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Be Nobody
Like boardwalk tourists poking our faces in the two dimensional cut-outs of the muscle man and bathing beauty, we are all desperately trying to be somebody, to be "special". No one wants to be a loser, a small fry, a big zero.
But maybe we've got it all wrong.
With his edgy tone and radical perspective, Lama Marut follows up A Spiritual Renegade's Guide to the Good Life by calling for the biggest revolution of all: the overthrow of our obsessive quest to be somebody. It is this quest to distinguish ourselves that is the true cause of our dissatisfaction, leaving us feeling isolated and alone.
Drawing from the spiritual truism that only by losing the self can we discover our real potential, Be Nobody provides action steps and simple meditations that lay down the heavy burden of trying to be somebody. Without the need to seclude oneself in a monastery or retire to a cave in the Himalayas, Marut gives readers the freedom to find true fulfillment
So stop narrating your life and start living it. Be nobody.
But maybe we've got it all wrong.
With his edgy tone and radical perspective, Lama Marut follows up A Spiritual Renegade's Guide to the Good Life by calling for the biggest revolution of all: the overthrow of our obsessive quest to be somebody. It is this quest to distinguish ourselves that is the true cause of our dissatisfaction, leaving us feeling isolated and alone.
Drawing from the spiritual truism that only by losing the self can we discover our real potential, Be Nobody provides action steps and simple meditations that lay down the heavy burden of trying to be somebody. Without the need to seclude oneself in a monastery or retire to a cave in the Himalayas, Marut gives readers the freedom to find true fulfillment
So stop narrating your life and start living it. Be nobody.
246 pages, Paperback
First published June 3, 2014
34 people are currently reading
633 people want to read
About the author
Lama Marut
7 books25 followersLama Marut (a.k.a. Brian K. Smith) is extensively trained in the spiritual traditions of India and Tibetan Buddhism. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion and taught for over two decades in the academic world, first at Columbia University and later at the University of California, where he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2004. He lived as a Buddhist monk for eight years and has served for the past fifteen years as a spiritual teacher to students around the world. Lama Marut is currently the Spiritual Director of eight “Middle Way Centers” located in North America, Australia, and Singapore. When not traveling, he resides with his wife, Cindy Lee, in rural Australia.
In addition to several scholarly studies and translations based on Sanskrit materials, he is the author of the popular and award-winning book, A Spiritual Renegade’s Guide to the Good Life (Beyond Words, 2012) and his new book, Be Nobody (Beyond Words, 2014). With his unique mixture of erudition and earthiness, intensity and humor, conviction and openness, Lama Marut’s message is easily accessible and life changing.
In addition to several scholarly studies and translations based on Sanskrit materials, he is the author of the popular and award-winning book, A Spiritual Renegade’s Guide to the Good Life (Beyond Words, 2012) and his new book, Be Nobody (Beyond Words, 2014). With his unique mixture of erudition and earthiness, intensity and humor, conviction and openness, Lama Marut’s message is easily accessible and life changing.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 20, 2019
As I read page 100 and page 105, it was a grim reality of how I actually face some situations in my day to day life.
It actually made me laugh, that our life is compared to an alien and how it rises up when we get really mad.
Loved that para on pg 105, that is how it all begins .. really and how it actually it ends few hours later.
Am finally done with the book and liked the topic on being anonymous or a secret agent to do all those tasks.
we definitely are living in an illusion, and not the truth .. well put by the author.
nobody's perfect - so why not be nobody ? and not try to be somebody all the time .
It actually made me laugh, that our life is compared to an alien and how it rises up when we get really mad.
Loved that para on pg 105, that is how it all begins .. really and how it actually it ends few hours later.
Am finally done with the book and liked the topic on being anonymous or a secret agent to do all those tasks.
we definitely are living in an illusion, and not the truth .. well put by the author.
nobody's perfect - so why not be nobody ? and not try to be somebody all the time .
