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Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
by
Stephen Batchelor
4.04 · Rating details · 7,546 ratings · 400 reviews
A national bestseller and acclaimed guide to Buddhism for beginners and practitioners alike
In this simple but important volume, Stephen Batchelor reminds us that the Buddha was not a mystic who claimed privileged, esoteric knowledge of the universe, but a man who challenged us to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, and bring into being a way of life that is available to us all. The concepts and practices of Buddhism, says Batchelor, are not something to believe in but something to do—and as he explains clearly and compellingly, it is a practice that we can engage in, regardless of our background or beliefs, as we live every day on the path to spiritual enlightenment. (less)
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Paperback, 127 pages
Published March 1st 1998 by Riverhead Books (first published April 14th 1997)
Original Title
Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
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1573226564 (ISBN13: 9781573226561)
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English
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We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness, which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world. Marcel Proust Is not Stephen telling us we are free to chose not to believe anything, and that if we seek to lessen our anguish we might explore Siddhartha Gautama four ?
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Jun 01, 2010Greg rated it liked it
Shelves: buddhism
In my personal and soon to be trademarked ethical system, Don't be an Asshole, this book would garner a thumbs up and I'd recommend it as a guidebook for not being an asshole, with Meditation! Or if that is grammatically suspect using meditation to not be an asshole. Not how to use meditation in an non-assholically manner, but that might be the case too.
For some reason this book took me two months to read. At 120 pages, that means I averaged a whopping two pages a day. Yay, me! Not that I read it everyday, actually I didn't read it most days. It wasn't that the book wasn't interesting to me, it was, but it was pretty much just a feel good exercise of affirming that there is another way not being an asshole out there. One that sounds pretty alright, but which I'm not sure why one would embrace it necessarily.
From the scant bit I know about Buddhism there are lots of good things taught, and not all of the bad baggage that the Abrahamic religions have. There is some weird shit, but according to this book you can kind of push that stuff aside, or put it in an indefinite epoche and never phenomenologically touch them again. Actually the practice taught in this book isn't all that different from existentialism (yes I know he wrote a book on existentialism and Buddhism), but without all the drinking and smoking, and with some sitting cross legged on the ground. And it's sort of like Critical Theory, but without the Marxism; and it is sort of like the Situationists, again without the drinking, sex, and the constant banning of members; and it's like the anarcho strands of punk, i.e., the Crasshole brand, but maybe with more of a sense of humor, and no real stance on the issue of women who shave: collaborators or not? And which of course is like the early day of Riot Grrrl, and just about every organic DIY punk scene for about the first six months before all of the rules and hierarchies step in and eventually some of the people you know have turned into scenesters, and then into proto-hipsters and finally whom you hear are living in Brooklyn and are making synthesizer music with a Gameboy.
It's sort of like all these 'in-spirit if not quite so much in practice, or if in practice not necessarily for so long' types of ideas/movements/scenes what-not. But with sitting and being quiet. Which maybe is what I need, since I like the ideas espoused by all of these anti-authoritarian / anti-consumerist ideas and since I no longer like academics or punks and go for silence the way I once upon a time went for loud music this might be for me. But then I think why sign up for something new, why not just keep doddering about in my own little world and not find myself once again disappointed by others? You know when you realize that half of them are actually fascists in disguise just waiting to push their own brand of rules about what is and what isn't acceptable. Is it because a community is something that is needed for people? Or is it not even a community but a name that is important? Being able to say I am a (______), rather than just knowing you are what you are even if there is no name you can easily attach to it or ready made community to fit into?
But, all my whining here aside this is a nice book with many worthwhile things in it. And I'll probably want to disavow everything I've said above a week from now.
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May 21, 2008Kat rated it it was amazing
Recommended to Kat by: Prof. Dana Jack
Shelves: 5-stars
Batchelor is not pro-Buddhism as a religion, or pro-religion at all. He advocates gently but incisively for a "passionate agnosticism"--admitting that you don't know and probably never can, but that this doesn't let you off the hook, since the attempt to find out is necessary to your mental/spiritual survival. He presents Buddhist techniques as common-sense, highly effective ways of dealing with existential problems, and Buddhist philosophy as a framework for understanding things that will become self-evident through doing the consciousness work.
