Just Finished Reading: Buddhism Without Beliefs – A Contemporary Guide to Awakening by Stephen Batchelor

This was an interesting little book that has been languishing on my bookshelf for quite a time now. Stephen Batchelor basically puts forward the idea that the Western mentality is more open to the non-mystical side of Buddhism and should concentrate on that rather than things little reincarnation. Such things, Batchelor asserts, are additions to Buddhism that can safely be ditched – because Buddhism was never intended to be a religion but was instead a methodology, as something to do.

This book is very interesting indeed and will reward re-reading at some point. It highlights the (obvious) point that life is suffering and poses the question: What are we going to do about it? Rightly, I believe, the author says that suffering is often caused by attachment. Ditch the attachment and you remove a powerful cause of pain. Of course this is much easier said than done! The book outlines some methods for recognising the causes of suffering and ways of reducing their hold on us. A lot of space is also dedicated to the Self – which according to Buddhist philosophy doesn’t actually exist. I can certainly appreciate their point and may indeed be coming around to their point of view (at least intellectually!).

I don’t think that this is a book you can (or should) simply read and forget. I think that the author is saying some important stuff here. This book has definitely increased my appreciation of Buddhist thought and maybe, just maybe, my understanding of it too. It’s an interesting philosophy that deserves the time and energy to explore. More to come on this topic I feel…..