August 11, 2014
I have to admit to not being familiar with Lama Marut before coming across his recent book ‘Be Nobody.’ Much like the book ‘The Novice’ by the Naked Monk aka Stephen Schettini, which I reviewed a little while back, it is the story of a ‘religious seeker, finder and then leaver of the cloth’ (monk robes to be specific).
It’s the ideal book for those who define themselves as ‘spiritual, but not religious’ but beware, Lama Marut tackles that very principle of self-definition that we humans are apt to put upon ourselves. The overreaching theme of the book is to ‘undo’ the isms and break free from religious labels as these can only further our feelings of ego identification or separateness from one another.
He takes the wisdom from many different traditions be it Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity and distills it into a book that recommends a new way of being nobody. A way to dismantle the self and be awake. As a ‘religious hybrid’ who studied many traditions both personally as well as academically, Marut is well-versed in both the practices as well as the study which goes with these religions. He uses many stories to help illustrate his message.
‘Be Nobody’ covers a lot of (mainly Buddhist) ground. From the self, no self, interconnectedness, the skandhas (I absolutely adore his mention of the mental afflictions and the metaphor of having a ‘rage in the cage’ style wrestling battle with them), a healthy dose of Shantideva, empathy and guru yoga amongst so many other topics. Believe me, the book gets into it all!
One area of ‘Be Nobody’ where I kind of tuned out was the section on flow states and play and how these work to help us lose our sense of self. I’m not sure why I checked out during this area, but I think it’s just because it’s less of an interest to me than the more ‘dharmic’ materials in the book. I can fully see how it relates to losing one’s sense of self, it just stuck out for me as a section that was tacked on as having some spiritual significance rather than the meaty (and in my opinion more relevant) bits that the rest of the book offered up.
One of the best parts about ‘Be Nobody’ is the pop culture references. I’m a big fan of his use of personal and real-world examples to help support the main principles of the book so any mention of Captain Kirk, song lyrics or movies certainly captures my attention.
Another positive aspect of this book is the ‘Action Plan’ found at the end of each chapter which offers suggestions for how to apply the elements into one’s life. These concrete instructs allow people to put the teachings into practice as a means for transformation. At the end of the book is a set of meditations from the Vijnana Bharvanva Tantra aka ‘Methods for Attaining the Consciousness of the Divine.’ I didn’t go beyond reading these but do plan to revisit them at a later date.
Quite often in ‘Be Nobody,’ Marut speaks to society’s obsession with social media and the correlation it has with the increased levels of depression in our world. He feels that the narcissism that is being demonstrated by living in the ‘iEra’ is something that is quite worrisome.
Overall, ‘Be Nobody’ by Lama Marut was a great read and one I’d recommend to Buddhists, non-Buddhists and those looking to become less Buddhist and more of a nobody. I highlighted a good part of the book and plan to later go back and do some of the meditation practices when I have some time as well as to read the end notes and citations which are chock full of great articles and books.
It’s the ideal book for those who define themselves as ‘spiritual, but not religious’ but beware, Lama Marut tackles that very principle of self-definition that we humans are apt to put upon ourselves. The overreaching theme of the book is to ‘undo’ the isms and break free from religious labels as these can only further our feelings of ego identification or separateness from one another.
He takes the wisdom from many different traditions be it Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity and distills it into a book that recommends a new way of being nobody. A way to dismantle the self and be awake. As a ‘religious hybrid’ who studied many traditions both personally as well as academically, Marut is well-versed in both the practices as well as the study which goes with these religions. He uses many stories to help illustrate his message.
‘Be Nobody’ covers a lot of (mainly Buddhist) ground. From the self, no self, interconnectedness, the skandhas (I absolutely adore his mention of the mental afflictions and the metaphor of having a ‘rage in the cage’ style wrestling battle with them), a healthy dose of Shantideva, empathy and guru yoga amongst so many other topics. Believe me, the book gets into it all!
One area of ‘Be Nobody’ where I kind of tuned out was the section on flow states and play and how these work to help us lose our sense of self. I’m not sure why I checked out during this area, but I think it’s just because it’s less of an interest to me than the more ‘dharmic’ materials in the book. I can fully see how it relates to losing one’s sense of self, it just stuck out for me as a section that was tacked on as having some spiritual significance rather than the meaty (and in my opinion more relevant) bits that the rest of the book offered up.