This is the second or third time I've read most of this book before having to return it to the library. I don't identify as Buddhist, but keep coming back to this book for different reasons. In college, the book helped me become aware of the inefficacy of my thought patterns and try to begin to clear some of the clutter and use my mental energy more effectively. That point is exactly as salient for me as it ever was, but on re-reading I also found crucial new ways of thinking about mortality, which has really been anguishing me lately. Batchelor points out that a fixation on death's certainty and the mystery of its timing is a good thing, because it leads to the question "what should I do with my life?" Keeping that at the forefront of one's mind is basically impossible without an emotional/physical concern with life's finiteness. I'm also interested in Batchelor's explanation of meditation itself as a tool for translating thought into emotional/physical knowledge, and that the latter is necessary to get things done.
I don't always require groundedness and common sense from spiritualists, but this book achieves this admirably. I also find a lot of pleasure in reading Batchelor's exceptionally clear, elegant prose. (less)
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May 13, 2017Jan-Maat added it · review of another edition
Shelves: buddhism, 20th-century
Quite possibly my only reason for reading this was so that I could write a review saying that this book throws the Buddha out with the bathwater. But my delight in making poor, feeble jokes is a ridiculous basis for writing reviews particularly when the author's aspiration is to throw the Buddhism out with the bathwater while saving the Buddha as a person who had certain ideas.
Apart from the beginning and the end of the book, Batchelor more or less forgets his objective, so most of the book is an account of how one might practice Buddhism on a daily basis: what one is aiming to cultivate in yourself and how one goes about this.
I think I was most curious, given that it was written by a man born in Scotland, and in this edition published by Bloomsbury, by the Americanisms of side-walks and diapers in the text, in place of the more familiar pavements and nappies. Apart from this then I wondered why did Batchelor write the book - what was he aiming to achieve, why strip out the supernatural or metaphysical bits from the Buddhist system leaving us with something like a pre-Socratic philosophy with an ethical system? Fortunately I didn't have to break my brain over the question since the author kindly provided an answer or two himself.
It turns out that Batchelor envisions the creative collusion of Buddhism and "western" culture and thinks the different notions of freedom in both will be most mutually enriching by stripping out the idea of reincarnation in favour of an agonistic approach to the whole - in plain speech : 'I don't know', it strikes me this may satisfy him, but that some people may be attracted to or find meaningful exactly what he throws out with the bathwater, secondly I do wonder when you start to hack chunks out of a tradition, what you are left with - is tree surgery a success if after the operation there is no longer any tree?
Such a creative collusion one could call syncretism, it's interesting seeing a person setting about it in such a deliberate way.
The nature of faith is that even if you were practising Buddhism, but found it impossible to believe in the metaphysical aspects of it then you'd be pretty much in Batchelor's agnostic position without needing to read his book (view spoiler), equally if you were practising and had no problem with the metaphysics then I don't think that that Batchelor's book has any particular convincing or resounding argument for you either. But it is a nice enough summary of an applied Buddhist practise without metaphysics if that is what you are looking for. (less)
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Jun 08, 2008Adrian Rush rated it it was amazing
Shelves: religion-spirituality, non-fiction-general-knowledge
As this gem of a book points out, "Buddhism without beliefs" is a redundancy. Batchelor cuts to the heart of what sets Buddhism apart from other world religious traditions: It encourages practitioners to question, to penetrate, to rigorously examine everything -- even the Buddha's teachings themselves -- and not to take things on blind faith. In other words, just because a religious leader hands you a doctrine and tells you to believe in something, that isn't good enough. The goal of Buddhism, after all, is to slice through our daily illusions and see the world as it really is, not as we want or hope it to be. We can even take this approach toward such Buddhist cornerstones as karma and rebirth. Batchelor recommends an agnostic but open approach toward the concept of literal reincarnation, for example. That seems to be a healthy approach.
It's also an important message to convey as Buddhism tries to take a foothold here in the skeptical West, where casual observers might see Buddhism as esoteric or exotic. Buddhism has indeed accumulated many practices and rituals -- and even unfounded beliefs and speculations -- in the centuries since it left India, and Batchelor asks us to look through those trappings to return to the kernel of Buddhist teaching. Anything else threatens to sway us from the Path and throw us into the world of clinging to illusions. A fine job.
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Oct 04, 2010Eric added it · review of another edition
Shelves: zen
I might use this as my standard recommendation both for
1. Fellow atheists and sort of Reason-oriented folks with a mistrust of religion. Point isn't try Buddhism, it's Different; as getting the point across about what Buddhism is about/after.
2. Folks who have embraced Buddhism but seem to have gotten the wrong idea about it (ha! as if I knew what the right idea was)
Quotes I found helpful:
"Dharma practice can never be in contradiction with science, not because it provides some mystical validation of scientific findings, but because it simply is not concerned with validating or invalidating them. Its concern lies entirely with the nature of existential experience"
This is particularly important for me because I was never really happy with how people seem content to quote Einstein as saying Buddhism was the only science-friendly religion (apocryphal?), or the Dalai Lama saying that if science should contradict Buddhism the latter should change, or even the "be a light unto yourself" thing from the Buddha. Batchelor's "not because it provides some mystical validation of scientific findings" is a very good guard against that sort of fuzzy headedness. That's still not enough, IMHO; there's more to say, but what a wonderful start
Another nice one: "We should be wary of being seduced by charismatic purveyors of Enlightenment. For true friends seek not to coerce us, even gently and reasonably into believing what we are unsure of. True friends are like midwives who draw forth what is waiting to be born. Their task is not to make themselves indispensable but redundant"
Bingo. OK, this sort of thing has been said before, but what I like about the way Batchelor says things is that he anticipates where people could get the wrong idea about what you're saying and heads them of. His "even gently and reasonably" is an example of this, as his "not because it provides some sort of mystical validation"
I'm a bit uncomfortable with the eagerness to port Buddhism to modern Western liberal culture. Just a bit; it makes sense that it had to be ported to Chinese and other East Asian cultures, etc. It's a sort of "don't fuck with tradition" skepticism on my part, not because the traditions themselves have any inherent value, but because Tradition has a sort of virtue of being time-tested/robust (along with many flaws like noise, corruption [errors crept into the genes], inflexibility). But Batchelor himself acknowledges and anticipates this. I guess I just lean a little bit more on the conservative end of the spectrum, all the while agreeing heartily with what he says. (less)
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Sep 08, 2013Richard rated it did not like it
Shelves: not-gonna-read, nonfiction, abandoned, religion-theology
See postscript for a possible replacement for this failed attempt.
Meh. Maybe I shouldn't have expected much, but I was beginning to be disappointed even before the first chapter began, and the opening lines of that chapter confirmed my suspicion.
The "without Beliefs" of the title is, frankly, a lie. Perhaps this is a description of Buddhism with something subtracted, such as the mystical mumbo jumbo that seems to inhere in anything as old as a major world religion (and, of course, especially in religions), but there are still plenty of beliefs.
For example, the Buddha was still the enlightened one.
That's the first thing that I was hoping to see dispensed with.
You see, I strongly suspect that the founder of any religion was a relatively enlightened genius — for the time. But over on the science side, anyone will acknowledge that while Aristotle — or Galileo, or al-Khwārizmī, or even Newton — is considered brilliant, they're no longer the font of all wisdom.
So why is every religious system so incredibly hung up on their founder? Isn't is more likely that someone studying the Buddha has surpassed the master in the understanding of some aspect of enlightenment, or whatever it is that the religion is supposed to be providing?
Naturally, if the founder is deified, that can't happen. But I was hoping for something better here.
As far as I can tell, Buddhism teaches a more psychologically and philosophically astute version of what the Stoics were working on, at least via the practice of meditation, for example. But if there is a way of learning these ideas without having to wade through and discard all the accumulated dross of centuries of mysticism and power politics between schisms, this doesn't seem to be it.
Postscript: According to the New Yorker article What Meditation Can Do for Us, and What It Can’t: Examining the science and supernaturalism of Buddhism, the arch-agnostic Robert Wright has written Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment. The article includes—
Wright’s is a Buddhism almost completely cleansed of supernaturalism. His Buddha is conceived as a wise man and self-help psychologist, not as a divine being[….]
This is a pragmatic Buddhism[….] Nearly all popular books about Buddhism are rich in poetic quotation and arresting aphorisms, those ironic koans that are part of the (Zen) Buddhist décor—tales of monks deciding that it isn’t the wind or the flag that’s waving in the breeze but only their minds. Wright’s book has no poetry or paradox anywhere in it. Since the poetic-comic side of Buddhism is one of its most appealing features, this leaves the book a little short on charm. Yet, if you never feel that Wright is telling you something profound or beautiful, you also never feel that he is telling you something untrue.Joe Bob says check it out.
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Jan 17, 2012Jeff rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: owned
It's long been a cause of great frustration that my attempts to investigate the Buddhist philosophy have repeatedly plunged me into the supernatural. Over the centuries, and in different ways in different areas, Buddhism has become a religion, collecting various ideas on the after-life, reincarnation, multi-incarnation karma, Buddhist hells, demons, and even a pantheon of near-divine once-humans to whom we are exhorted to chant or prostate or pray. Or any combination of the above.
And this was frustrating because I was also vaguely aware that, at its core, what the Buddha taught was not a series of beliefs but, rather, a series of practices to be undertaken in order to smooth one's passage through this life.
