Fab title and from the first review, good content as well. The price is shockingly high for a book of this genre. The author, publisher, (et al) however have priced the book out of range for many people. Sad really as the topic is important and message timely. Please bring this book down to an acceptable price in non print format as most Kindle users will not purchase it at such an unreasonable cost.
Rating: 1 / 5

Stephen Batchelor’s latest book is a bit hard to classify. Part autobiography, part biography of the Buddha, it follows the path tread long ago by Shantideva, whose “Guide” Batchelor described as “an intensely personal account of a struggle to understand and practice the Dharma.” This book, too, is personal, covering the author’s discovery of Buddhism, study of Tibetan Buddhism in Dharamsala in the days when the Dalai Lama was not yet world famous; crises of conscience over his inability to believe all of what he was being taught — and would be expected to teach, himself, as a monk; departure for Korea to study a different form of Buddhism; return to England where he became involved in the evolving Western Buddhist culture; and finally settling in France part time and travelling the rest of the time to speak and teach, and always to continue learning.

Tales of his travels around India and descriptions of the landscape of the Buddha’s world then and now are interwoven with tales of the Buddha’s life that Batchelor uncovered on closer study of the Pali canon during his years as a monk and beyond. The book is not about the mythical Buddha of epic battles with gods and abilities to perform miracles that convert masses, but includes stories of the man known as Gotama whose bare feet kicked up dust in the emerging cities of India thousands of years ago. The stories told here help us see how this mortal man’s efforts to spread his insight, and create a community that could keep on sharing that insight, played out against the politics of society and religion in his own time.

There are many remarkable bits in this book, any one of which make it worth the time to read, but I’ll not spoil the fun for you. But if you don’t mind I’ll have you look out for the point at which the author gets asked to write the book that becomes “Buddhism Without Beliefs” and the ways in which its effect on the Buddhist community was a surprise to its author. Funny, isn’t it, how no matter what we intend, our ideas can take on a life of their own.

If you enjoy autobiography, if you’ve been curious about the who the human who became known as the Buddha may have been, if you’re interested in the directions Western Buddhism is taking, this book, smoothly written in plain English, is a pleasure to read.
Rating: 5 / 5

I actually finished this book a week ago, and at the time was unsure how I was going to rate it. Batchelor’s conclusions re: Buddhism are very different from my own. I enjoy the magic, the mystic, expressions present in some lineages of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, and with connecting with Buddha as an eternal force, not only a human being. So I was faintly dissatisfied with where the author’s own journey and research led him, and almost docked a star because of it.

In the end, though, I didn’t, because the book is so well-written and well-researched, and I have found myself thinking about it and discussing it frequently with people I know. I read and review a lot of books, many of them Buddhist, and few of them stay with me for this long. So that to me is a sign of a five-star book, whether I personally agree and relate to all the author’s points or not.

My favorite parts of the book were his stories regarding his own experiences as a young Tibetan Buddhist monk, and then studying in Korea with a Zen teacher, while grappling with existential questions and increasingly exploring Western philosophy as well. What a profound seeker! As I said, my own personal experiences have led me to a more mystic orientation, and I kept feeling like the author’s intellect was getting in his way. But that is not for me to say. In the end, I admired his integrity and dedication to seeking truth. It is rare that someone is willing to throw away everything they have known, all that has made them comfortable, over and over again as their searching brings them to new conclusions. And that is what Mr. Batchelor did – first by becoming a Tibetan Buddhist monk, then by leaving his Lama teacher to study with a Zen monk, and then by leaving his monastic vows behind entirely, marrying, and continuing to practice as a layperson.

As a married person with a family myself, I also appreciated his analysis of the social forces that made celibacy a necessary choice for serious seekers in ages past, and his conclusions that in today’s world, a lay life may actually be the ideal way to practice what the Buddha really taught. And his analysis of the latter – what the Buddha taught – is fascinating. He is focused on Buddha as a real person with real struggles, and within the social and cultural context of his time. Whether or not this is the ‘true Buddha’, I have no idea. The suttas are like the Bible in that way, as far as I am concerned – anyone can find something to support their view.

What can’t be disputed though, is the thoroughness and intensity of Batchelor’s research and presentation. I think all Buddhists should read this book to put their own beliefs to the test. And I think anyone interested in Buddhism, but wary of ‘religion’, should read it as their number one guide.

So five stars it is!

Rating: 5 / 5