Customer Reviews

Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The story of the prince who awakened to become the Buddha is one of the most dramatic and compelling stories of all time. Deepak Chopra, a well-known and loved voice in the self-help arena, has a new book out that beautifully lets us experience just what the life of the Buddha was like as he embarked on his spiritual journey. We can really feel the natural internal conflict that he goes through as he seeks both wisdom and transformation. Deepak is a gifted writer. I'm sure you have read many of his non-fiction work; I have a whole "Deepak" bookshelf at my house! "Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment" is a novel, and an inspiring read. As an added kind of "bonus" to all of us on the path who crave nonfiction, Deepak has included a guide with commentary and teachings on core Buddhist principles. This book is destined to be a classic. And I could totally see it being turned into a movie. Two thumbs up from me!

Like an "on the spot reporter" Deepak Chopra tells the story of the Buddha as if he had been there. Did he draw these memories from his past? Was he was one of the monks who knew and shared Siddhartha path to Buddhahood? Possibly-- or perhaps he received his information from the Akashic field? How else can one explain how he could tell this story with such deep understanding? For those of us who aspire to know the same Truth that Siddhartha sought, this story - written as a novel, becomes an important Teaching... for within it's pages lies the wisdom to consider the "human condition" and compassionately realize what we must all overcome on our way to Enlightenment. The Buddha depicted as the symbol of compassion, serenity and peace is honored more fully because of Deepak Chopra's words...they remind us all of what it takes to become a Buddha and encourages us to continue on. I highly recommend this book.

This book is disappointing on many levels. The prose is overly flowery, and attempts to Hollywood-ize the life of the Buddha, filled with details of be-headings, 'magic tricks' performed after enlightenment, etc. Chopra could have taken advantage of his reputation as a leader in the field of mind/body studies and skill as a writer to try to get some of the fundamental teachings of the Buddha across, but instead writes an 'action movie' type of account, spending far too long on the princely childhood (filled with gratuitous violent images), and hardly any time discussing the period after Buddha's enlightenment, which was the majority of his life and where he expounded his teachings. Rather, Chopra makes it look like enlightenment provides magic powers. THE classic fictionalization of the Buddha's life is Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, a wonderful book. If you're looking to learn more about the teachings for inner peace, see: Thich Nat Hahn's The heart of the Buddha's Teaching and The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka by William Hart....or to see how these teachings transform lives, check out the film Dhamma Brothers.

Chopra's best contribution to Buddhism in this book is his honest assessment of Buddha's non-God position. But then he goes on to write about Buddha's encounter with good & evil spirits, which of course parallels the theistic religions. Then he attributes miracles to the Buddha, which, like the miracles of Jesus, cannot be verified except for "a long, long time ago, someone said it happened." He also writes that our everyday experience with suffering is not "real," but rather, what you are experiencing is a "dream state." This is a New-Agey way of dealing with suffering. Buddha made the human experience of suffering the center piece of his analysis of the human condition. So therefore, suffering IS NOT just some figment of the human imagination. When the suicide bomb blows off your arms & legs, it's the real thing period. So if you're interested in the absolute power of non-metaphysical, knock your socks off, no frills, by golly I can do this enlightenment stuff too -- kind of Buddhism, then read "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki and "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse.

To start, I did not finish this book. SO, there may be more merits to it than I am giving here.

I have a problem with constructing this story about the buddha with made up characters and situations. My understanding is that, no, we do not know all the facts about Siddhartha's life. Perhaps the details of the Buddha's life are sparse, but more is not needed to understand the teaching of buddhism. And we cannot know more, so why go on with this farce? This character written by chopra is supposed to give us a sense that the buddha was human, and mortal as we are. But nothing about any other buddhist PHILOSOPHICAL teaching suggests that he's anything else.
This book will not really help you begin to study Buddhism.

I could not keep reading as the story progressed because the writing got worse, and the situations seemed too contrived. Chopra here seems to think that he has a better understanding of buddha "the man" than others can attain from basic buddhist readings.

For a real introduction into buddhist philosophy, please visit a temple or read "what the buddha taught" by walpola rahula, or The "Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan" edited by WIlliam Theodore de Bary.

Perhaps if you know nothing of buddhism, this may give you some insight. My concern is that there are so many situations and characters that are made up, that you may get fact and truth mixed up in further study. Many stories of the buddha's life are fantastical. Just remember that the Buddha wanted his TEACHINGS to be remembered and not facts of his life. He taught philosophy, ways to think of yourself in your body and in the world, not religion. Buddha never claimed to be more than a man.

The purpose of this book is to communicate, through the story of Buddha, what it means to be aware. The author presents an awake person, Buddha, and shows that he is not different than you. Buddha is you. You are Buddha.

At one level this book is a beautifully written, entertaining, moving novel. I was captivated by Chopra's storytelling. At a deeper level we find the teaching of Buddha set forth: the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. At the deepest level, this book is about you, a you that is illusory.