In this book, Stephen Batchelor strips out this accumulated religious baggage and leaves behind something more akin to those original agnostic teachings, neither demanding that non-material, spiritual aspects to existence be accepted as real, nor insisting that they are not. It concentrates purely on the practical, attempting to show how the Buddha taught "anguish and the ending of anguish", a means to end suffering. He admits that the Buddha himself appeared to have mystical beliefs but stresses that these were part of his cultural heritage and not in any way relevant to his teachings.
He sets out the Buddha's teachings of dharma practice in a clear and easily comprehensible manner, making the ancient concepts relevant to the modern reader. Even concepts normally regarded as difficult such as non-duality are introduced in a way that makes sense in a non-mystical world-view. In line with the original attitude of the Buddha, he doesn't deny a mystical dimension to our reality but nor does he discuss one; it is impossible from this book alone to gain any insight into the author's beliefs in this area, a sound achievement in this particular context.
I would assume that in a relatively short book like this one he has had to be somewhat superficial but in any case it provides plenty of food for thought. I already know that I will be re-reading this particular volume, probably several times, but it's also whetted my appetite for further exploration, both in book form an in a far more practical sense.
In short, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. (less)
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May 06, 2010DJ rated it it was ok
Recommended to DJ by: David Livingston
Reading this book was a bit like listening to my grandpa rant about LBJ's foreign policy decisions - he's probably right, but without the background to appreciate his frustrations, all I can do is listen and squirm awkwardly in my chair.
Batchelor's book is a polemic against the modern transformation of Buddhism into something as dogmatic and unquestioning as Western religions. He points out that Buddhism is a personal practice of continual awareness and questioning, not a set of beliefs, commitments, or rituals. His insights into Buddhist practices were thought-provoking but being a man of science (and therefore atheist, culturally bankrupt, anti-humanities of course), I didn't have the religious or historical background to appreciate many of his complaints about the disfigurement of Buddhism.
This short book is meant to be read slowly. Each chapter offers ideas worth taking the time to reflect upon and some also suggest particular meditations. Unfortunately, I was borrowing this from a friend at university and had to power through it in two evenings before leaving for the summer.
I likely won't return to this book again though, because my interests in Buddhism are related to cultivating continual awareness, not in defending it against a deplorable watering down for the masses. (less)
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May 13, 2019Caroline rated it did not like it
Shelves: did-not-finish
I only got to about page 35 with this book. As a total newbie to Buddhism, I just found it too difficult to understand. The writing was quite simple, but ideas were just too difficult for me to grasp. I was left just feeling stupid (which may well be the case.) Here are a couple of examples of concepts which evaded me ....
"Likewise, the Buddha acknowledged the existential condition of anguish. On examination he found its origins to lie in self-centred craving. He realized that this could cease, and prescribed the cultivation of a path of life embracing all aspects of human experience as an effective treatment."
"As with understanding anguish, the challenge in letting go of craving is to act before habitual reactions incapacitate us. By letting go of craving it will finally cease. This cessation allows us to realize, if only momentarily, the freedom, openness, and ease of the central path. This sudden gap in the rush of self-centred compulsion and fear allows us to see with unambiguous immediacy and clarity the transient, unreliable, and contingent nature of reality."
For the time being, I don't think I am going to explore Buddhism further. (Mostly because I find meditating difficult, but also because this book has made me feel that Buddhism is something I am not going to be able to grasp.) (less)
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Dec 01, 2008Wayne rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Recommends it for: anyone interested in the essentials of Buddhism, no nonsense stuff.
Recommended to Wayne by: Big Sister Di !!
Shelves: re-reads, buddhism-self-help
To join the Big Clubs or Cults of Catholicism, Hill Song, the Evangelicals etc. etc one must accept a certain set of so-called truths which in no way impinge on the ethical. (I've known plenty who swear by the Virgin Birth but cheat on their wives.)
Buddhism, shorn of its religious trappings of prayer wheels, exotic names, orange robes, priesthoods, hierarchies and consequent blinding fog etc. becomes no set of beliefs but a way of behaving, which we often stumble upon ourselves through sheer common sense.
I quote from the back cover:
"Buddhism Without Beliefs" demystifies Buddhism by explaining, without jargon or obscure terminology, what awakening is and how to practise it.
Stephen Batchelor points out that the Buddha was not a mystic and his awakening was not a shattering revelation that revealed the mysteries of God or of the universe - what the Buddha taught was not something to believe in but something to do. Buddha challenged people to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, realise its cessation and create a certain way of life and awakening. This awakening is available to all of us, and Batchelor examines how to work realistically towards it, and how to practise and live it every day.
This book is an examination of Buddhism which will enable all readers, whether religious or agnostic, to grasp the fundamental meaning of Buddhism." (less)
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Dec 12, 2015Marc rated it it was amazing
Shelves: owned, nonfiction, philosophy-or-philosophical, for-the-soul
It's probably been nearly two decades since I read anything by Stephen Batchelor, but few write with the kind of clarity and thoughtfulness as he does. Sure, this covers the basics, but he always manages to frame things in a different light, to use analogies that open up different perspectives, and to simultaneously convey both a simplicity and an awe about life and approaching it through Buddhism. Instead of rambling on, I'll just share a few choice passages:
"Agnosticism is no excuse for indecision. If anything, it is a catalyst for action; for in shifting concern away from a future life and back to the present, it demands an ethics of empathy rather than a metaphysics of fear and hope."
"A world of contingency and change can offer only simulacra of perfection. When driven by craving, I am convinced that if only I were to achieve this goal, all would be well. While creating the illusion of a purposeful life, craving is really the loss of direction. It is a process of compulsive becoming. It spins me around in circles, covering the same ground again and again. Each time I think I have found a situation that solves all my problems, it suddenly turns out to be a reconfiguration of the very situation I thought I was escaping from. My sense of having found a new lease on life turns out to be merely a repetition of the past. I realize I am running on the spot, frantically going nowhere."
"Instead of taking ourselves so seriously, we discover the playful irony of a story that has never been told in quite this way before."
"In today's liberal democracies we are brought up to realize our potential as autonomous individuals. It is hard to envisage a time when so many people have enjoyed comparable freedoms. Yet the very exercise of these freedoms in the service of greed, aggression, and fear has led to breakdown of community, destruction of the environment, wasteful exploitation of resources, the perpetuation of tyrannies, injustices, an inequalities. Instead of creatively realizing their freedoms, many choose the unreflective conformism dictated by television, indulgence in mass-consumerism, or numbing their feelings of alienation and anguish with drugs. In theory, freedom may be held in high regard; in practice it is experienced as a dizzying loss of meaning and direction."
Hard to believe this was written almost 20 years ago. The strength of his message has grown with time. (less)
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Nov 10, 2015Jessie Mukavetz rated it liked it
4 stars for content, 3 for execution and delivery.
Buddhism Without Beliefs was not a particularly easy read, despite its slight page count. Stephen Batchelor's prose was very, very, very dry. Although he clearly and concisely explained the concepts of Buddhism unlike I've previously read (Buddhism in Very Plain English would be an apt alternative title), his language was imbued with absolutely no sense of style, wit, or warmth. It's not a book to sit down and knock out in a day or two. I barely managed one chapter a day.
Batchelor's examination of Buddhism and how it has been transformed from a practice to an organized religion was—pun intended—enlightening. He wrote: "While Buddhism has tended to become reductively identified with its religious forms, today it is in further danger of being reductively identified with its forms of meditation." Yoga, anyone?
Batchelor broke down a lot of barriers that have been preventing me from committing too deeply to Buddhism, such as feeling like an outsider. If I view Buddhism as an agnostic thought practice, as Siddhārtha Gautama intended, then I don't have to feel intimidated by the formal religious aspects—temples, monks, worshippers, scriptures, and idols. Batchelor's description of desire, or craving, is one that I will remember for quite some time:
"'Letting go' is not a euphemism for stamping out craving by other means. As with anguish, letting go begins with understanding: a calm and clear acceptance of what is happening. [...] Without stamping it out or denying it, craving may be renounced the way a child renounces sandcastles: not by repressing the desire to make them but by turning aside from an endeavor that no longer holds any interest."(less)
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May 19, 2013Matthew Fellows rated it it was amazing
Very good. For those interested in finding a meaningful way of navigating existence without the dogmatic mystical nonsense of religion I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Incidentally, this philosophical approach provides a great alternative to the inane neo-hippie/hipster appropriation of Buddhist catchwords so prevalent in some parts of contemporary Western culture.
I was going to fault Batchelor for not explicitly pointing out the ways in which this secular Buddhism is so strikingly similar to Existentialism (of the Heideggerean and Sartrean variants, not that Victor Frankl psychotherapy nonsense which happens to be hard to distinguish from Western hipster Buddhism...) until I realized that he has dedicated a whole book to this perspective in his Alone with Others: An Existential Approach to Buddhism. (less)
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Sep 23, 2019Sarah Ames-Foley rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Shelves: non-fiction, religion, spirituality, philosopy
16 highlights
This review can also be found on my blog.