One of the best parts about ‘Be Nobody’ is the pop culture references. I’m a big fan of his use of personal and real-world examples to help support the main principles of the book so any mention of Captain Kirk, song lyrics or movies certainly captures my attention.
Another positive aspect of this book is the ‘Action Plan’ found at the end of each chapter which offers suggestions for how to apply the elements into one’s life. These concrete instructs allow people to put the teachings into practice as a means for transformation. At the end of the book is a set of meditations from the Vijnana Bharvanva Tantra aka ‘Methods for Attaining the Consciousness of the Divine.’ I didn’t go beyond reading these but do plan to revisit them at a later date.
Quite often in ‘Be Nobody,’ Marut speaks to society’s obsession with social media and the correlation it has with the increased levels of depression in our world. He feels that the narcissism that is being demonstrated by living in the ‘iEra’ is something that is quite worrisome.
Overall, ‘Be Nobody’ by Lama Marut was a great read and one I’d recommend to Buddhists, non-Buddhists and those looking to become less Buddhist and more of a nobody. I highlighted a good part of the book and plan to later go back and do some of the meditation practices when I have some time as well as to read the end notes and citations which are chock full of great articles and books.
June 8, 2014
This was originally published on my blog: http://elizabethannsalem.wordpress.co...)
Be Nobody, published on June 3rd, was written by spiritual teacher and former Buddhist monk Lama Marut (Brian K. Smith), who provides down-to-earth and, for Americans who are more familiar with Western spiritual thought, an accessible way to understand Eastern philosophies regarding the ego. Lama Marut focuses on ways to get past the constant search for self-promotion, and offers advice on how to drop the ego and seek peace. The book analyzes the various ways that we either see ourselves as “special” or continually look for new things to fill our empty hearts. He also provides various strategies to help overcome our own ego-driven craziness, and notes, in a section that I found especially helpful, that we are not locked into the karmic cycle by karma, but by what we think about karma).
I loved many things about this book, but in particular, Lama Marut’s no-nonsense and no-bullshit style of teaching, and his advice regarding how to abandon the American “cult of busyness.” Ultimately, while Be Nobody isn’t saying anything new, this book is significant because of how clearly Lama Marut presents his teaching on the need to change yourself in order to change the world. I was convinced, anyway—I preordered this book from Amazon when I wasn’t even halfway through the ARC.
Source: ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, and my personal copy of the book
Be Nobody, published on June 3rd, was written by spiritual teacher and former Buddhist monk Lama Marut (Brian K. Smith), who provides down-to-earth and, for Americans who are more familiar with Western spiritual thought, an accessible way to understand Eastern philosophies regarding the ego. Lama Marut focuses on ways to get past the constant search for self-promotion, and offers advice on how to drop the ego and seek peace. The book analyzes the various ways that we either see ourselves as “special” or continually look for new things to fill our empty hearts. He also provides various strategies to help overcome our own ego-driven craziness, and notes, in a section that I found especially helpful, that we are not locked into the karmic cycle by karma, but by what we think about karma).
I loved many things about this book, but in particular, Lama Marut’s no-nonsense and no-bullshit style of teaching, and his advice regarding how to abandon the American “cult of busyness.” Ultimately, while Be Nobody isn’t saying anything new, this book is significant because of how clearly Lama Marut presents his teaching on the need to change yourself in order to change the world. I was convinced, anyway—I preordered this book from Amazon when I wasn’t even halfway through the ARC.
Source: ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, and my personal copy of the book
May 15, 2015
I really wanted to like this book. He had me through the first half when he talked about how we need to scale back on our narcissism.
But he lost me halfway through. I had a hard time following his points.
Definitely some good ideas and I liked his calls to action in each chapter.
But he lost me halfway through. I had a hard time following his points.
Definitely some good ideas and I liked his calls to action in each chapter.
