The Feeling Buddha
David Brazier
first published 1997
Constable & Robinson
ISBN: 1 84119 351 8
£7.99 order now
This account explains how the Buddha's path of wisdom and loving kindness grew out of the challenges he encountered in life. It explores enlightenment, nirvana, and the Four Noble Truths, presenting a picture of the Buddha as a very human figure whose success lay not in his perfection, but in his method of positively utilizing the energy generated by personal suffering.
“ Stimulating and provocative . . . definitely worth reading whatever one’s Buddhist affiliation.” Ros Oliver,
“ Shows a deep and humanistic understanding of Buddhist psychology . . . an indispensable book.” Joy Manne, Self and Society
Amazon Reviews:
“ was already seeking the final pieces of the jigsaw and the Buddha's words at the back of this book delivered them. Brazier describes and illustrates his interpretation of these words in a way that is very accessible and, for me, absolutley agreeable. This is a brilliant introduction to what the Buddha discovered and came at the perfect time for me. This book changed my life by completing the jigsaw and bringing a period of enlightenment to my life.”
“ What did the Buddha really teach?,” August 8, 2003
“ If you're struggling with the religious and cultural adjuncts to Buddhism, those bits that make it seem like a mystical religion, instead of a practical and compassionate guide to life, then this is the book for you. I found it to be both lucid and groundbreaking. The authors reinterpretation of the Four Noble Truths is quite challenging. A must read for anyone with an interest in Buddhism. ”(Peter Currall from Leicester, UK )
“ A challenging and passionate look at Buddhist philosophy, this was a refreshing read,a book on Buddhism that didn't leave me feeling an unenlightened being! I may be of course, but I was encouraged by David Brazier addressing the reality of suffering in our everyday existence and the unlikelyhood of our being able to eliminate this. Rather by considering the four noble truths and the eight fold path he challenges us to convert this energy into passion and positive action. This easy yet challenging read focuses on our lives as they are lived and not on the more esoteric aspects of the Buddhist outlook. I borrowed the book but am now ordering my own copy!” ( Nick Prance from Nottingham)
Book Review: Brazier, D. (2001) The feeling Buddha: An introduction to Buddhism.
This book is well set out with a good contents page and an inclusive
index to enable the reader to navigate with ease. The glossary, notes
and bibliography are comprehensive and offer the reader an accessible
way to keep up with the introduction of new terms and point them in
the direction of further reading if they wish. A small book (only 207
pages including appendices) disguises the depth and wealth of
knowledge and information within.
Essentially, the book provides an interesting introduction to
Buddhism, specifically relating a novel interpretation of the four
noble truths.
The book is split into five parts, the first, `The
birth of wisdom', offers the reader an introduction to the origins of
Buddhism and a brief description of Siddhartha's enlightenment and
initial teaching `the first turn of the wheel of Dharma'. Within this
section, there is a justification for the unusual but refreshing
interpretation of the four noble truths by the author, based on the
cultural distortions of the audience, the attitudes of the
translators over time, and the particular stance of the author.
Part two entitled `Adversity' introduces the first noble
truth, `Dukkha' and offers a controversial theme that states that
suffering does not cease on enlightenment, rather, we should meet our
difficulties `nobly, having a "noble response to existential
reality". Although different to other writings on this subject, the
author weaves into his narrative examples of others experience
suffering and therapy which enables the reader to more easily
identify and empathise with the points he is making.
Part three entitled `Passion' discusses the second noble
truth, that of `Samudaya'; `that which arises', usually craving and
attachment, aversion or ignorance. He again intersperses his writing
with examples from his experience as a teacher and therapist and
allows the text to `come alive' and speak directly to the reader. He
talks about shame and emphasises being responsive and having feelings
rather than withdrawing in a detached way. Via the use of examples
such as the alms round, he links his description with Buddhist
practices which again, does more for the reader than a
straightforward academic text. It is within this section that he
introduces `Root relations' and describes greed, hatred and delusion
as the `three poisons', which underpin and perpetuate our experience
of Dukkha. The use of therapy and examples of key concepts such
as `transference' enable anyone familiar with these theories to
quickly appreciate Buddhism rich teachings about the human condition.
Part four, `Character' describes the third noble truth
of `Nirodha' and within this discusses the role of mindfulness
practice, containment and use of the energy of feeling and the role
of psychotherapy within this. Indeed, a subchapter describes the
essential differences and similarities between Buddhism and
Psychotherapy in a succinct and engaging way, allowing the reader to
reflect on their own practice as therapist or Buddhist. Touching on
Buddhist `Object Relations' the reader finds himself treated to many
examples and extremely useful thoughts such as "the way to confine
the energy of feeling is not to suppress, but detach from the
object", "create stillness without destroying the passion" and
finally, "Nirvana is the art of mastering the fire within us".
Part five describes the `Path', `Marga', and details the
noble eightfold path under separate subheadings, again using useful
examples and anecdotes to emphasise Buddhist practice. I was
particularly taken with the description of `Right Livelihood'; as a
therapist, with a family, getting a balance has always been a
struggle. The author skilfully introduces ideas that helped me think
about this differently. Likewise, `Right Effort' had a strong meaning
for me, linking with the third noble truth `Samudaya', paying
attention to the fire.
The central themes within the book appear to be that Buddha was not
teaching some kind of idealistic detachment from the suffering of the
world, nor was he teaching acceptance or perpetuation of
difficulties. Rather, he was saying that there is a `middle way'
which encourages us to embrace life, our natural and instinctive
emotions, and use them wisely in the world, seeing things for what
they are, not from the perspective of our conditioning or their
utilitarian value to us. Being mindful, meeting suffering nobly,
harnessing our energies, and cultivating love, wisdom and compassion,
is what he was actually teaching within what has become a complex
spiritual, philosophical, religious, theological, mythological and
perhaps even cosmological theory. The book ends with a chapter on
the "necessity of suffering" and lists ten propositions (often found
in Buddhist literature) that can be rejected if we accept the
author's interpretation of Buddha's essential message. Perhaps this
can be summarised with the quote, "The spiritual life consists of
mastering the fire. Affliction is the fuel for the fire."
Whilst reading this book I was fully engaged and despite
being familiar with many other versions of the teachings, was able to
find new perspectives within the authors thoughts and descriptions
that gave me pause for thought and reflection, sending me off to
cross reference certain ideas and think deeply about myself and my
own practice. Couched within Buddhism generally, one can see the Pure
Land influence in the authors examples and his description of his own
understanding of Right Livelihood. This is good and facilitates
debate between different perspectives.
This is a small, but extremely engaging and provocative book
that enables the reader to not only gain a useful introduction to
Buddhism in a compassionate and demystified way, but also, acts as an
initial bridge for any psychotherapist, teacher, nurse, medic to
understand the riches Buddhism has to offer to their endeavours
within their professional and personal life.
Mark Walker, Amida Distance Learning course student.
|
|
