Buddhism for All: The Joyful Path to Enlightenment

by Chade-Meng Tan, Soryu Forall

International bestselling mindfulness author and early Google engineer Chade-Meng Tan (Meng) teams up with admired American Buddhist abbot Soryu Forall to bring you this vital guide to Buddhism. Meng and Soryu carefully pored over the entirety of the early Buddhist texts (EBTs) to faithfully deliver their profound wisdom, packaged with Soryu's incisive sagacity and Meng's uncanny ability to explain deep concepts humorously and understandably. This book is personally blessed by the Dalai Lama, and vetted and approved by other highly esteemed Buddhist masters, some of whom praise its daring scope, both in breadth and depth. Within this book are the essentials about Buddhism that everyone needs to know.

Genres: Philosophy, Buddhism

487 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2023

About the author

Chade-Meng Tan (Meng) is Google's Jolly Good Fellow (which nobody can deny). Meng was one of Google's earliest engineers. Among many other things, he helped build Google's first mobile search service, and headed the team that kept a vigilant eye on Google's search quality. His current job description is, "Enlighten minds, open hearts, create world peace".

Outside of Google, Meng is the Founder and (Jolly Good) President of the Tan Teo Charitable Foundation, a small foundation dedicated to promoting Peace, Liberty and Enlightenment in the world. He is a Founding Patron of Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). He is also a Founding Patron of the World Peace Festival, and adviser to a number of technology start-ups.

Meng earned his MS in Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He went to Santa Barbara mainly for the beach, but didn't mind the graduate degree either. He considers himself a Buddhist "on most weekdays, especially Mondays". He is an avid meditator, because meditation facilitates in him inner peace and happiness "without doing real work". Meng occasionally finds himself featured on newspapers. He was featured on the front page of the New York Times and delivered a TED talk at the United Nations. He has met three United States Presidents, Obama, Clinton and Carter. The Dalai Lama gave him a hug for his 40th birthday. His personal motto is, "Life is too important to be taken seriously".

Meng hopes to see every workplace in the world become a drinking fountain for happiness and enlightenment. When Meng grows up, he wants to save the world, and have lots of fun and laughter doing it. He feels if something is no laughing matter, it is probably not worth doing.

Reviews

[retroj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been looking for a good book to recommend to people as a starting point for Buddhist philosophy, and I think this is the one. It is an entertaining read that covers all the basics of the history, the philosophy, the practice, and answers common questions, and provides the terminology that will make it easier to continue into more technical resources on Buddhism. It is filled with good advice, touching and inspiring stories, and communicates effectively why Buddhism is relevant and important for our modern lives.

[VP76363 Fung Siong Ma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complete and very accessible guide to Buddhism

Referencing from the earlier texts of Buddhism, closely aligned to the original teachings of the Buddha, a wonderful and enjoyable read. Please be patient with the concepts introduced, they’re condensing a very large set of Buddhism scriptures into this book. Grateful to Meng & Soryu for their gifts to the world. 🙏

[Alik Shy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I'm a bit Buddhist, thanks!