Buddha (Penguin Lives Biographies)

Of all the books I have read on Buddha this short little book does the best job of putting the dharma into focus, clarifies the many aspects of its origin and the various facets of the meditative practices and teachings from the earlier practices learned by Gotama to his complete understanding of enlightenment and how he taught it. It really gives meaning to many things from Goenka who often refers accurately to the early Pali texts. The history and the story are full of interesting passages taken from the earliest writings. In the end though the book is finished, just like the Buddha and everyone else leaving his karma and his work behind. I bought a hard copy for my library. Interesting that an ex Catholic nun did such a great job writing this book. Funny thing is that Gotama originally refused to let women in to the sangha probably due to the complications possible from sexual desire and even refused his step-mother who raised him. But he thought better of it fortunately. It is also interesting to muse that Chairman Mao, whose mother was a devout Buddhist, elevated all women to full social status during the revolution. Was this partly because of Buddha's teaching and things he learned from his mother? Is the successful communal nature of the Buddhist sangha over thousands of years a model for socialist societies? Could be. Everything is connected.So long, Buddha. Good bye, Buddha. (Haha there was even a Judas in the story.)

The Buddha. Much has been written about this man and his teachings, but this is the first book I have read that feels stripped to the bone. The Introduction is worth reading on its own, an honest, scholarly, straightforward explanation of the history of the teachings and person of The Buddha. Armstrong gently and deftly clarifies the basis for following the teachings and seeking Refuge in the Buddha, covers the basic history of Buddhism, explains the background of the Buddha - as much as could be said to be fact. She puts things into perspective - what was going on in the world surrounding the founding of this belief system, this philosophy. For the first time, I feel that I am reading with a more profound understanding of this life altering person.

I found this a very interesting and helpful account of the life of the Buddha. It placed him in a historical context, which many other books do not. It was also mercifully free of enigmatic sayings which can only be comprehended after long meditation, and of long lists of precepts and practices, which may be essential in growing into the religion but which seem to me too complicated to belong in a biography such as this. I have given the book four stars instead of five because I respect the critical reviews of people with much greater knowledge than I, who cast doubt on Armstrong's historical reconstruction or on the accuracy of her portrayal of the Buddha's beliefs and teachings. But even if their criticisms are justified to some extent (and I haven't heard similar comments from my Buddhist friends), it seems to me that this book is a very readable point of departure which will encourage further reading and soul-searching, And that surely is the point?

Karen Armstrong writes in a way that makes very difficult and complex teachings clear. Even though there are few historical texts available, to reconstruct a “life of Buddha,” she draws on hints from a huge variety of sources to suggest a plausible biographical path for the development of Buddha’s Dharma. This was the book that helped me to appreciate the monumental importance of Buddha’s teachings and how parts correspond to other world religions both Western and Eastern. She posits that Buddha learned from the Vedas and Upanishads, probably using the practices of Yoga in its nascent form. She puts his teachings in the context of the whole Axial age, citing Jewish Christian and Socratic parallels in the West and Hindu, Confucian, and Taoist parallels in the East to name a few sources. Truly a masterpiece of writing!

I love Karen Armstrong's books. She picks one or two ideas that exemplify the whole philosophy/ way of life of a religion/prophet/sage whatever one might want to label them as and gives us an extensive bibliography to follow up in each of her books: The man and the sage are not very far from each other if we understand why and how we are not far from the truth/ happiness either!

While reading this book, I kept waiting for it to take off, so to speak, and I was disappointed that it never did. The content of the book seems to be treated from a distance, and while I understand the subject of the book lived thousands of years ago and it is an autobiographical account, it just felt as though the author was not connected to the words she put on the page. She is clearly a gifted writer, and perhaps I feel underwhelmed by the end result because of that. It seems it could have been a richer, more involving account of the Buddha's life, but while promising to do so several times, it never really got there.The author has certainly done a lot of research, has battled with the difficulties of trying to conjure up a unified image of a historical figure from a time when it was not common to preserve historical record in written form - and deserves a lot of credit for that. She is also an engaging writer - there are moments especially during the middle of the book, where she explains the core meaning of the Dhamma - and does so quite lucidly and elegantly. Still, I found myself wishing there was more of that elegance and engagement, wishing that the book flowed better than it did, perhaps involving more descriptions and anecdotes from the life of the Buddha - just so I felt I would know who the Buddha was better. The description of the end of the Buddha's life had a strange quality to it too - it felt like I was not ready for the book to end because I wanted more, but was simultaneously glad that it did because it never quite felt like I was really along for the ride.

No sólo aprendes de Buda, sino sus buenas enseñanzas

Karen made an awesome job in researching and writing about the life of Siddhāttha Gotama (Buddha).The book is very well written and easy to read.While you learn about the trajectory of Buddha, you also get a glimpse of what it means to be an enlightened being, where to start and what path to follow.

Ein Buch aus einer Serie der Wegbereiter, den es interessiert, wird begeistert sein !

Le livre est un peu défraîchi, les pages jaunies. Sinon le texte est propre, non souligné. J'ai dû le recouvrir pour solidifier sa couverture.

The life of the Buddha represents, as the author points out, an introduction to Buddhism; this is the best such account I have read - and I have half a shelf full. Ms Armstrong is sympathetic to her subject: she avoids both the sycophancy of the devotee and the cynicism of critic. She also manages a compact, narrative style which makes reading this, and her other books, a joy. She places Siddhartha Gautama in his proper historical context, with interesting details not found in other introductions, such as the fact that the caste system had not reached his home state of Shakya.She presents the basic concepts of Buddhism, and the tradition it challenged, in a clear, comprehensible manner, with an appropriate eye on the approaches of other religions. I now intend to work my way through all those of her books I have not yet read, and re-read those I already have. I hope she will consider an introduction to early Indian religion/philosophy which badly needs her enlightened touch.