OverDrive would like to use cookies to store information on your computer to improve your user experience at our Website. One of the cookies we use is critical for certain aspects of the site to operate and has already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but this could affect certain features or services of the site. To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them, click here to see our Privacy Policy.
A national bestseller and acclaimed guide to Buddhism for beginners and practitioners alike
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. The concepts and practices of Buddhism, says Batchelor, are 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 spiritual enlightenment.
A national bestseller and acclaimed guide to Buddhism for beginners and practitioners alike
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. The concepts and practices of Buddhism, says Batchelor, are 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 spiritual enlightenment.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Table of Contents-
Buddhism Without Beliefs - Stephen Batchelor Preface Ground Awakening Agnosticism Anguish Death Rebirth Resolve Integrity Friendship Path Awareness Becoming Emptiness Compassion Fruition Freedom Imagination Culture Sources and Notes
Reviews-
August 5, 2002 The truths Buddha articulated are not strictly religious beliefs, but experiences that can be tasted by everyone in everyday life, says Batchelor, a respected author, translator and teacher. Here, the Scottish-born author, a former monk in Tibetan and Zen Buddhist traditions, leads listeners to question life as the Buddha questioned it—really tasting the mystery of our existence, wondering what true happiness and freedom might be, considering that everyone is inexorably shuttling towards death. Batchelor captures the spirit of his brilliant 1997 book, expanding the guided meditations, which capped the chapters of the original. He instructs listeners in the classic technique in meditation on the breath, for example, advising them to avoid "eyeballing the breath" and encouraging them to go beyond external observation to find the "question within this primary act of breathing." In the print version, Batchelor was dazzling in his ability to cut to the chase, rendering the experience of awakening and the means of getting there with such eloquence and precision that the reader felt it was a radical new discovery. The more conversational audio version is also more intimate. Guiding listeners in breathing meditation, he describes how "the veneer of familiarity can be peeled away and we can become awestruck that this is happening at all, that we are alive and drawing nourishment from the environment." Listeners will feel they have discovered not just a wonderful mind, but a trustworthy spiritual friend. An excellent companion to the book, this work also stands alone as proof of the special power of oral instruction. Based on the Riverhead hardcover.
March 31, 1997 Batchelor's latest concise volume explores the practical fundamentals of Buddhism and how they can be relevant to both religious and secular-minded Westerners. Batchelor makes several controversial, but thoughtfully argued, points central to his "existential, therapeutic" and agnostic interpretation of Buddhism: that Buddhism is not strictly a religion, since it does not adhere to a belief in God; that the Buddha did not consider himself a mystic or savior, but a healer; and that Buddhismis less a "belief system" than a personal "course of action" that naturally instills morality, compassion and inner peace in the practitioner. Though he is a former monk in both the Zen and Tibetan traditions, Batchelor is now associated with a nondenominational Buddhist community in England. He deliberately eschews elitist, monastic Buddhist traditions, which often make enlightenment appear all but impossible to attain. Throughout, simple meditation exercises acquaint readers with Buddhist principles that illuminate "the nature of the human dilemma and a way to its resolution."
Title Information+
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
Kindle Book
Release date:
OverDrive Read
Release date:
EPUB eBook
Release date:
Digital Rights Information+
Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.
Clicking on the 'Buy It Now' link will cause you to leave the library download platform website. The content of the retail website is not controlled by the library. Please be aware that the website does not have the same privacy policy as the library or its service providers.
There are no copies of this issue left to borrow. Please try to borrow this title again when a new issue is released.
| Sign In
You will be prompted to sign into your library account on the next page.
If this is your first time selecting “Send to NOOK,” you will then be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
The first time you select “Send to NOOK,” you will be taken to a Barnes & Noble page to sign into (or create) your NOOK account. You should only have to sign into your NOOK account once to link it to your library account. After this one-time step, periodicals will be automatically sent to your NOOK account when you select "Send to NOOK."
You can read periodicals on any NOOK tablet or in the free NOOK reading app for iOS, Android or Windows 8.
