Customer Reviews

What Would Buddha Do?: 101 Answers to Life's Daily Dilemmas

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My impression is that Buddha would have been in favor of anything that might help alleviate suffering in this world - and this book does just that. Its charm lies in the fact that it focuses not on dry dogma or meditation techniques, but on simple questions, such as how the Buddha might have dealt with that barking dog next door that JUST WON'T SHUT UP! (By the way, the author doesn't deal with the noisome problem as well as The Enlightened One probably would have!) This is a delightul book, and a deceptively breezy read.

My only quibble was with a few grammatically-challenged chapter titles. But these are surely attributable to the publisher rather than Metcalf, whose prose is otherwise impeccable.

A great little appetizer, filled with flavourful pieces of advice and snippets of common sense that we can all use in our daily dealings with the world, most of which are taken from Buddhist sacred texts.

One wonderful example of this is, "What would Buddha do about that coffee habit?", to which the response is: "Our country is full of sickly-looking, skinny people, just because we don't drink tea. Whenever people feel weak, they should drink tea (Kissa Yojoki)". In that simple piece of advice, we're told both a common sense and medicinal answer to that coffee habit (the author tells us that tea is healthier than coffee, which is truthful). The author expands on the passage, giving a short interpretation of the lesson including "...When we have to have something, the truth is that thing has us. Ask yourself who is master, who or these things you 'need'. If it's not you, something is wrong". It's passages such as this that make us stop, and think "oh yeah...".

To a serious scholar of Buddhism, this book may lack substance and true contextual meaning, and may leave the some readers gasping like a fish out of water, reaching for a more substantial main course. However, it does successfully bring Buddhist teachings into our daily lives, and can be a great tool for living a simpler, better life.

This book offers a thoughtful -- and fun -- way into Buddhist teachings. I liked the question and answer format -- it's quick, pithy, and sharp. The questions raised range from sexual temptation to road rage (!). Some of the answers will surprise you. Trendy? Yeah, but also informative and well-written. The author includes a helpful list of further readings.

This author realizes that Buddhism is gaining popularity in the west and is cashing in on it. This is a great example of the West taking an Eastern Philosophy, cutting out much of the substance and neatly packaging it for mass consumption. It is actually quite disturbing. I imagine the author had good intentions and just didn't realize what a diservice he is doing. I disagree with many of his opinions of "What the Buddha Would Do." It almost seems like he is justifying his own actions by stretching Buddhist teachings to match his own opinion. It is also filled with contradictions. For instance, one "answer" states that the Buddha would be okay with eating meat. A few pages later it talks about the Buddha's divine reverence for life and that one should never destroy it. I think it is sad that this misrepresentation may be the only exposure some people have to Buddhism.

When I picked up this book on a lark, I wasn't sure what to expect, I just thought it was an amusing answer to the ubiquitous "WWJD" slogans. Flipping through it, I was initially disappointed at how simplistic the advice was.

However, after I put the book down for awhile, and then came back to it with no expectations, its simplicity was what seemed to be its charm - short, one-page advice regarding everyday problems that can be extrapolated to other areas of life very easily. Take this one, for example:

"What would Buddha do when he can't resist having dessert?"
Metcalf quotes a few lines from Saraha, Dohakosha 64, and then gives his own paragraph of interpretation, which includes reminding us of oneness and interconnectedness - "don't wolf the chocolate; think of the labor that brought it to you. When we really experience our desires and fulfillments, we realize oneness with the Buddha way."

For the beginning, such as myself, this little book is useful to remind us that Buddhism can be lived all day, every day, even when it seems like there's just no way about something. For the advanced readers, it might help when he or she is struggling with a problem like one named in the book, and needs a point of reference to help them along the way.

Overall, I would say it's not a book to be read front to back, so much as it's a book one refers to in times of need; it's not a book that will clearly teach someone "how to be a buddhist," but it will offer waypoints along the path. For an excellent introduction to buddhism, try (and don't let the title scare you off) _The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism_ - that's an *excellent* starter for those wishing to learn about almost every element of this path.

