Gary’s Comments (group member since Apr 07, 2008)

Gary’s comments from the Buddhist group.

forgiveness by thich nhat hanh
confessions of an atheist by stephen bachelor


p s
(am always more than happy to answer questions or criticism regarding complete idiot's guide to buddhism)

Dan wrote: "Nevermind ...

never mind
— no matter

no mind
— never matter

( & as you know "complete idiot's" and "dummies" are merely series names ... actually in Greek an idiot simply meant a layperson ... ) ...

anyways, please enjoy the library copy & let me know if you have any question comment criticism etc

It's always important for me to hear from a reader >.....

In my humble opinion, Siddhartha seemed colored by Herman Hesse's Protestant views, but still — very advanced for its time, and with wisdom for today. Since you are already reading another Buddhist book now, I won't recommend another (until you're done w/ this one, in one way or another). And, as an *author* myself of a guide book to Buddhism, I can tell you with *authority* that Buddhism is not in books ...

;-)

And this is place for discussing books, so ... onwards ( and in words ) ...

"Has anyone ever read Living Buddha, Living Christ?

yes, and hundreds of thousands have and still are ... it's quite popular, altho' the other two books in the series have been less so, for various reasons.

"I'm reading it and Thich Nhat Hanh keeps talking about Jesus as if he actually was a divine god, and the Holy Spirit is..."

Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh is very much a Buddhist, and beloved by such notable Christian leaders as Thomas Merton, and Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, as a brother.

Personally, he opens my eyes to the Buddha within me, which is living buddha; same for Jesus. Howsoever Buddha or Christ may speak to you within you, I don't know, but ¿ are they that different in how they speak to all beings ?

palms joined _/|\_

.

seeing as buddhism influenced the 1st novel in japan why wouldn't it have influence on fiction elsewhere since ... genre or otherwise ... yr asking is itself "buddhist" & doubles the credibility of your concern ... my 2cents anyways ... am looking forward to reading ... ( wld be glad to post a review at patheos.com buddhist portal ) ... good luck w/ the launch ...

[odd ... good reads linked the first book to the dhammapada and the second to robinson crusoe ... heigh ho!:]

in finer degree of granularity, a buddhist philosophy of religion is strictly in the philososphy category. a book making links between buddhism and existential philosophy which i'm fond of is alone with others

as for books, what they said, above

also
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (this year's the 50th anniversary of suzuki roshi's coming to the west) this is on the top of most Best Buddhist Books lists

another chestnut:
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings


note: those are both in the zen zone. there's also vipassana (insight meditation); pure land (the largest school in the world, and in the west); tibetan (vajrayana); nicheren, and soka gakai; etc. the first that treats all but the last equally and in depth is my own humble tome ...The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buddhism, 3rd Edition but then i'm divinely proud -- and you can read the second edition absolutely FOR FREE at books.google.com [just look it up by my name:]. for more info: http://word.to

(remember: a book about buddhism is like a spoon. you also want to taste the soup itself.

to put that another way, the best book on buddhism ... is in your own heart, written with your life, on a large scroll called time. enjoy!)

howdy everyone
i practice in the tradition of thich nhat hanh

this has been the busiest month of the year for me, and i just discovered this group, thanx to otis chandler. so i'll be monitoring ["lurking"] for a while, but wanted to intro myself to the diverse sangha

my sangha is at the church for the fellowship for all peoples , where i facilitate sitting meditation, walking meditation, q/a, usually last sunday of the month: next time you're in the neighborhood, please: stop by

because i'm a writer, my practice seeps through there too :
E.G., am editor: what book ~ buddha poems from beat to hiphop now only available either used, as print-on-demand from amazon, or ... as a slightly abridged online version [because it's semi-out-of-print] on books.google ... free ... [proving that what ever is published eventually gets un-published?]

and similarly, you can read most of the first edition of my the complete idiot's guide to buddhism , for free online at books.google as there's now a revised edition -- much better, imho ... known by name as complete idiot's guide to understanding buddhism, second edition . two "insider / author tips" : it's the first book i know of to tell about theravada, zen, pure land, [and vajrayana. what [author: joseph goldstein] has since called one dharma [fenixbird, if you're probably wondering right now: why didn't i include nichiren ... well it's only 'cos nichiren's "new buddhism" primarily; that's not a perjorative decision at all, just logistics; nichiren is very deep, very marvelous ... as you know]

the other author tip: this is two books really. first 1/2 = "living buddhism" [buddha - dharma - sangha] ; second 1/2 = "buddhist living [personal relations, work, food, arts, society etc].

i love to write and read, teach and share haiku

and i work with a website y'all might like to peep: the buddhist channel, for daily news [the 'good news']

my home page, http://word.to

my buddhist emoticon: palms joined

  _/|\_