Customer Reviews

The Garden: A Parable

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This incredible book was written not only by a learned scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, but by one who has obviously experienced realizations of the path. In this book Geshe Michael provides us with all of the information we need to embark upon the same spiritual journey, and to experience its magical results. If this whets your appetite for more, he also has created a series of correspondence courses which provide even more elucidation of the Buddhist path to enlightenment. (not a money making scheme-these course are free to those who cannot afford them) These are available through the Asian Classics Institute. If you like this book, try also Santidevas "Guide to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life"

About the Garden. A Parable. This is a breeze of fresh air in the heat of a very complex and stressful world. It is also a very clever way to present the ancient and wise buddhist advices for the modern world. Definitely it is a must for anybody interested in the inner development. The message in it is beyond harmful cultural and historical trappings which unfortunately hide the real religious experience that everybody is thirsting for. Being written by a very special person from our western world that has drunk the essence of the great tibetan buddhist training, definitely it is going to reach our hearts and fill them with the greatest blessings.

A "wonderment" is a thing of wonder. And this parable is that. Haven't you ever had the itch to someday ask Jesus or the Buddha everything that you have always wondered about. "Why do bad guys get rich?" "Why are some good guys poor?" "What happens after death?" "Who stuck me with such a horrible mother-in-law and why can't she just blow away?" "Why did I eat the potatoe chips with food poisoning?" "Why did I spell 'potato' with an 'e'?" "How come babies die?" The author was the first Westerner to become a Tibetan Geshe. And this takes twenty years! So he knows his stuff. To answer these questions and others that you may want to ask, you will take many trips into a garden. Buddhas and Buddhist saints will come to you and answer these type of questions. The reader is represented by a man who is searching. Isn't this what we want? This is a beautiful parable. And somewhat spooky at times! At least, that's the way I felt. Imagine sitting on a bench and waiting for some spooky Buddha to arrive to answer your grisly questions. And that's what happens. I will say no more. Buy the book.

If you are very lucky you come across only a couple of books like this in your lifetime. Geshe Michael Roach has the "can't put it down" style.

This little book contains massively powerful information disguised in a parable. The definition of kharma within these pages is beautiful.

I cant wait to read it again!

Geshe Michael Roach has encompassed all the tenets of the Lam Rim and embedded them in this wonderful little book. Not only does he know his stuff but he writes beautifully. The Tibetan and Indian masters whom the protagonist meets are vivid and powerful characters. Who could forget the portrait of Vasu Bandhu, or his amazing portrayal of Maitreya? Brilliant stuff Geshe-la....

This book is classified as fiction, but anyone in search of a story will be generally disappointed. The story line is a mere thread to hold together and sugar coat teachings about Tibetan Buddhism, and like the thread that holds together a necklace, it more or less disappears under the beads of doctrine. But it is teaching very well done. The technique of the "parable" adds an emotional dimension to what might otherwise be a dry subject, holds reader interest and provides the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. In search of personified Wisdom with whom he has fallen in love and of an answer to his mother's suffering, the narrator goes to a secret garden over a period of 20 years and there meets various ancient Buddhist teachers who tell him sometimes in a very detailed way about: meditation and meditation techniques to attain compassion and freedom from negative states of mind, about universal suffering and death, past and future lives and the karmic influence between them, the realms of existence, how imprints from actions create our worlds, how the negative imprints can be overcome and the worlds changed, ethical living, the way of the spiritual warrior, and emptiness. The topics may be very familiar for Buddhists, though it will serve as a mini refresher course. A beginner might want to follow up on the book with something more organized, but will find this a good introduction. Non-Buddhist readers, while more clearly informed of Buddhist beliefs by the story, may not accept many elements of the doctrine, but it is after all a parable which invites metaphorical interpretation and adaptation of the lessons to the world view of the reader. All in all an informative, entertaining and useful book.

I am a Catholic. I read this, 6 years ago, when I was 17 and very sick from asthma. This book helped me coupe with my condition and depression. This book does not only teach the basics of Buddhism but also has over tones of basic Christian philosophy. Bought another copy due to giving my copy to another who needed it.

This is a wonderful book for an introduction to Buddhism, laced with some significant teachings! I pass it along to anyone asking me for a good "starter" book, and I try and revisit it often for important reminders. I highly recommend it.

This parable brought to life some of the meditation techniques that I have studied and read about. The story is so sweet. I was read the first three chapters by a very dear friend as a bedtime story. I just had to have more to see what would happen to the main character and to keep the memory of the bedtime stories alive. I will read this many times and enjoy new aspects of it each time. It is very insightful and is delightful to read. The author is truely gifted.

Geshe Micahel is one of thoes rare individuals who has the ability to speak on many different levels. The Garden covers all the main principles of Buddhism in such a way that anyone can read and understand them. I have had the pleasure to read some short teachings from Geshe Michael before I picked up The Garden, and each time I read his teachings, they seem to strike something in me. He speaks from more than factual understanding, he speaks from personal realization. Thats why The Garden is so simplistic and profound at the same time. It is a great read for the new commer, and a wonderful refresher for the old timer. Geshe Michael and this book, are something very special.