April 25, 2020
I'm sure the incoming phrase is subjective but this book changed my life. It simplifies the Buddhist term "anatta." The belief of non-self. I'm so glad I only randomly came across this at the library.
March 17, 2014
very interesting read, thought provoking and hitting close to home.
July 20, 2014
Smart, well written, big ideas. I loved it.
August 15, 2023
Re-reading this because life happened and Lama Marut wisdom usually make a bit of sense from this messy life we're in.
March 27, 2017
inhale... then big sigh... then more sigh... act cool suddenly
April 21, 2025
Very nice thoughts and ideas in the book!
August 25, 2025
I read this book out of a need for an ego check. I believe this book should be read with an open mind, or it defeats the purpose of it. And as said by the author you should still use discernment and think for yourself.
I believe Lama Marut drives home the central idea of “be nobody.” The majority of it is broken down well along with a fair amount of pull from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and even some lyrical quotes.
I will point out that, ironically, there was a clear expectation of who the presumed reader would be with the “first world problem,” spiel. But thankfully it didn't carry on ad nauseam.
I say this with mainly a familiarity in Christianity that the quotes from various religious persons were used well and felt applicable without staking a claim to a new idea.
There was humility in that he didn't harp on this being a new concept.
The practices are not sensationalized as to how to incorporate selflessness into everyday life. They are great reminders as well as potential new outlooks.
I tried to make sure this was not coming from a space of fatigue. The latter half, before the exercises, felt a little less easy to follow I believe due to redundancy.
Overall I think the writing met its intent in making me think, and giving me more (or less) to think about.
Great outlook on selflessness and highly recommend if you want an ego check that manages to still remain uplifting.
I believe Lama Marut drives home the central idea of “be nobody.” The majority of it is broken down well along with a fair amount of pull from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and even some lyrical quotes.
I will point out that, ironically, there was a clear expectation of who the presumed reader would be with the “first world problem,” spiel. But thankfully it didn't carry on ad nauseam.
I say this with mainly a familiarity in Christianity that the quotes from various religious persons were used well and felt applicable without staking a claim to a new idea.
There was humility in that he didn't harp on this being a new concept.
The practices are not sensationalized as to how to incorporate selflessness into everyday life. They are great reminders as well as potential new outlooks.
I tried to make sure this was not coming from a space of fatigue. The latter half, before the exercises, felt a little less easy to follow I believe due to redundancy.
Overall I think the writing met its intent in making me think, and giving me more (or less) to think about.
Great outlook on selflessness and highly recommend if you want an ego check that manages to still remain uplifting.
March 23, 2018
Ended up being impressed a little by this book, despite first impressions and a style of writing that shows little awareness of how language should be used to make a point.
There are some interesting and important points here, some of which I did not know before and which therefore enlightened me somewhat.
If 90% of the words were taken away and flushed down the loo this would have been a five star read.
There are some interesting and important points here, some of which I did not know before and which therefore enlightened me somewhat.
If 90% of the words were taken away and flushed down the loo this would have been a five star read.
October 24, 2024
While I understand the concept of this book is too look beyond yourself & understand that you are not the only one in this world. It also blatantly disregards anyone’s uniqueness-which is passion on display-and basically tells you to scale back your personality to fit in. Not a fan- but written excellently. Great discussion book!
January 27, 2018
The first 2/3 of the book kind of recycles many of the ideas Marut has been teaching for many years and publishing on his various podcasts. The last 1/3 is was deeper and more thought provoking. Fairly easy to read, though the Buddhist idea of 'emptiness' is difficult to grasp at the best of times.
February 15, 2023
I had high hopes for a book about separating yourself from your ego, but after 50 pages of "get off my lawn", "people these days" grousing, I put the book down.
August 14, 2016
From the back of the book:
"With his edgy tone and radical perspective..."
"...mixed with a little Louis C.K.-style humor."
No. No to all of that. Getting through this book was tough because, firstly, the tone was so dull. No edge, no Loius C.K. It really is standard, middle-of-the-road fare as far as being "radical" or "edgy".
However, my biggest problem was how unoriginal the content is. Okay, maybe I had some Arya Stark "A girl is no one" visions going in, but the content here fell way, way flat. Not only is the book crammed with filler (quotes that may or may not be relevant, anecdotes, repetition of the same ideas, etc.), what isn't filler is the same zen/ego-death ideas that populate thousands of books already. All of the ideas in the 220+ page book could easily fit onto a Post-It sized checklist.
In fact, I'll summarize it for you here:
-You're special, but so is everyone else, so get over it.
-Your ego sucks. Pride is the literal Devil. Even depression is caused by pride (how does the author know that? Science? No, because he got a top-tier job and a few months later wound up in a psychiatric ward).
-Have empathy and ignore your desires in favor of selfless service.
-Want to be a singer/artist/parent/etc.? Identifying with/as something kills your soul, so stop.
-The author knows what True Happiness is, and it's one size fits all.
If I had to sum the message up in one sentence, it would be this: wander through life ignoring that you're a person while you think about and do stuff for other people.
I could keep going but I don't want to spend any more time on this. Filler, unoriginal ideas, and dubious connections. I think that sums it up.
"With his edgy tone and radical perspective..."
"...mixed with a little Louis C.K.-style humor."
No. No to all of that. Getting through this book was tough because, firstly, the tone was so dull. No edge, no Loius C.K. It really is standard, middle-of-the-road fare as far as being "radical" or "edgy".
However, my biggest problem was how unoriginal the content is. Okay, maybe I had some Arya Stark "A girl is no one" visions going in, but the content here fell way, way flat. Not only is the book crammed with filler (quotes that may or may not be relevant, anecdotes, repetition of the same ideas, etc.), what isn't filler is the same zen/ego-death ideas that populate thousands of books already. All of the ideas in the 220+ page book could easily fit onto a Post-It sized checklist.
In fact, I'll summarize it for you here:
-You're special, but so is everyone else, so get over it.
-Your ego sucks. Pride is the literal Devil. Even depression is caused by pride (how does the author know that? Science? No, because he got a top-tier job and a few months later wound up in a psychiatric ward).
-Have empathy and ignore your desires in favor of selfless service.
-Want to be a singer/artist/parent/etc.? Identifying with/as something kills your soul, so stop.
-The author knows what True Happiness is, and it's one size fits all.
If I had to sum the message up in one sentence, it would be this: wander through life ignoring that you're a person while you think about and do stuff for other people.
I could keep going but I don't want to spend any more time on this. Filler, unoriginal ideas, and dubious connections. I think that sums it up.
July 21, 2014
Yeah, a lot of us could read excerpts of this and find it all mumbo-jumbo, but on the other side, Marut has some very compelling things to say. The central argument is that we all aspire to "be somebody", and in the process, often compete, compare, judge, criticize, and tear our own selves down when we perceive ourselves as falling short. Only by instead, "being nobody", and making all we do and say be about others, do we lead full lives. I think his discussion of the "cult of busyiness" and our choices about taking action vs. just "doing" is especially thoughtful and interesting. And the mantra of "this is right now" has real appeal.
Worth a read; there's a lot to think about here.
Worth a read; there's a lot to think about here.
September 12, 2014
I loved the book very much. I have read it several times. It reminds me to be nobody and leave my ego aside and be genuinely caring and kind and not obsessed. The examples given are true and authentic and what we are facing now as a society is a big problem - huge lack of attention and overloaded with distractions - this situation is explored well in the book - and there are many ways we can think about how to simplify life and be kind and happy with whatever we have..id strongly recommend this book to the busy people living in big cities and struggling to be somebody at the cost of their own happiness
November 26, 2016
I think I'm officially abandoning this book, about 1/4 of the way through. I find myself reading sentences over and over because my mind is wandering and I'm just not grasping them. It's just not providing what I'm looking for, but I did find some meaning in the Buddhist principle that "everyone suffers," and we can bridge our differences as humans, in remembering this fact that everyone is suffering in their own private way, be it seemingly big or small.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews