AFTER the ABSOLUTE: Real Life Adventures With A Backwoods Buddha [Paperback]

David Gold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2002

Richard Rose was an unlikely Zen master: A rugged, plainspoken, ornery West Virginian, he scraped out a living raising goats, planting crops and painting houses. But Richard Rose had a secret: Having once vowed to "find the Truth or die trying," Rose experienced a cataclysmic spiritual awakening at age 30 that thrust him into "Everything-ness and Nothing-ness," or what he called "the Absolute." The experience left him with only one earthly desire: to do anything, for anyone, on a similar quest for Truth.David Gold was an unlikely student: An arrogant, ambitious and egotistical law-student, David Gold only agreed to meet the "enlightened hillbilly" in the hopes of showing him up. But when Rose turned the tables by seeing right through Gold and painting a devastatingly accurate picture of the fears and obsessions that ruled his life, a humbled Gold found himself hungry to know more.Thus began a remarkable 15-year adventure-part spiritual odyssey, part legal thriller-in which death threats, corrupt politicians, and life-threatening cancer run parallel to glimpses of the divine and extraordinary manifestations of timeless wisdom.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Gold was the founding partner of the law firm Gold, Khourey, and Turak and was a trial lawyer for over 20 years. He retired from law in 1989 and teamed up with fellow Richard Rose-student August "Augie" Turak to co-found the Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation (SKSF). Gold has taught at major universities, produced the award-winning documentary, "The Prison Sutras," and has lectured throughout the country. He currently volunteers his time to the SKSF as a teacher, advisor, and lecturer. Gold lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife Cathy, his daughter Abigail, and his dog Casey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 386 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (September 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595239943
• ISBN-13: 978-0595239948
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,100,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Buddha

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Insightful, December 16, 2002

By 

"stephaneb" (MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AFTER the ABSOLUTE: Real Life Adventures With A Backwoods Buddha (Paperback)

Reading this book has been a very pleasant and positive experience for me. Depending on where you are in your life and how much truth you can handle today, this book might be for you.
Let me share a few quotes that I extrated from it:

"The path to Truth only seems complex because we have to navigate the complexities and interferences of the mind. As these interferences are removed, the path becomes simpler. That's why one of the first things you need to do is get your house in order. Get your life organized to the point where you can at least think. Take an honest look at your life to see what's holding you up. Maybe it's fear, or an appetite, or a habit that no one else would consider destructive--and maybe it isn't destructive, except to the search."
...
"All you need is your own inner determination. Maybe a few words or lines in a book will help you, maybe they won't. But if something you hear appeals to your intuition, check it out. Prove or disprove it for yourself. Because when you get into these matters the only thing you have to go by is your intuition. And the more perfected your intuition becomes, the better you are at discrimination."
...
"The mistake people make is to wait for something to happen to them before they begin searching. They want the voice of God, or something, to tell them to get started. Or maybe they know they should be doing something but they procrastinate, hoping that tomorrow they'll have more conviction and be more determined. What they forget is there may be no tomorrow for them."
...
"I'd come to realize that if a man is ever going to grasp anything it won't be by learning. His being has to change. You are what you do, not what you know. A man never learns, he becomes. To become, you must find ways and means to change your entire state-of-mind. This in turn will lead to a change of being."
...
"When you finally realize that you're not doing anything in this life--that you're incapable of doing anything--then you stumble into a state of mindlessness that proves to be creative, that's all."
...
"The ego is the single biggest obstruction to the achievement of anything. Between-ness is the act of acting without ego. You act, but you are not the actor. You do things, but you are not the doer--and you know you are not the doer. It's the ability to hold the head at a dead standstill in order to effect certain changes. You desire the change, but you do not care if it comes to pass."
...
"Once a person has the formula, anything can be changed, even the future. Through determination, a man can discover how to completely change his destiny. There's thoughts--which are not yours, but come from elsewhere--and there gaps between thoughts. When you get into that gap between thoughts, you have the opportunity to completely reshuffle you life. This may sound impossible to you now, but try not to let your ignorance get in the way of understanding. I have just told you something of priceless value."

I'll stop here, but expect to find much more wisdom and insights in this book if you read it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely entertaining but surprisingly helpful and deep, January 12, 2006

By 

Mark Meyer (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: AFTER the ABSOLUTE: Real Life Adventures With A Backwoods Buddha (Paperback)

David Gold's book is wonderfully written and so interesting! I couldn't put it down. Not only are his life and struggles fascinating, but of course Richard Rose's character and words are trenchant and resonate with the truth of Zen.

One thing I've discovered, though, is that some of Rose's personal writings are a bit difficult to take. There was a paper "Prostaglandins and Morality" that I found on the web that was extremely homophobic and even misogynistic. This is very hard to reconcile with the image of Rose as an enlightened man, except to recall that even "enlightened" people are still imperfect human beings. David Gold's retelling of Rose's words, though, makes Rose sound a lot saner and more rational than some of these rantings in Rose's own words.

So enjoy the book, but just remember what Rose is reported to have said, "You are your teacher. You are responsible for your own path, your own enlightenment." (paraphrasing, sorry too lazy to look up the exact quote.) This of course echos some of Buddha's final words.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richard Rose Speaks The Truth, August 1, 2003

By 

"[e-mail]" (Cromhall, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AFTER the ABSOLUTE: Real Life Adventures With A Backwoods Buddha (Paperback)

I have been studying metaphysics and philosophy for quite a while with many powerful teachers. Rarely do you find a teacher like Richard Rose who so unflinchingly tells the truth. While many believe pursuing a life of bliss is the answer, Richard confirms my experience that life is often struggle and hard work. And it is only by going into those dark places, which he apparently was a master at creating for others, do we recover our wholeness and humanity. It is sad that some have chosen to slam this work for their own purposes. I don't know anything about organizations and all that, but I do know that Richard Rose spoke the truth as recorded by David Gold.