This little book gives great insight into those little koans that can really boggle your mind. Metcalf has taken Buddha sayings and made them a little more understandable for the layperson. I found the book very thought-provoking and allowed me to reflect on a peaceful solution to some of those daily dilemmas. An enjoyable read.

While this book might not appeal to one looking for a more serious approach to Buddhism, Mr. Metcalf always conveys the information in a profound, simple, moving, insightful, witting, and fascinating way. His aim in writing the book was to enable to reader to discover his or her own inner Buddha, to get more in touch with it, and to ultimately be guided through life by it. Essentially, one must become one's own teacher. The questions range from profound ones such as "What would Buddha do when doubting his spiritual path?" and "What would Buddha do when doctrine and reason collide?," to ones everyone has, such as "What would Buddha do about adultery?" and "What would Buddha do when feeling frustrated?," and to modern-day issues such as "What would Buddha do if his credit cards are maxed out?" and "What would Buddha do about road rage?" Whatever one's problem or question, the answer is sure to be found here, along with some issues that perhaps one hadn't thought of before. The quotes, lessons, and stories that start off each of the 101 answers are mostly drawn from traditional classic Buddhist texts such as the Dhammapada, the Buddhacharita, and the Sutta Nipata. The advice is short but sweet, always making it seem relevant for the modern reader instead of very heavily theological or the product of another time. Along the way the reader learns some fascinating things about Buddha himself, such as how he taught that one can completely follow all of his teachings from within any religion and need not be a Buddhist to do so, that he was a feminist (long before it had a name), that he was an environmentalist, that he was anti-war, that he endorsed what we today call interventions for those who are abusing substances or exhibiting troubling behavior, and that he attained enlightenment shortly after he stopped his intense fasting and began to love himself and his body again. Far from coming across like some serious old man who was a recluse and only thinking of matters spiritual, he comes across as a vibrant person who'd seem right at home in the modern era, what with all of his downright liberal beliefs. This is a book like the Tao Te Ching or the Dhammapada, that doesn't have to be read cover to cover or all at once. One can go to whatever part of it one needs when one needs it, or can just open to a random page or pages for spiritual help with a pressing problem. The publishing company will also give one a WWBD bracelet if one writes to them and sends a small fee, in response to the popularity of the WWJD bracelets. How awesome is that?

I've been exploring Buddhism for over a year now, first intrigued by reading HHDL's "The Art of Happiness." While I respect the many talented authors who have worked so hard on their books about Buddhism, so many of them spoke way over my head. I humbly admit that I'm no scholar. Add to that the fact that I'm brand spanking new to Buddhism, and you've got the perfect prescription for confusion.

I was going from book to book in my local library, trying to find something that spoke to me...something that would inspire me like "The Art of Happiness." I was getting very discouraged until I found Franz Metcalf's books. "WWBD" is warm, funny and practical ~ JUST what I was looking for! Instead of going on and on about the concept of "emptiness" (for that, I recommend "The Naked Buddha" by Adrienne Howley, another down-to-earth teacher), Metcalf takes modern, every day problems and answers them with Buddhist wisdom in a way that anyone can understand and immediately apply. In fact, I plan on using Metcalf's books as aid in teaching my daughters the wisdom of kindness, patience and compassion.

There are many books out there that delve deeper into the history/schools of Buddhism, philosophical discussions and the art of meditation. I tried reading through those, and it nearly put me into a coma. :o) (Clearly, I'm not ready. Nor am I sure I ever will be.) However, if you're more interested in how one can apply Buddhism to plain old everyday life, this is your book.

This book holds a lot of thought for only 130 pages. Franz Metcalf takes his knowledge of Buddhism to answer now just the big questions of "Life", but the smaller questions of daily life. What would Buddha do or think about such subjects as failure, anger, road rage, gun control, lying, the environment, eating meat, money, sex, drinking, drug abuse, boredom and even prostitution. Hard issues, but each is given a page, answered with a quote from Buddhist teaching and advice from the author.
Great gift for a friend or a gift for yourself. It really helps you strip away the fat and get to the very core of the subject in question.

This book really helps the teaching of Buddha come alive in a very accessible way. NOTE: Keep your receipt. The publisher has an address at the back of the book where you can send in your receipt to get a free WWBD bracelet.