Customer Reviews

Meeting the buddha: on pilgrimage in buddhist india edited b

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I really love this book. Having been to Bodh Gaya and Sarnath myself, I find that these accounts by generations of pilgrims really bring the images and feelings back to me. And the descriptions of the other places (Lumbini, Kapilavastu, Rajagriha, Shravasti, Sankasya, Vaisali and Kushinagara) are so vivid and alive that I now almost feel like I've been to all of them too. I'm sure that anyone with an interest in Buddhism, India, pilgrimage or travel will appreciate this book.

This books paints a moving picture of the main Buddhist holy sites in India through the accounts of many centuries of pilgrims and travellers down to the present time. For anyone interested in learning more details of the history and background of these and other Buddhist holy sites, I'd also recommend "Holy Places of the Buddha," by Dharma Publishing (also available from Amazon.com). Both of these books are wonderful guides to the Buddhist holy places, and complement each other very nicely.

Thought this might be something new so I ordered the book. Turns out though to just be a compilation of stories and essays by other authors about their experiences at Buddhist sites in India. Having been to "Buddhist India" myself I was able to compare my actual experiences with those presented in the book.

I can't say there's much useful information here. Just the musings, often misguided, of British dignitaries, Indian Princes and other non-pilgrims, about their trips to Bodh Gaya and similar places. Outsiders looking in and faithfully reporting their misunderstandings of what they saw. Many of these diary-style stories date back to earlier centuries and contain largely yawn-inducing hyperbole. No self-respecting Buddhist would put forth such drivel. And many of the contemporary writings I've read elsewhere (Matthiessen, Hahn, Dalai Lama).

The excerpted writings of Thich Naht Hanh presented in "Meeting the Buddha" are wonderful but you're better off buying "Old Path White Clouds" to get the full version.

"Meeting the Buddha" will be of more interest to a historical researcher or academic Buddhist than to an actual spiritual "pilgrim." If the author had written her own account of modern-day travels in India I might've been more impressed.