Customer Reviews

Can Humanity Change?: J. Krishnamurti in Dialogue with Buddhists

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'Can humanity change' is overall a very good book which consists mainly of dialogues between J Krishnamurti and a number of Buddhist scholars (and others including David Bohm) discussing topics central to what the Buddha taught and Krishnamurti's own 'teachings'. It focuses on the similarity between the two and as in his usual style, Krishnamurti deflects the original question asked by Walpola Rahula (ie. Is not your teaching the same as the Buddha's?) because he sees it as irrelevant or inconsequental and goes on to what he sees as more important: why do people compare what he says with what someone has previously said - and more fundamentally, why do we compare at all. Unfortunately the dialogues do tend to become slightly tedious to read, as is sometimes the case when Krishnamurti holds these kinds of discussions, mainly because they become very drawn-out as he attempts to get a certain point across that seems to be far too subtle for the others involved in the dialogue. He also spends a lot of time, in effect, asking the others 'do you see this' ACTUALLY or are you just saying it from memory? - because you have read it somewhere or heard someone say it.

I have given the book four stars because the content of the dialogue is very insightful and of course concerns itself with the most important questions that humanity must consider. Buddhists may also find it very interesting and enlightening to read this, especially the parts where Krishnamurti and Walpola Rahula really getting into the deeper and more subtle parts of these vitally important topics.

In the same way that what Krishnamurti is saying challenges the other participants in the most all-embracing, fundamental way, these dialogues should challenge the reader that is really interested in going beyond their own personal, petty concerns to ask the question: Can I change? thus, can humanity change?

Dialogues seem to bring out many of Krishnamurti's fine points better than his public talks.

Krishnamurti is not concerned with opinion/conclusions. He is more concerned with your active paticipation and actual perception of things. Therefore, he is not there to offer opinion/conclusions. If you are looking for "answers", you may be disappointed. Because "answers" are too superficial. It is something you can get without being actively paticipating. It is something a lazy mind want.

In the above sense, the whole point of dialogue is to get everybody to actively paticipate the process of investigation right at the moment, while the conversation is going on. In such case, questions are much more imprtant than answers.

Because of this, the book will make sense to you only if you are willing to paticipate the investigation as well. This means, when Krishnamurti ask a question in the book, you as a reader would also actually ask that question to yourself. If you would ask the question to yourself seriously, that means without supplying "second handed answers", without answering the question simply by your opinion/conclusions, but rather to look into the question afresh, then, the meaning of the book will begin to show.

This book is a recording of a series of conversations that J. Krishnamurti had with a group of Buddhist scholars.

If you are familiar with J.K., then you will find the first half of the book very entertaining. J.K. is quite blunt with these well respected scholars. :)

Then the book becomes very boring as the Buddhists struggle to understand the simplest concepts that J.K. brings up. Little progress is made conversationally. Ironically, this is probably the most important part of the book. There is an implied "moral to the story" here. You must see the moral using your own intuition. This is not a book to be read over and over or studied. Unless you are purely intellectual, it would be much better to instead, read his other books such as "this light in oneself" or "on love and lonliness".

I gave it 3 stars because the concepts that the reader is left with after reading the entire book are written in J.K's other books and take up just a few pages.

A good read for one who is interested in the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and Buddhist world view. Transformation NOW remains as the underlying intention as J. interacts with others of similar mind. Best if read mindfully.

Reading this gave me the same feeling reading Plato did in school; one is left with the impression that nothing useful has been said, that one has simply witnessed clever exchanges. All that stays with one is the process of well conducted argument.

I bought the book at a book fair in Bangkok after I read the first couple of pages, where Mr Rahula asks K why his teaching is *exactly* like the Buddha's on *every point* while K denies any connection with Buddhism.

K never answers.

He shifts away from the question with a, "May I ask, sir, why you compare?" and they never get back to it. Sad considering that "A Dialogue with Buddhists" is in the book's title. I wouldn't recommened this book to anyone.