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The Challenge of the Mind: A Practical Approach to the Essential Buddhist Teaching of Karma
Ryuho Okawa is known for his wisdom, compassion, and commitment to educating people to think and act in spiritual and religious ways. In The Challenge of the Mind, Okawa offers his thoughts on karma—what it is, what it is not, and the place of happiness and peace in the modern world. He also discusses how to attain karma, and how this links in with other tenets of the Buddhist way of life. Written in clear, accessible language, this companion to The Essence of Buddha demystifies an often over-complicated tradition.
- GenresSpirituality
192 pages, Hardcover
Published December 1, 2005
12 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Ryuho Okawa
1,173 books237 followersRyuho Okawa is a renowned spiritual thinker, leader, and author in Japan with a simple goal: to help people find true happiness and create a better world. To date, Okawa’s books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into 31 languages. His books address vital issues such as how our thoughts influence reality, the nature of love, and the path to enlightenment. In 1986, Okawa founded Happy Science as a spiritual movement dedicated to bringing greater happiness to humankind by uniting religions and cultures to live in harmony. Happy Science has grown rapidly from its beginnings in Japan to a worldwide organization. The spiritual workshops Happy Science offers are open to people of all faiths and walks of life and are rooted in the same simple principles of happiness that inspired Okawa’s own spiritual awakening. Okawa is compassionately committed to the spiritual growth of others; in addition to writing and publishing books, he continues to give talks around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 12, 2018
This is the second book I’ve tried to read by this author and his style of writing strikes me as not professional. Therefore, not credible. This is not an author for me.
Read
September 20, 2018Originally posted at ragdollreads.co.uk
Ragdoll Rating: NO!
Recommended For: NO!
About the Book…
“The Challenge of the Mind is an excellent guide to exploring the infinite potential of our mind from Buddha’s perspective. In this book, author Ryuho Okawa shows how we can apply the essential teachings of Buddha to our lives and cultivate deep wisdom and promote a happy, peaceful everyday life.”
This is the first section of the description of this book provided on Netgalley. Please be aware that I cannot speak for the entirety of this book, as I stopped reading after the first section (6 chapters). However, from what I did manage to get through, was most definitely not an excellent guide to anything, let alone Buddhism as I understand it.
I read for a while, getting increasingly confused and irritated, and found myself thinking “This sounds like a cult handbook” and then I looked up the author and the Happy Science movement, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a cult handbook…allegedly.
What I thought…
The first thing that set me off in this book was the authors constant need to differentiate between Buddhism and I suppose every other religion, although it specifically mentions Christianity, and boy does it keep going on about it. It starts off by saying that there are 2 types of religion, one type treats god and man as separate things. Man cannot become god no matter what they do. The other type doesn’t, apparently.
Now I have to point out, I know there are some esoteric forms of Buddhism out there and I don’t for a minute pretend I understand them all but then the book starts saying things like this.
“Buddhism teaches the integration of human beings with God.”
‘A “buddha” is someone who has experienced a human life on Earth and returned to the other world to live there as a high spirit with divine powers.’
“Just as diamonds are graded, people settle in different dimensions in the other world depending on how polished their souls are.’
‘A person who has attained a seventh-dimension level of enlightenment in this world will return to the world in the seventh-dimension…’
‘…some souls have evolved while others have not.’
“Buddha let this universe unfold under a single law.’
‘…human beings are surrounded by two worlds, this three-dimensional world and the other world. This latter world is the original home of human beings and so is also called “the real world.”
“Who is the one who can save herself? She is a god.”
‘By learning and mastering the laws, we can save ourselves; in other words, we can become divine spirits.”
And my personal favourite:
“Today, there are numerous sects that call themselves Buddhist, but their teachings are a long way from the true teachings of the Buddha.”
All this is mixed together with words like ’cause and effect’, ‘reincarnation’, ‘causality’ and ‘spirituality’ to give it an air of respectability. The chapters are short and repetitive, repeating the same basic theme, which for part 1 was cause and effect and blends it with weird vaguely spiritual buzzwords and feel-good “you could be a magic Buddha wizard if you buy my book” kind of vibes. Oh, and the author continues to constantly point out how ‘different’ Buddhism (or whatever this is) is from other religions, especially the Abrahamic ones.
The preface to the book also includes some particularly unsettling red flags:
“This book will serve as an excellent guide for those who are long for the mystical world of religion…”
“…reading this book is proof that you are…a real intellectual.”
“True religion teaches…”
“…reached a higher perspective…”
To be honest, I should have stopped reading as soon as I finished that page, but I thought I’d give it a chance. I think pretty much everyone will understand why these statements and others like them set off alarm bells in my head.
Final Thoughts…
Usually I would give book a rating from 1/2 a button to 5 buttons depending on how much I liked it (or not).
I have never give a ‘NO!‘ before. It’s not for me to tell you to not buy a book, you buy what you want – usually – but this book just set off alarm bells in my head, and considering it’s supposed to be a factual, religious book (if you feel the need to debate my use of the word factual in relation to religion, do it somewhere else please) and quite frankly that is a problem. I would hate somebody to go away with this book and think this is what Buddhism is. I’m not saying none of it is, but it most certainly isn’t like any Buddhism I’ve ever come across.
Frankly, all this book needed was a mention of Orgones (Youtube: Peep Show - Jez Joins a Cult) for me to set my kindle on fire to remove the taint.
Ultimately, you read it if you like. Call it research, or maybe it just appeals to you, it’s not my place to judge. But personally it sets my teeth on edge.
___________________________________________
Please Note: I received a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained within are my own and have not been influenced by any external entity!
Ragdoll Rating: NO!
Recommended For: NO!
About the Book…
“The Challenge of the Mind is an excellent guide to exploring the infinite potential of our mind from Buddha’s perspective. In this book, author Ryuho Okawa shows how we can apply the essential teachings of Buddha to our lives and cultivate deep wisdom and promote a happy, peaceful everyday life.”
This is the first section of the description of this book provided on Netgalley. Please be aware that I cannot speak for the entirety of this book, as I stopped reading after the first section (6 chapters). However, from what I did manage to get through, was most definitely not an excellent guide to anything, let alone Buddhism as I understand it.
I read for a while, getting increasingly confused and irritated, and found myself thinking “This sounds like a cult handbook” and then I looked up the author and the Happy Science movement, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a cult handbook…allegedly.
What I thought…
The first thing that set me off in this book was the authors constant need to differentiate between Buddhism and I suppose every other religion, although it specifically mentions Christianity, and boy does it keep going on about it. It starts off by saying that there are 2 types of religion, one type treats god and man as separate things. Man cannot become god no matter what they do. The other type doesn’t, apparently.
Now I have to point out, I know there are some esoteric forms of Buddhism out there and I don’t for a minute pretend I understand them all but then the book starts saying things like this.
“Buddhism teaches the integration of human beings with God.”
‘A “buddha” is someone who has experienced a human life on Earth and returned to the other world to live there as a high spirit with divine powers.’
“Just as diamonds are graded, people settle in different dimensions in the other world depending on how polished their souls are.’
‘A person who has attained a seventh-dimension level of enlightenment in this world will return to the world in the seventh-dimension…’
‘…some souls have evolved while others have not.’
“Buddha let this universe unfold under a single law.’
‘…human beings are surrounded by two worlds, this three-dimensional world and the other world. This latter world is the original home of human beings and so is also called “the real world.”
“Who is the one who can save herself? She is a god.”
‘By learning and mastering the laws, we can save ourselves; in other words, we can become divine spirits.”
And my personal favourite:
“Today, there are numerous sects that call themselves Buddhist, but their teachings are a long way from the true teachings of the Buddha.”
All this is mixed together with words like ’cause and effect’, ‘reincarnation’, ‘causality’ and ‘spirituality’ to give it an air of respectability. The chapters are short and repetitive, repeating the same basic theme, which for part 1 was cause and effect and blends it with weird vaguely spiritual buzzwords and feel-good “you could be a magic Buddha wizard if you buy my book” kind of vibes. Oh, and the author continues to constantly point out how ‘different’ Buddhism (or whatever this is) is from other religions, especially the Abrahamic ones.
The preface to the book also includes some particularly unsettling red flags:
“This book will serve as an excellent guide for those who are long for the mystical world of religion…”
“…reading this book is proof that you are…a real intellectual.”
“True religion teaches…”
“…reached a higher perspective…”
To be honest, I should have stopped reading as soon as I finished that page, but I thought I’d give it a chance. I think pretty much everyone will understand why these statements and others like them set off alarm bells in my head.
Final Thoughts…
Usually I would give book a rating from 1/2 a button to 5 buttons depending on how much I liked it (or not).
I have never give a ‘NO!‘ before. It’s not for me to tell you to not buy a book, you buy what you want – usually – but this book just set off alarm bells in my head, and considering it’s supposed to be a factual, religious book (if you feel the need to debate my use of the word factual in relation to religion, do it somewhere else please) and quite frankly that is a problem. I would hate somebody to go away with this book and think this is what Buddhism is. I’m not saying none of it is, but it most certainly isn’t like any Buddhism I’ve ever come across.