This was not a complete waste of time, but was close to it. The book detaches buddhism from religion and formats it not as a belief system, but a certain way of living. At first, I was really impressed with the ideas presented and felt I was getting a lot out of it. According to Dealing with “anguish” seems to be hinged on creating a perspective in which all is temporary: our “cravings” have not always existed, thus they will not always exist. It is turning our feelings into things we can watch ebb and flow rather than something that will overtake us entirely. Action is repeatedly emphasized as the key to dharma practice.
The formatting of the book seems to be without logical flow; it felt more like a general rambling than something coherently laid out. The chapters themselves confused me, as I felt like the author was talking himself around ideas and as soon as he began to approach what I thought was the point, the chapter would end unceremoniously. It was frustrating, since it started out explaining so many interesting ideas only to turn into something unstructured and unhelpful. It seems this may have made a better essay than an entire book. Also, the author is weirdly obsessed with someone they call S, who they refer to as their enemy and who apparently riles them up often. It was strangely distracting. (less)
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May 10, 2018Amy Sturgis rated it really liked it
Shelves: 20th-century, philosophy, buddhism
This was exactly what I was looking for after reading Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment by Robert Wright. Stephen Batchelor investigates the background and meaning of the Buddha's teaching -- not Buddhism, Batchelor argues, but dharma practice -- and submits that the Buddha taught a method, not a creed. Or, as Batchelor puts it, "The dharma is not a belief system by which you will be miraculously saved. It is a method to be investigated and tried out." At the heart of this, Batchelor notes, is a foundation of true agnosticism, "a passionate recognition that I do not know."
I will be chewing on this for a while. I recommend it to anyone interested in what's often called "secular Buddhism." (less)
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Oct 30, 2011Craig Shoemake rated it it was amazing
Shelves: buddhist-philosophy, theravada-buddhism
This is my second reading of this book. I can't remember exactly when I read it the first time; the early ohs, probably. But given some of the comments I'd made in the margins, I expected to disagree-perhaps violently-with a lot of it. I was pleasantly surprised.
One thought that kept occurring to me as I read was to try to figure out if the book was appropriate for beginners to Buddhism, or strictly for more experienced sorts. Honestly, I'm still not sure about that, because exactly how to classify Batchelor's little tome even seems problematic. To be frank, I'm not sure you can say it is about Buddhism. It talks a lot about the Buddha and his teachings, no doubt, but the impression I get is that it is more of a meditation on the implications of dharma and dharma practice for modern men and women than something about Buddhism as Buddhism. For example, you get very little of the traditional points of doctrine, or even meditation practice, though a few exercises are discussed. These are all in the background, though, like pieces of furniture, and the reader is expected to find his or her own familiar seat among them and listen while Batchelor discusses whatever's on his mind. So, on this account I think it must be for advanced dharma folks...
But perhaps not. Many people, those "with little dust in their eyes," will be startled and stimulated by Batchelor's eloquent, often insightful ponderings. He points out that the Buddha's way of awakening did not begin as a religion-is not really a religion at all-but started out as an expression of one amazing man's experience of freedom, of his putting an end to suffering-or, as Batchelor rather oddly terms it, "anguish." (I must confess, this translation of the word dukkha jarred me from beginning to end. It's rather too extreme and not general enough.) Batchelor goes on to say-and here is where the controversy starts-that the proper attitude, the one in keeping with the Buddha's own, is agnosticism, a critical, even desperate sense of not knowing, of being open to insight.
At times he explicates this position brilliantly. Consider this passage, for me one of the highlights of the book:
"Such unknowing is not the end of the track: the point beyond which thinking can proceed no further. This unknowing is the basis of deep agnosticism. When belief and opinion are suspended, the mind has nowhere to rest. We are free to begin a radically other kind of questioning.
"This questioning is present within unknowing itself. As soon as awareness finds itself baffled and puzzled by rainfall, a chair, the breath, they present themselves as questions. Habitual assumptions and descriptions suddenly fail and we hear our stammering voices cry out: "What is this?" Or simply: "What?" or "Why?" Or perhaps no words at all, just "?"
"The sheer presence of things is startling. They provoke awe, wonder, incomprehension, shock. Not just the mind but the entire organism feels perplexed. This can be unsettling...
"The task of dharma practice is to sustain this perplexity within the context of calm, clear, and centered awareness..." (pp. 97-8)
A few paragraphs below, Batchelor writes in paraphrase of Tsongkhapa: "Questioning is the track on which the centered person moves." Herein lies the heart of the book.
