzin Gyatso
Thorsons; Published: 2002-03; Audio Cassette; Book
Price in other shops:
No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zenby Jakusho Kwong, Peter Levitt
Harmony; Published: 2003-03-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $53.80
An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the Worldby Pankaj Mishra
Picador; Published: 2005-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.34
Price in other shops:
Zen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Timeby Philip T. Sudo
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2001-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops:
Zen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Timeby Philip T. Sudo
HarperOne; Published: 2005-01-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.85
Price in other shops:
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Livingby Lama Surya Das
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2007-04-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.70
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberationby Thich Nhat Hanh
Broadway Books; Published: 1999-06-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.13
Price in other shops:
It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happinessby Sylvia Boorstein
HarperOne; Published: 1997-02-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.36
Price in other shops:
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mindby Shunryu Suzuki
Shambhala; Published: 2011-06-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.82
Price in other shops:
A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Othersby Jeffrey Hopkins
Snow Lion Publications; Published: 2008-02-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Alone with Others: An Existential Approach to Buddhismby Stephen Batchelor
Grove Press; Published: 1994-02-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.62
Price in other shops:
Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practiceby Thich Nhat Hanh
Three Rivers Press; Published: 1994-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.33
Price in other shops:
Meditation for Lifeby Martine Batchelor
Wisdom Publications; Published: 1996-03-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops:
Living with the Devilby Stephen Batchelor
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2005-06-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops:
Mindfulness in Plain English: 20th Anniversary Editionby Bhante Gunaratana
Wisdom Publications; Published: 2011-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.84
Price in other shops:
Confession of a Buddhist Atheistby Stephen Batchelor
Spiegel & Grau; Published: 2011-03-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.21
Price in other shops: