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3 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 This Book Smacks of Western Elitism Jun 21, 2010
Is not this type of blather, mainly propagated by science-worshipping, atheistic, material-rationalist, elitist, intellectuals? Have they not commandeered and co-opted, certain elements of Buddhism to serve primarily as a "moral framework" and as a "guide to daily living" for the general purpose of adding something meaningful to and consoling to their sterile, empty, hollow, vapid, and nihilistic worldviews?
Having said that, I actually see nothing wrong with this kind of phenomenon per se. But to consider nirvana/enlightenment, karma and rebirth, as nothing more than "useless baggage from the past" based on superstitious belief and the ignorance of 'infallible and almighty Western-Science,' makes it hard to call these people "Buddhist" in any sense of the word. I feel I know them reasonably well, as I used to travel in their circles and to be completely honest with myself- I'll admit I was one myself, of the worst sort. One of the self-styled iconoclastic and progressive thinkers, who are all quite eerily similar to one another in thought, deed, education, schools attended, book collections, social class, etc.. They can frequently be observed entering Unitarian Universalist churches, humanist groups/meetings of various sorts, and Ethical Society meetings, often gloating, drooling, and reveling in their intellectual superiority over the masses and in their atheistic superiority over the religious and faithful amongst us.
I myself came to Buddhism from this background- an atheism and science background (I'm an engineer for what it's worth), and like many others, for many years I could not accept the karma/rebirth model of existence. However, rather than my universally proposing that Buddhism be reworked and re-tooled for the `modern rational age,' I simply adopted certain Buddhist beliefs that I could accept at the time, and worked these into my life. Batchelor is somewhat my doppelganger- he has moved in a polar opposite direction from me, yet in some strange way I feel he is quite similar to me. If I understand correctly, he rushed out whilst barely out of his teens, to become ordained as a Tibetan monk, lived in India, studied Zen in Korea, etc. In contrast- It took me 20 years of studying Buddhism before even deciding to become a lay Buddhist, unaffiliated with any Buddhist school, order or movement. Batchelor appears to have been a hastily ordained Tibetan monk, soon after a disrobed Tibetan monk, tried Zen on for size, decided that didn't fit, and was eventually drawn to the scientific/atheistic worldview model, over many years of thought and consideration.
As for me, I came from an atheistic science worldview model to begin with. It's where I started from. After many years of study, questioning, and searching, I gradually accepted Buddhism and all its foundational thought, including rebirth, enlightenment/nirvana and karmic law. This was a gradual process for me, and this also appears the same in Batchelor's case; albeit us moving in polar opposite directions. "Opposite journeys" towards truth and liberation as it were.
I sincerely hope I am wrong in stating this, but it seems to me as if there is a good deal of Western, intellectual elitism at work here. By all means, adopt Buddhist teachings into your scientific/atheist worldview, but please, don't make the claim "My Buddhism is better than your Buddhism. "My Buddhism is based on rationality and science, whilst yours is based on ancient superstition and an outmoded worldview." "My Buddhism is pure in nature and entirely based on cold rationality and reason, unsullied by superstition, whilst your Buddhism has 'folk beliefs' mixed in and is therefore diluted, corrupted, and inferior." "My Buddha is Bigger than your Buddha!!!" Is this not what this group of misguided people, is actually saying here? Does not all this boil down to: "The Buddha was a victim of living in a culture/society that brain-washed him into believing in a karma/rebirth model he could not shake off?" "The Buddha's mind was not intelligent, advanced, or enlightened enough to shake off the concepts/trappings of karma and rebirth?" Whilst conveniently ignoring the fact that the Buddha discarded many other such "sacred cow" beliefs without hesitation. Anatma(no soul) being one key example. The Buddha also discarded the caste system when it comes to Buddhism, no easy feat for that culture and time period.
Does Batchelor, with all his surety and confidence, ever stop to think for one micro-second, that maybe it is *he* who is the product of his environment, social conditioning, schooling, Western academia, British culture and its legacy of racism and colonialism, Western thought, and the paradigmatic group-think, common amongst Western intellectuals? Or is he a special being who is somehow entirely immune from paradigmatic thinking and all environmental conditioning? Did the thought ever arise even once in his mind, that perhaps it is *he* who needs to change his solidly embedded, Western, rationalist worldview? Or is he so intent on shaving off the corners of Buddhism so it then fits into his nice and tidy, little Round-Hole of Atheism and Science? Am I wrong in stating that many believe that Buddhism is a buffet or smorgasbord of ideas, wisdom and teachings, where you pick and choose the concepts that you happen to you like, agree with, give you warm fuzzy feelings or are compatible with your pre-existing worldviews?
I find it somewhat interesting that Batchelor hails from Britain, which at one time not so long ago, colonized and ruled vast parts of the globe.. Mr. Batchelor, is this simply a case of us white, European, western-educated, rationalists and men of science, needing to teach these backwards Asians how "real Buddhism" actually works and how it needs to be implemented? After all, many of them even hail from Tibetan backwater villages and such, grew up in impoverished conditions, lack proper schooling, academic degrees, knowledge of rationalist philosophy, quantum physics, and beyond that, they are superstitious, believe in spirits, ghosts, fortune tellers, pray, bow to statues, and other non-scientific nonsense. It's our job to educate them about pure/genuine/original/rational Buddhism, and save them from their backward ways of practicing Buddhism, isn't it? Is there more truth in my comments than you would care to admit, my good Mr. Batchelor? Is your current quest, some type of modern, Buddhist based "White Man's Burden?" Those Asians who have been studying, practicing, refining, and perfecting Buddhism over the last 2,500 years, could not have possibly got things right without us modern, science-based, Westerners to improve upon it for them. Is that what you are saying Mr. Batchelor?
