Conversations with Buddha

by Joan Duncan Oliver

A fictional dialogue based on biographical facts

Bord Siddhartha Gautama 2,500 years ago, the Buddha would become one of the world's greatest spiritual leaders. As the teacher of "the middle way", he devised the Eightfold Path to enlightenment, leading to the Four Noble Truths - a set of ideologies and practices to rid the mind of corruption, with a view to compose one's desires and send one on the path to nirvana. The Awakened One's teachings show us how to deal with our emotions and cravings, and find inner peace in spite of them.

This fictionalised conversation, imagined by one of the world's leading experts on Budhism, presents the essential biography of its famously wise founder. In this relaxed chat, the Buddha tells us what he thought about impermanence, karma, mindfulness, compassion, love, and everything else that leads us toward a true understanding of the cosmos and ourselves.

Genres: Nonfiction, Buddhism

116 pages, Hardcover

Published November 12, 2019

Reviews

[Nawrin Boshra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to be the person who goes into a bookshop, picks up a book and finishes reading it there. But somehow I didn't do it after shifting to Europe. Finally I'm back on track of doing so. Went to Passa Porta (Brussels), and finished this book there.

I actually know quite a bit about Buddha's life, so this book could not provide me with anything new. But for newbies who want to know about Buddha or Buddhism, this can be a good and easy read.  

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different way to get information about the Buddha - in an interview format. There is some biography information at the beginning then goes into an interview. Really nice way to get information if not wanting to go into the nonfiction books out there. Nice series.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 read for me.

It's definitely an interesting format. This takes the form of a dialogue between the Buddha and an interviewer, like at a symposium instead of a newscast. It's didactic tone is not overhanded, but also just slightly more than necessary. The Buddha comes across even and mostly calm. There are a few times where it seems he's almost amused at the interviewer's ignorance about a topic. I could absolutely be reading too much into this.

The content is good, if basic. It's conveyed well. I wish some aspects would have been explored more, explained with more detail and more clarity. But, this is a rather basic primer to Buddhist philosophy. And in that, it gets the point across nicely. I just wish this was more of a dialogue, exploring the interviewer's viewpoint as well as Buddha's. In some respects, this is like a Plato/Aristotle dialogue where a character asks the philosopher a series of questions to answer, but it is still a Q and A session more than a dialogue.

This is very good and that's why I upped my score to a 4 star. It is pleasant and short. A taste of Buddhist philosophy "directly" from the Buddha himself.

[Arun Jawarlal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Great novelty of this book is that Buddha speaks back to the author and answers seemingly interesting questions like, "Why do you profess celibacy?", "Why did you abandon your family?" Or "How can you advise married people when you abandoned your family?"
Most of them are common sense answers if we know the life of the Buddha.
I expected more depth and more nuanced questions and answers from this book. Sigh.

[Putu Winda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddha once said “He who sees me sees the Dharma, and whoever sees the Dharma sees me”
I’ve always been drawn to Buddha’s enlightenment journey.
An abridged version of Buddha’s biography and Buddhism. A good start if you want to go deeper.

[Anthony Philosophos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book if you wish to learn about the like and philosophy of Buddha. I was glad I read it and learned much.

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This provided a quick idea of what the Buddha's approximate teaching are based on research and presented as a Q&A. Buddhism seems to boil down to mindfulness, generosity, detachment from desire, and seeking inner happiness/nirvana/enlightenment. It is actually more Jedi-like than anything I've ever read and I'm eager to read more Buddhist books in the future.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conversations with Buddha is a concise and interesting book on Buddha. It is a good book for those interested in learning Buddhism.

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could understand the life of Buddha, and it's a short summary of his life and believes. However, for me, sometimes it was boring, and was difficult at the end to finish it.