The Naked Buddha: A Practical Guide to the Buddha's Life and Teachings [Paperback]

Adrienne Howley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003

Although a widely observed and respected practice in America, Buddhism is still difficult for many seekers to thoroughly grasp. Now, Adrienne Howley — personally ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and one of the highest ranking Buddhist nuns in the world — writes in a warm, simple, and engagingly humorous style that illustrates the life, ideas, and teachings of the Buddha and the religion and philosophy that he inspired. This charming guide demystifies Buddhism and shows how we can apply its teachings to our lives in useful and meaningful ways. Howley covers who Buddha was and how he came to formulate his philosophy, the three main Buddhist traditions, what ordinary Buddhists believe and practice today, and meditation: how and why. There are also answers to questions most commonly asked by non-Buddhists, including: How can Buddhism make me happy? How can I always practice generosity? and How can I move away from greed and hatred? The Naked Buddha is an accessible, down-to-earth introduction to this ancient Asian religion and a valuable addition to the literature on Buddhism.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One result of Buddhism's inherent flexibility is a bewildering array of religious rituals and traditions-"cultural trappings" that Howley believes often obscure the Buddha's original teachings. Herself an Australian Buddhist nun, Howley sets out to "strip the Buddha of added layers... and get down to what he really thought and taught." It's an ambitious project; unfortunately, Howley shares with us neither her sources nor the methodology by which she arrived at her stripped-down versions of these "basic teachings." Nevertheless, her vigorously philosophical, non-religious approach (an unexpected choice for an ordained nun) results in a streamlined, appealing primer for everything you wanted to know about Buddhism but were afraid to ask. In simple, well-organized chapters-often employing a Q&A format-she addresses topics and questions that get to the heart of Buddhism. She begins with the historical Buddha (Who was he? Who were his followers?), then discusses whether Buddhism is properly a religion or a philosophy. (Conclusion: it's a philosophy frequently adapted to religious expression.) She offers excellent, lucid discussions of some of Buddhism's core elements such as the Four Noble Truths, karma, impermanence, compassion and emptiness. She rounds out the book with basic suggestions for meditation and by addressing specific questions like, "Is the Dalai Lama the Buddhist 'Pope'?" Straightforward and readable, this book will appeal both to those new to Buddhism and to those wanting to revisit its foundational teachings
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

THE VENERABLE ADRIENNE HOWLEY was ordained in 1982 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1993 she took the highest ordination vows possible from a Vietnamese Buddhist master, thus becoming one of the very few Western women in the world to have done so. A former nurse and the mother of two sons, she stumbled into Buddhism in her fifties after sailing around the world and surviving life-threatening cancer. Now in her seventies, she devotes her time to Buddhist practice and teaching.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569244324
• ISBN-13: 978-1569244326
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Buddha

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relieved to have found it., May 12, 2006

By 

Arbela "Amazon Woman" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Naked Buddha: A Practical Guide to the Buddha's Life and Teachings (Paperback)

Since reading HHDL's "The Art of Happiness" over a year ago, I have been going through various books on Buddhism at my local library. For whatever reason ~ be it I'm just not the philosophical type, or I am just too new to Buddhism ~ much of what I read either confused me or bored me to death. I was greatly inspired by my early introduction to the Buddhist approach and was looking for practical ways to apply patience, kindness and compassion to my life. What I instead found were subjects way over the typical beginner's head and/or loooong explanations (man, can they beat a dead horse!) minus every day application.

I was about to give up when I found this author. This book is the book I wish I had found a year ago, as it is informative as well as concise. Partner this book up with Franz Metcalf's enjoyable books on adding a little Buddhism to your life, and you'll have a great background plus some down-to-earth advice on how to start cultivating your Buddha Nature.

So if you dig long, drawn out philosophical discussions on such matters, by all means...there are many respected authors out there. However, if you're like me and wish to hit the ground running with as little fanfare as possible, Adrienne and Franz's books are for you. Namaste! :o)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and informative, December 27, 2008

By 

Peter P. Parisi (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Naked Buddha: A Practical Guide to the Buddha's Life and Teachings (Paperback)

I listened to this book on CD on a long drive. Perhaps the combination of the narrator's British (?) accent with the author's straightforward approach did more for me than simply reading the book would have. The book lays out the essence of buddhism very well. I was fascinated to learn that a lot of the religious elements--the things one must accept on faith, like reincarnation--are pre-buddhist elements that one need not accept to benefit from the Buddha's teachings. She has certainly made me want to learn more.

There were two helpful question and answer sections and a short but good list of further readings. I would have liked to hear a more down-to-earth and revealing explanation as to how the author came to buddhism and why she stuck with it.

Her unreflective comments on Christianity bothered me. I find it interesting that, in a book whose main message is "I am responsible for my thoughts and reactions," the author blames the lack of knowledgeable teachers for her own rejection of Catholicism. A second flaw is the false dichotomy between the buddhist version of faith and the Christian: according to Howley, Buddhists have faith because they have tried buddhism out. It is a faith based on experience. On the other hand, Christian faith (Howley would include Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu faith in this charge) is blind and based on no experience at all. Like most dichotomies, this is an oversimplification. To be fair, Howley did not come up with this dichotomy: it has appeared in several other books about buddhism that I have read.

I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to learn the basic tenets of buddhism from an interesting and honest teacher.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great description about buddhism, June 2, 2006

By 

Susan Sandivigore (NY,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Naked Buddha: A Practical Guide to the Buddha's Life and Teachings (Paperback)

Buddha is the level/position of understanding engliment, not a person.Siddartha Gautam never said i am god, never talked about reincarnation or karma. These all have been introduced in buddhism later, buddhism is a philoshopy people made into religion as a respect to gautama buddha. KARMA in this book is defined with a sentence "If I move a grain of sand, I change the universe." which is define as if I change a grain of sand as a result other grain moves and then because of it the whole universe shifts little. Karma is not something that you do good right now and something good will happen to you as a result of it ten years later, but karma is the thing you are right now because of the conciquences of your past action. I have read many books in buddhism but none of them have define buddhism as practicle as by Adruenne Howley. Excillent work!!!. after i read this book i had different prospective of buddhism