Frankly, all this book needed was a mention of Orgones (Youtube: Peep Show - Jez Joins a Cult) for me to set my kindle on fire to remove the taint.
Ultimately, you read it if you like. Call it research, or maybe it just appeals to you, it’s not my place to judge. But personally it sets my teeth on edge.
___________________________________________
Please Note: I received a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained within are my own and have not been influenced by any external entity!
November 14, 2018
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This is my first book by Ryuho Okawa. I see online that he has authored many books. He’s a class and concise writer. I may read more of his books in the future.
This book is divided into short sections. The first section emphasis the law of cause and effect. I’ve never heard the dharma be described this way and it makes sense. The second section discusses Buddha-nature, and this particularly interested me because of the correlation between my happiness and the happiness of other living beings. The third section focuses on Zen meditation. I didn’t realize the importance of self reflection when beginning a meditation. The fourth section is on transcendental wisdom and the fifth section is on egolessness. Sections 6-8 are among the same lines.
I like the teachings of Buddhism but I’m not on board with reincarnation, which this book talks about a lot. So, in that sense, I may not be the right audience. If you have faith in life after desk, you may like this book.
This book is divided into short sections. The first section emphasis the law of cause and effect. I’ve never heard the dharma be described this way and it makes sense. The second section discusses Buddha-nature, and this particularly interested me because of the correlation between my happiness and the happiness of other living beings. The third section focuses on Zen meditation. I didn’t realize the importance of self reflection when beginning a meditation. The fourth section is on transcendental wisdom and the fifth section is on egolessness. Sections 6-8 are among the same lines.
I like the teachings of Buddhism but I’m not on board with reincarnation, which this book talks about a lot. So, in that sense, I may not be the right audience. If you have faith in life after desk, you may like this book.
September 10, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-Arc copy of this book.
Personally, I didn't know a lot about this type of spiritual teaching before I read this book. It is a very easy to follow and enlightening book about spiritual teaching for your own personal development. I really found the ability to understand the teaching of Buddhism and great foundational point for me. The Chapter on Egolessness was important because we view ourselves so centrically that we cannot fathom the idea of being without ego. The author delves into the fact that without ego we wouldn't need discipline, so in actuality ego does exist in Buddhism. I think for anyone who truly wants to understand, maintain, or explore the mind this book is a great addition to the world of grasping new teachings.
Personally, I didn't know a lot about this type of spiritual teaching before I read this book. It is a very easy to follow and enlightening book about spiritual teaching for your own personal development. I really found the ability to understand the teaching of Buddhism and great foundational point for me. The Chapter on Egolessness was important because we view ourselves so centrically that we cannot fathom the idea of being without ego. The author delves into the fact that without ego we wouldn't need discipline, so in actuality ego does exist in Buddhism. I think for anyone who truly wants to understand, maintain, or explore the mind this book is a great addition to the world of grasping new teachings.
January 6, 2026
This book is all over the place. I actually chose to donate it half way through because there was no chain linking the author's ideas. it was clear the author was educated in the field but not a writer.
Wasn't the "guide" I was looking for to learn more about Buddhism.
Wasn't the "guide" I was looking for to learn more about Buddhism.
September 13, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-Arc copy of this book.
Personally, I didn't know a lot about this type of spiritual teaching before I read this book. It is a very easy to follow and enlightening book about spiritual teaching for your own personal development. I really found the ability to understand the teaching of Buddhism and great foundational point for me. The Chapter on Egolessness was important because we view ourselves so centrically that we cannot fathom the idea of being without ego. The author delves into the fact that without ego we wouldn't need discipline, so in actuality ego does exist in Buddhism. I think for anyone who truly wants to understand, maintain, or explore the mind this book is a great addition to the world of grasping new teachings.
Personally, I didn't know a lot about this type of spiritual teaching before I read this book. It is a very easy to follow and enlightening book about spiritual teaching for your own personal development. I really found the ability to understand the teaching of Buddhism and great foundational point for me. The Chapter on Egolessness was important because we view ourselves so centrically that we cannot fathom the idea of being without ego. The author delves into the fact that without ego we wouldn't need discipline, so in actuality ego does exist in Buddhism. I think for anyone who truly wants to understand, maintain, or explore the mind this book is a great addition to the world of grasping new teachings.
March 9, 2019
I wanted to read this book because I have been trying to meditate and I felt this would be a unique approach. This book was an enjoyable exploration of finding contentment in daily life. The discussion of the middle way was one of my favorite chapters. I found it interesting tolerant more about the teaching of Buddhism.
I received this galley from NetGalley.
I received this galley from NetGalley.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews