Customer Reviews

Buddhism, the Religion of No-Religion: The Edited Transcripts (Love of Wisdom Library)

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Transcribed from recordings of lectures by Alan Watts, this book contains the most dynamic and comprehensive introduction to Buddhism I have yet to read. I have plenty of books that try too hard to attack the novice readers with multiple Zen riddles and the "complexities that are not complex." By the time the curious readers get to the third chapter of such books, a fascinating subject dwindles away.

Not so with this book. The credit goes to both Alan Watts ---for his smooth and concise lectures--- and the person/people who edited the transcripts. The result is 98 pages of a keen and precise overview of Zen Buddhism, where concepts of "The Religion of No-Religion" and "The Middle Way" are easily accessible to readers who are going into the subject matter knowing nothing.

I especially liked the way Watts explains how the concept "The Cause of Suffering is Desire" is often misunderstood, emphasizing that when translated into English, "desire" might better be represented with words like "craving, clinging, or grasping." He then does an excellent narrative into the paradox of students trying to eliminate "desire" from their existence, only to learn they are still desiring something: not to desire. Watts walks the reader through these way-out riddles in a way few people can.

I would go as far to recommend this work above Alan Watts' better known "The Way of Zen" if this is your first venture into Buddhism. After reading this book, "The Way of Zen" is a great follow-up, and the other complex introductions to Zen Buddhism will begin to make more sense. Nothing esoteric here, just straight talk on Buddhism.

This is a collection of Watts' recorded lectures in which he lays bare with lucid description the most difficult Buddhist concepts.

Watts was great about overlooking "religion" to get the essence of something's metaphysics. This offers a portrait of Buddhism without it's overtly religious aspects.

Well i just recommend all of the works of Alan watts, he is realy the nummber 1 in modern philosophy and extremly good with words, that makes him very easy to undersatnd.

I was an utter emotional wreck after having recently stopped my anti-depressant. I remembered listening to Dr. Watts' lectures on the radio many years ago. After purchasing this book and beginning to read just the first few pages I immediately recognized, in this book, the same wit, humor and insight of his famous lectures. Almost to the point where, at the end of certain phrases or paragaphs, you can almost hear the late dr. laugh. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who remembers Dr. Watts' lectures, who is interested in Zen philosophy or especially to anyone who is searching for their spiritual or emotional center.

After first providing a sketchy Indian historical perspective, Alana Watts proceeds to describe the dialog that bridges Eastern Buddhism with Western Buddhism, that is, the way Westerners would most likely understand and think of Buddhism. Not to be found in the book are lengthy lists and sub-lists which characterize so many introductions to Buddhism, so it is not an introduction in that sense; instead, it attempts to lift and inspire the reader into Alan Watts' dream and imagination where his spirit of Buddhism resides. He successfully pries his way beyond Buddhist orthodoxy, doctrine, practice, and static tenets and into the world of Buddhism, a living dialog that can grow into every person and uplift each person into awakening in the true Mahayana spirit. Traditional religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, as part of their evolution into dispensers of doctrinal morality and social control, have become cluttered with appendages that obscure the true meaning. It is precisely this true spirit of Buddhism that Alan Watts captures: a) his description of rebel monks, their ideologies, their art; b) his personal forward looking interpretation of sutra passages; c) his distillation of doctrine into the quintessential. It's funny. This book is all about self-help through a religion which proclaims no self; and that, in a whimsical broad brush idea, is what Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion is all about. Despite that many practicing Buddhists might dislike the book because of its somewhat iconoclastic style, I highly recommend the book as one of his best.

This book explains PLAINLY and SIMPLY what exactly Buddhism actually is. It benefits the reader immediately. No wonder he is the "Master of Communication."

While reading this book, studying the "Concepts of Buddhism", they began to settle in my mind, coming through in my meditation. Without the "Concepts", meditation seems like autohypnosis. With these ideas from the Awakened One, meditation starts to have a lasting effect. I have had days of Nirvana without a thought in my head! I did feel as if there were no difference between myself and another. The time passed as if it were a dream. Silence. What a change from the noise that used ot go on. I owe it to Alan Watts. What an amazing man!

Used in conjunction with Alan Watts' audio cassette, "Alan Watts Teaches Meditation", this is the most practical and effective book I have ever read!

WOW!

I have read quite a few books on mindfulness, buddhism, and eastern philosophy in general. This book is rather academic, which I liked. It is not a technique oriented book. This is a book for individuals interested in the philosophy of buddhism, not necessarily for those looking for a "how to". Of course, philosophy and "how to" should go hand and hand.