Confession of a Buddhist Atheist

ISBN: 0385527071

Author: Batchelor, Stephen

Condition: New

Does Buddhism require faith? Can an atheist or agnostic follow the Buddhas teachings without believing in reincarnation or organized religion?This is one mans confession.In his classic Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor offered a profound, secular approach to the teachings of the Buddha that struck an emotional chord with Western readers. Now, with the same brilliance and boldness of thought, he paints a groundbreaking portrait of the historical Buddha-told from the authors unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker. Drawing from the original Pali Canon, the seminal collection of Buddhist discourses compiled after the Buddhas death by his followers, Batchelor shows us the Buddha as a flesh-and-blood man who looked at life in a radically new way. Batchelor also reveals the everyday challenges and doubts of his own devotional journey-from meeting the Dalai Lama in India, to training as a Zen monk in Korea, to finding his path as a lay teacher of Buddhism living in France. Both controversial and deeply personal, Stephen Batchelors refreshingly doctrine-free, life-informed account is essential reading for anyone interested in Buddhism.