After buddhism Rethinking the Dharma for a secular age

A long-time Buddhist scholar and teacher, Batchelor has once again pushed the envelope in Buddhism studies. The culmination of more than 20 years of research, After Buddhism presents a view of Buddhism based on a practical, worldly ethic as opposed to a complicated metaphysics. Utilizing multiple sources from the Pali Canon and emphasizing the stories of significant but underrepresented figures in the Buddha's life, Batchelor weaves together an understanding of a tradition that evolved from experience, trial, and even error. This refreshingly pragmatic view of the Buddha's early teachings allows readers to go beyond the dogmatic views of later interpretations and see a Buddhism that is ever evolving with the needs of the times and cultures with which it interacts--Buddhism whose teachings can be applied to a contemporary framework. Though Batchelor includes some technical terminology, the book will be accessible to most readers, including those with a general interest in Buddhism, yet prove interesting to professional scholars. A must read for those interested in the relevance of Pali Buddhist scripture as it applies to the modern world. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Nicholas Alexander Weiss, Naropa University

Zen teacher Batchelor (Confession of a Buddhist Atheist) argues that both sanitized and orthodox approaches to Buddhism undermine the ethical practices and intellectual rigor of what he considers to be the core of the religion. Batchelor sets out to delineate a "systematic theology" of Buddhism, whereby he reorients the emphasis away from nirvanic, enlightened transcendence and toward pragmatic living based on the dharma. He argues that through canonization and the passage of time, Buddhism became subject to orthodox viewpoints that only served to mystify and obscure its otherwise highly accessible ethics. Batchelor returns to the roots by examining the portraits of minor Buddhist characters, such as King Pasenadi and the traitorous Sunakhatta. By reconstructing their lives, his rationalist and logical approach reveals that the Buddha's world was vulnerable, tragic, and impermanent. Batchelor argues that for these characters, the Buddha's dharma teaching was primarily one concerned with "task-based ethics" rather than "truth-based metaphysics." He does not denounce enlightenment but rather grounds it in practical application, demystifying an otherwise abstract and metaphysical concept. Those looking for a serious, secular reexamination of Buddhist ethics that acknowledges religiosity will find this book highly intelligent, rigorous, and absorbing. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.