If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients (Mass Market Paperback)

by Sheldon Kopp (Author) "In every age, men have set out on pilgrimages, on spiritual journeys, on personal quests..." (more)
Key Phrases: psychotherapy patient, Don Quixote, Zen Master, Dame Alice (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A synthesis of myth, philosophy and literature that illuminates the true nature of psychotherapy and the journey toward self-discovery. Recounts the author's personal pilgrimage for self-understanding. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553278320
• ISBN-13: 978-0553278323
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for the Meaning of Life?, October 24, 2000

By	Annie Quaker "reader" - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This book is a wonderful read for anyone who wonders, worries or agonizes about the meaning of life, and whether they're doing it "right." Psychotherapist Kopp wrote this book in 1972, but it still works today.

Whether giving or receiving therapy, this book reminds us that we are all humans -- nobody has all the answers. The eschatological laundry list (which I've seen roaming around the web, but never attributed to Kopp) has become a classic.

1. This is it! 2. There are no hidden meanings

3. You can't get there from here, and besides, there's no place else to go

4. We are all already dying and we'll be dead for a long time.

5. Nothing lasts!

6. There is no way of getting all you want.

7. You can't have anything unless you let go of it.

8. You only get to keep what you give away.

9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.

10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune.

11. You have the responsibility to do your best nonetheless.

12. It is a random universe to which we bring meaning.

13. You don't really control anything.

14. You can't make someone love you.

I'll stop there -- there's more in the book, and if you find the list discouraging, you need to read the book. If you find the words encouraging, you need to read the book. Add it to your list of books to give friends who are feeling glum and hopeless.

Use it as a group discussion book!

After reading this (at different stages in my life), I still find it centering and soothing. A good addition to the self-help library, along with The Road Less Traveled.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Therapy Bible Number 1!, November 30, 1999

By	Jerry L. Brinegar, Ph.D. (Watkinsville, Georgia) - See all my reviews

Sheldon Kopp captures the essence of therapist-client as a parallel journey of two human beings in a relationship dependent upon the ability of both to become careful (full of care) for the other while traveling through metaphors, symbols, sagas and myths, each telling their stories along the way. His eschatological laundry list is a necessary and existentially humorous bump with reality. I recommend this book to all clients seeking to enter the sacred ground of a therapeutic alliance where change, transformation and healing are to occur. Sheldon Kopp's serious pragmatism and humorous satire hold the reader to the task of "learning the dance" and becoming aware of the process of being in therapy.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who is The Buddha?, January 22, 2004

By	Carmen Matthews "The Serene Samurai" (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is easy for anyone to believe that it is always that other person - that one who knows something that we don't know; has something that we have given up on obtaining; or, looks like what we think is the best.

Killing the Buddha is looking deeply within ourselves, accepting our limitations, our attributes, and everything in between. We are the experts in the journey of our own lives. No one else is.