Immediately I was reminded of the author's Korean Zen (Seon) roots and of the practice of the hwadu, better known by the Japanese term koan. For me the passage hit home for in fact the first awakening experience I ever had resulted from just such a sense of deep questioning following upon a very stimulating conversation with a friend, and my life has never been the same since.
Alas, Batchelor overreaches and in places his agnosticism descends into Western materialist pontificating. This occurs especially in the chapter entitled "Rebirth," where he makes a number of groundless assertions. For example, on page 34 he says "The Buddha accepted the idea of rebirth." The texts, however, make it clear that rebirth was a matter of experiential fact for the Buddha as well as many of his disciples. (My own experience inclines me, rather strongly, to side with the textual accounts.) Batchelor goes on to say "In accepting the idea of rebirth, the Buddha reflected the worldview of his time." But in fact the Buddha redifined the understanding of this process, from one involving a reincarnating soul (atman) to one of impersonal consciousness taking form dependent upon conditions. Cf. the Mahatnhasankhaya Sutta (M.38) which begins "Now on that occasion a pernicious view had arisen in a bhikkhu named Sati... thus: `As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders through the round of rebirths, not another.'" That "pernicious view" is none other than the ever popular reincarnation theory of Hinduism and Western New Age claptrap. Batchelor then claims "The Buddha found the prevailing Indian view of rebirth sufficient as a basis for his ethical and liberating teaching" (p. 35). But this is in direct contradiction to the quote from the Buddha on the opposite page: "But if there is no other world and there is no fruit and ripening of actions well done or ill done, then here and now in this life I shall be free from hostility, affliction, and anxieity, and I shall live happily..." Quite plainly, the Buddha's ethics did not derive from a "belief" in reincarnation of any sort. Rather, it was something that possessed independent merits and purpose. Batchelor's incoherence on this point undermines his otherwise excellent thesis that the spirit of the Buddha's teaching is not dogmatic or ideological, but practical, empirical and investigative.
It is quite fine though if someone wishes to remain agnostic on the question of rebirth. That is not an unreasonable position. But where Batchelor's materialist agenda really rears its ugly head is on page 37, where he claims karma (kamma in Pali) is some kind of "ancient Indian metaphysical theory." Batchelor says "...the Buddha accepted the idea of karma as he accepted that of rebirth..." But as he himself notes, the word karma literally means "action" and in the Buddha's psychology specifically conscious action or, to put it redundantly, "intentional intention." The notion that intentions and conscious actions have repercussions, that they condition the psyche and predispose it to certain influences and outcomes, is hardly a "metaphysical theory" but rather a fact seen in direct reflexive observation. A good course of vipassana meditation will make this apparent to any who harbor lingering doubts, for there the impersonal flow of cause and effect in the states and contents of consciousness become palpably, indeed painfully, clear.
Batchelor-good materialist that he is-adopts the notion that consciousness is entirely explicable in terms of brain function-itself an article of faith as yet unverified by any experiment or data. While no one will argue against the notion that changing brain structure or chemistry can alter conscious experience, it is also a fact that by thinking consistently in a certain way, or by determining to do something repetitively-both of which are acts of conscioussness-I can alter my brain structure and chemistry, thereby clearly demonstrating that consciousness and the brain are interdependent; it is not a one way street where the one strictly determines the other. Batchelor, however, is too ideological too consider this point.
I have not yet read this book's successor volume, Confessions of A Buddhist Atheist, which even Christopher Hitchens found palatable. From what I've read though, Batchelor there really presses his brand of agnosticism to the limits, perhaps to the point of utter failure. I'll leave my considerations on that one for a future review, if I ever get around to it. For now I would simply like to say that despite the above noted flaws, Buddhism Without Beliefs is a beautifully written, deeply thought and felt little book worthy of the attention it has received. Batchelor is a wise voice and an excellent writer to boot and though his book deserves criticism it also deserves praise. My final conclusion is that while beginners in Buddhism can benefit from the book, it will probably mean much more to those who have sufficient reading and practice under their belts.
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May 01, 2018Dan Slimmon rated it liked it
Shelves: non-fiction, philosophy
This book is very densely packed with wise-seeming aphorisms. And the nature of wisdom is that you can't tell whether it's actually wisdom until you learn it the hard way. So I guess I'll keep this book around, and I can come back when I'm old to tell myself I told me so.
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Sep 08, 2018Carrie Poppy rated it it was amazing
Great
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Mar 20, 2010Lori rated it really liked it
Recommends it for: agnostics
Shelves: spirituality-or-lack-of
"I am confused." writes Stephen Batchelor. "I am confused by the sheer irrationality, ambiguity, and abundance of things coming into being at all. I am confused by having been born into a world from which I will be ejected by death. I am confused as to who or why I am. I am confused by a labyrinth of choices I face. I don't know what to do."