Batchelor also states something to the effect of- "I find rebirth hard to believe in and accept." Well great, so your solution is to change Buddhism so that several fundamental building-blocks of it, are abesnt and no longer bothersome to our western-trained, modern, rationalist minds? I find many things hard to believe as well- I find it hard to believe I am sitting here at my work-desk and traveling at approx. 800mph.(Earth's rotation) Or that my body is 99.9999999 empty space(spacial structure of the Atom) and that the solid feeling earth that I stand on, is also such empty space. However, all these things happen to be true.
I'll share an experience of mine- One nice, warm, summer evening, about ten years ago, I was strolling down one of the back-streets of Chinatown in NYC, away from the crowds and traffic, and I was passing by a storefront. Behind the front glass window of the small shop, sat a statue of the Buddha. An elderly Asian woman seemed to appear out of nowhere. She was approx 60 years of age, pencil thin to the point of emaciation, and very haggard and impoverished looking. She quickly stood facing the window, clasped her hands together as if in prayer, and quickly bowed three times to the Buddha's image, before quickly disappearing once again, into the urban jungle of NYC's Chinatown.
This occurred during the time I fancied myself somewhat of an Atheist-Scientist-Rationalist-Buddhist and for about ten minutes I thought to myself- How far superior is my understanding to her understanding. Did she study the sciences and have an engineering degree? Did she have a huge book collection of western philosophers, eastern philosophers, advanced physics, and did she understand where Buddhism intersects and stands within that great pantheon? Did she understand particle theory? Dark matter? String theory? Plato? Descartes? Sartre? All the great thinkers and philosophers of the ages? All the intricacies of interdependent origination? How dare she degrade and insult Siddhartha Gautama's teachings by merely bowing to his image as if he were a common God of some sort, to be prayed to, revered and worshipped. How dare this vile, tired, haggard, and skinny, old Asian woman, corrupt MY Buddhism with her primitive folk beliefs and her irrational superstition? At that very moment, I was Stephen Batchelor, I became Stephen Batchelor, or even worse!
After ten minutes of such thought, I became literally nauseated, sick to my stomach, and ill because of myself and my big, fat, ego and proud sense of self. And I had somewhat of an epiphany, regarding my own shallowness, egotism, ignorance, and lack of compassion- With all my stone-cold reason, hard science, rational facts, and intellectual B.S., who was it for me to question, cast doubt upon, consider more ignorant or less informed, any person's beliefs or practice? Maybe that old, skinny, woman, knows more about Buddhism than I do. Perhaps her practice and application of it is far superior or purer than mine. Perhaps she has developed more positive karma in her life than I have or ever will. Perhaps she could teach me many things about life and Buddhism. Perhaps she is a kinder person than I. Perhaps she is more compassionate than I. Perhaps she has helped others more than I. Perhaps she is further down `the path' than I am. At this point, I decided that I am not one to judge others in their beliefs and practices. I can only say what is right for me, and my path, and my beliefs. I am not here to denigrate anyone else's path or write books claiming "mine is superior" for such and such reason...
"Cherry picking" Buddhism for certain agreeable concepts, whilst rejecting certain main foundational concepts, and still calling it `Buddhism' can be quite insulting to the Sangha and Buddhist community. Call it for what it is- Make up a new term for it- "Atheistic-Buddhism" perhaps, or "Scientific-Buddhism.". I could accept those terms being used to describe it. Referring to it as simply `Buddhism' and presenting it as having anything to do with traditional or historic Buddhism, is quite foolish and erroneous..
 Distillation of the Essence of Buddhism Jun 09, 2010
Mr. Batchelor simply separates the wheat from the chaff in this book: what is essential, and novel about the Buddha's teaching, as distinct from the many other mystical, Brahmic, and animistic belief systems that existed during his life. He has laid a path for a very Western appreciation of Buddhism, one stripped of so much of the cultural accoutrements of the Eastern schools, and this is likely essential for the continued success of Buddhism in the West. Mr. Batchelor's work is very divisive, and that is an indication of not only its relevance to modern Buddhists, but also it's importance in shaping the future of Buddhist practice.
good explanation of basic buddhism May 29, 2010
Buddhism is often confusing to people because there are several branches of it. The author stips it down to the basic philosophy. Well written and good introduction to those not very familiar with the topic.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Everyone should read this. Apr 05, 2010
Everyone, regardless of their religion, spirituality, or lack thereof should read this book. Short and to the point. Basic. I really appreciate the agnostic approach and the straightforward language. There's no trying make it fit in with a religion (or lack of religion for that matter) or metaphoric jargon to obscure the basic message - and the basic message is what you get here.
If your new to Buddhism I would recommend this and Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner.
Not only is this the most important (to me) book I've ever read but the only one I've read more than twice.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Buddhism for 21st Century Mar 13, 2010
Stephen is spearheading an important movement to re-awaken us to the essential core teachings of the Buddha, which is about awakening to our own true nature and see how we creat inner violence and outer violence through blind attachment to opinions, beliefs and dogma. This is exactly what the Buddha wanted us to do. To read more about mindfulness meditation and the process of awakening presented in this new non-domatic approach, I also recommend 'The Path of Mindfulness Meditation' available through Amazon.
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