Deepak Chopra's point of view is stated as follows, from the book: "Whatever can be seen, heard, or touched is unreal. Whatever you cling to as permanent is unreal. Whatever the mind can think of is unreal. Does that leave anything free from the withering grip of illusion? No." ... "...this book has been a kind of seduction, coaxing the reader step by step toward a vision that none of us was brought up to see. Through the eyes of Buddha, the root of suffering is illusion, and the only way out of illusion is to stop believing in the separate self and the world that supports the separate self. No spiritual message has ever been so radical. None remains so terribly urgent." I'm going to return to this statement toward the end of this review and give it some perspective.

There are three sections of the novel. In the first part, the first 29 years of his life, we meet Buddha as the Prince Siddhartha. The second part occupies the next six years and tells of Buddha as a wandering monk. In the third part we meet the enlightened Buddha.

The road that makes up this story is built with the stones of love, death, war, karma, hatred, envy, violent passion, loneliness, fear, father-son and husband-wife relationships, friendship, betrayal, gurus, life as a dream, psychology, enlightenment, and the nature of reality; Hindu ritual, desire, pain, suffering, personal demons, weakness of the mind, strength of the mind, Yoga, meditation, the void, peace.

The story of Buddha unfolds, scene after scene, like an epic movie. Reading this book, you will feel as though you are watching a classic film.

At the end of the novel there is an effortless transition from the fictional novel to the non-fictional teachings of Buddha and Deepak Chopra. This transition is an important part of the book. It reminds one of the shift we all experience daily from the dreaming to the waking state. We can make use of observing that transition if we become curious as to who or what it is that is making the observation. In watching that transition we become like Buddha watching demons and fear turn to something ordinary and real.

At some point it becomes clear that this novel is about you. Being a world teacher, Deepak Chopra is concerned with the individual, with you. All his books, as far as I know, are about teaching you something, expanding you. With this book Chopra has gone beyond presenting spirituality as a way of enhancing your life. Now he presents a teaching that undermines your life. But, in the end, it frees you even more than you could have imagined.

What Chopra says about Buddha applies to himself and to us: "He had found his freedom, and in freedom everything is permitted." Chopra has always come from that place of freedom, but perhaps he has not so boldly said so. This book is subversive, radical, and undermining. Like Hesse's book Siddhartha, Deepak Chopra's Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment, is personal. It could change people by penetrating their consciousness.

Jerry Katz

If you're looking for entertaining historical fiction, this may hit the mark. If you're looking to be inspired with how to evolve spiritually as did Siddhartha, into the Buddha, then this is the perfect book for you.

Buddha, who lived in a time of oral, not written tradition, has many differing accounts of his life now in print. Deepak Chopra's historical novel takes the most agreed-upon facts and adds his interpretation of Buddha's emotions and experiences. At once, Buddha becomes a more understandable figure, and the Buddhist philosophy more approachable to the reader.

Chopra reimagines the early life of Siddhartha, who left his princely throne to seek spiritual enlightenment. This novel is replete with evil gods, bloody battles, and a taste of the Indian culture of the time to capture the reader's interest. This tome on the inner thoughts and motivations of Buddha traces each step in the journey that led Siddhartha to cast off his material life and reach enlightenment. In this way, Chopra illustrates, rather than preaches, the principles of Buddhism - that the root of suffering is illusion and belief in the separate self.

At the end of the book, there is an epilogue that explains the basic tenets of Buddhism for those who want to follow this path.

Chopra should stick to non-fiction. It's what he's good at. This one is his first attempt at fiction. The imagery is lacking and the characters are dull. Chopra has a knack for explaining the nuances of philosophy but phones in much of the story. There isn't anything here you can't pick up on on the web, and I question the historical accuracy of the novel.

As a novel, this is an awkward book that does not succeed as a fantasy. Fortunately, it doesn't have to, because we know that there was a man called Siddhartha, son of King Suddhodana. Judged as an imaginative melding of myth with philosophy with fact, this becomes a riveting story of one of the most fascinating figures in human history. By showing us the life and spiritual quest of the Buddha, Deepak Chopra has made Buddhism both approachable and comprehensible.

The demons and otherworldly visions come straight out of Indian tradition and serve to set this book aside from other works like Hesse's Siddhartha which heavily filter the material through a Westernized perspective.

Buddha comes across as a boy who didn't get along with all his playfellows, a son who disappointed his father and a man so driven by his own spiritual needs that he left his young wife and baby son to pursue enlightenment on the road. And yet in all this humanity, there is the touch of miracle. By changing his own mind, Buddha changed the world. Chopra gives us this parable in showing us the man who embarked on a journey of the spirit and opened a way for the rest of us to follow.

trapped in the delusions of samsara, I shelled out good money for this book at an airport bookstore...when my spiritual advancement could have been better served by reading the Life section in USA Today. I'm sad because I like some of Deepak's other books, but this one is quite dreadful. If you want to read a fictionalized life of the Buddha, Siddhartha is brilliant, lovely, and actually about Buddhist ideas. I'm not sure what this mess is about.