Karen

Don’t believe everything you think

Revisado: 03-15-25

I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book, mostly a review of the science on the left brain/right brain dichotomy (all of which is covered in more detail in better books) and how it relates to Buddhist/Eastern philosophy, though some of the study results Niebauer cites as evidence have been called into question, as he admits. Kudos for honesty about that.

In the last third of the book, Niebauer goes all woo-woo, supporting psychic abilities (and warning the reader that skepticism about them is a left-brain ego defense). [SPOILER ALERT] Then he weaves a fantasy about the All being an anthropomorphic God who suffers from boredom, and created struggle, suffering and death in parts of itself (e.g., us) to entertain itself. Definitely not a very Buddhist conception, nor scientifically sound. Boredom and the need for conflict and danger are part of an evolutionary trick to keep us striving to survive long enough to propagate our genes. How would the cosmos (or “God”) experience such drives before it had any genes to propagate?

So overall, the book was entertaining, but not as philosophically serious or rigorously scientific as I expected and hoped.

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Scary as hell, but well-written

Revisado: 12-31-24

This book makes me glad I’m old. After having lived through what might have been the best time in history, past and future, to be alive, I won’t be around for whatever dystopia you kids build!

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Mind blowing

Revisado: 12-30-24

I loved both the poetry and the commentary. I am so grateful for the light that Stephen Batchelor casts on the Path with every book.

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Listen at 1.2x speed

Revisado: 12-29-24

I’m so grateful for Stephen Batchelor’s books. He has single-handedly lifted so many of the barriers that prevent most Western minds (mine, at least) from accessing the Buddha’s path.

This book is an extraordinarily frank autobiography interwoven with a biography of the Buddha and an exploration of Buddhist ideas from many ages, cultures and lineages. In it, one meets only flawed human beings (including Gautama himself), struggling to find solid ground in this life of dukha. The Buddha showed a path, and Batchelor has broadened and cultivated it for a new generation of seekers.

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Unbearable narration

Revisado: 12-02-24

It took more than 5 minutes to run out of patience for the narrator’s idiosyncratic speech pattern, with its weird emphases and very slow/very fast alternations that made speeding it up unlistenable. I didn’t hit my limit until 30 minutes into chapter one. This is a dense, highly technical book, which normally would not be a problem for me, but with the narration distracting me every other sentence, I just couldn’t focus enough to get anything out of it.

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Listen at 1.2x speed.

Revisado: 10-10-24

The best book I have encountered so far applying the Buddha’s teachings to Western minds and modern life. A great exploration and historical critique of the texts, revealing what the Buddha probably really taught vs. the distortions and additions of dogmatic beliefs by his followers, beginning even before his death.

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Appalled by both extremes?

Revisado: 06-24-24

As someone chronically distressed and depressed by the state of our culture and politics—ready to cry “a plague on both your houses!”—this book really resonates with me. I think Mr. Bruni hit the mark with his proposed solutions, though I am not optimistic enough about our national character to expect them to be widely implemented.
Nevertheless, a wise and well-written book.

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Best in the world of Elan

Revisado: 06-05-23

Read them all. This is the best yet. The ending was stunning, but right. A sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice if it doesn’t hurt. Penance isn’t penance without sacrifice.

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Lives up to the comparisons to Gaiman

Revisado: 10-29-22

Thank goodness the publisher and reviewers said Neil Gaiman fans would appreciate this book—I probably wouldn’t have looked twice otherwise. But they were right,at least in my case. The story, despite being about an orphaned teenage girl, was not typical angst-filled YA nonsense. It was well-written, compelling, imaginative and satisfying. As a bonus, the narrator sounds a lot like Gaiman—the kind of voice that is sweetly comforting even as the story is creeping you out. I’m looking forward to more from this author!

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Great until Husband #5, then awful

Revisado: 10-27-22

I was really enjoying this book until it went off the rails at Husband #5. I tried to stick it out, but with four hours left I just couldn’t take anymore. My eyes hurt from rolling so much.

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