He goes on: "This confusion is not a state of darkness in which I fail to see anything. It is partial blindness rather than sightlessness."
One way in which we can begin to gain deeper understanding of life and its mysteries is through meditation and contemplation of Dharma practice. Individuals from across faith groups have come to Buddhist thought as a method of digging deeper into their sense of awareness, compassion, responsibility and the pursuit of a more enlightened journey through life. Batchelor addresses dharma practice and Buddhist thought through the perspective of an agnostic.
Agnosticism, coined as a term by T. H. Huxley in 1869 is defined as a method rather than a creed. The principle is expressed as: "Follow your reason as far as it will take you." and "Do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable."
Batchelor expresses the key to my appreciation for the honesty of agnosticism succinctly when he writes that agnosticism is "founded on a passionate recognition that I DO NOT KNOW. It confronts the enormity of having been born instead of reaching for the consolation of a belief."
So much of what the author had to say resonated with my own conflicts. I WANT there to be more. I suspect that, in some way, there is. But I DO NOT KNOW. I appreciate Buddhist thought so much because it is not confined to a particular religion or dogma. It emphasizes individual study and contemplation and personal challenge to be a kinder and more thoughtful person. It does not give any easy "just join up with our group and reap eternal rewards" promise. Buddhist writings give me a spiritual outlet without forcing me to embrace the elements of organized religion that I mistrust.
There is a movement, however, to mystify Buddhism and to create a religious hierarchy around it. Some Buddhists feel comfortable with this approach. Other readers will be excited by the notion of Awakening as a more concrete process. In Batchelor's words: "Awakening is no longer seen as something to attain in the distant future, for it is not a thing but a process -- and this process is the path itself. We have not been elevated to the lofty heights of awakening; awakening has been knocked off its pedestal into the turmoil and ambiguity of everyday life."
I was very inspired by much of what was covered in this book. A slender volume broken down into short chapters, this book can be read and digested a little at a time. I took several notes as I read. Two of the passages that were especially thought provoking for me:
"Life is neither meaningful nor meaningless. Meaning and its absence are given to life by language and imagination."
"Awakening is indeed close by ---and supreme effort is required to realize it. Awakening is indeed far away -- and readily accessible."
Buddhism without Belief is highly recommended to anyone who is curious and not troubled by a lack of religious orthodoxy.
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Jan 07, 2013Behzad rated it it was amazing
For a long time, I have been interested in attempts to combine certain secular aspects of Western culture with Buddhism. Stephen Bachelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs is an important contribution to the effort to harmonize Western thought with the Buddhist understanding of the mind. Bachelor has helped me see that what I like the best about the West and Buddhism are the same -- the promise of a free mind. I can do without the rest -- the West's militarism, ideological conformity, and mindless consumerism; Buddhism's karma, reincarnation, and mythology.
Bachelor (among others) has tried to do with the Buddha what many, including Thomas Jefferson and Tolstoy, tried to do with Jesus -- peel away the layers of myth, the cultural and historical distortions, and keep only what was original and insightful about the teachings. Of course, such a project is probably impossible when dealing with religious figures who have been the subject of centuries of myth-making. When you are done peeling, what is left is often only what you started out wanting to find.
So perhaps it is more accurate to say that Bachelor has not discovered anything, but invented (or re-invented) a Buddhism that is palatable to the modern Western mind: a psychological understanding of the origins of our sufferings, meditation as a tool to still the mind, and a feeling in the bones of the reality of impermanence. (less)
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Sep 17, 2011Steve Woods rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites, buddhism, spirituality
Stephen Batchelor is an important author for anyone interested in Buddhism to become acquainted with. Many of the primary tenets of Buddhist practice are quite difficult for westerners to get to grips with and this book is probably the best primer I have seen. He strips away all the jargon and the religious mumbo jumbo that often keeps people from direct contact with a way of thinking and living life that has probably saved mine. The exercises he presents here provide an opportunity for first contact and a base from which to explore further. If a person works their way through this book carefully then goes to work by authors like Jack Kornfield, Frits Koster and Joseph Goldstein it will all satrt to make perfect sense. Essentially Batchelor puts the view that Buddhist practice as set out by the Buddha is possible and efficacious without the necessity to believe anything. He takes the Buddha's exhortation to believe only what one has experienced directly as given. Stripping away the stumbling blocks set up by the views of things like reincarnation and karma commonly held in the west has been a great service. A great first book. (less)
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