Lives: Buddha

The life of the Buddha represents, as the author points out, an introduction to Buddhism; this is the best such account I have read - and I have half a shelf full. Ms Armstrong is sympathetic to her subject: she avoids both the sycophancy of the devotee and the cynicism of critic. She also manages a compact, narrative style which makes reading this, and her other books, a joy. She places Siddhartha Gautama in his proper historical context, with interesting details not found in other introductions, such as the fact that the caste system had not reached his home state of Shakya.She presents the basic concepts of Buddhism, and the tradition it challenged, in a clear, comprehensible manner, with an appropriate eye on the approaches of other religions. I now intend to work my way through all those of her books I have not yet read, and re-read those I already have. I hope she will consider an introduction to early Indian religion/philosophy which badly needs her enlightened touch.

I have never come across this perspective before. It has opened my eyes to what was happening at that time, and although I though the book could have been simpler, it was nevertheless, a very interesting read.

This is a very readable book about a figure that has influenced world history. For Buddhists and non-Buddhists is presents the Buddha in the cultural context of his time which is fascinating. It acknowledges the difficulties and tensions created by lack of contemporaneous accounts of his life and teaching reliant as we are on the oral transmission of his works for a long period. The explanations of Buddhist teachings are clear and sensitively presented with occasional reference where appropriate to other world faiths and modern views on gender issues. There are useful reference notes for further reading if wished. I was very impressed with this work and enjoyed reading it.

Another informative and easy to read book by Karen Armstrong. As an introduction or one off read about the Buddha I doubt you could choose a better book. Recommended.

Although it was written a few years back, Karen Armstrong had written a very interesting book on the life of Buddha. It was an opener for me and I could not put the book down once I started reading it. Excellent piece of work. Well done Karen!

good book for those studying religion or just have an interest in the subject

must read

While I found this book interesting, it suffers in my opinion from the lack of available information, written or archeological from the time of the Buddhas life ( there is no definite date for that).Karen Armstrong has written many books concerning the religious life, here because of the lack of written records beyond the Pali texts which were written down hundreds of years after the Buddhas death, she has had to imagine and fill in from her knowledge, the society and life of the Buddha.I am not sure about her approach to the “Axial Age”, she has written extensively about this in The Great Transformation” which I found hard going. I doubt if one has to look outside of the culture of North India at that time to understand Buddhism, as it evolved and was influenced by the ancient Aryan, Vedic religion.My second criticism is that she explains the Dhamma (doctrine and Practices) using Pali words which seems unnecessary in an introductory account such as this. It’s quite difficult to follow. A shame as the Buddhist teachings are more important than the life of the Buddha.What I did find interesting was the information about the Buddhas reluctance to admit women into the Sangha (the order of monks) and even when he did admit them they were regarded as an “ inferior breed” !The book ends with the rather sad and lonely death of the Buddha in a small obscure village. It would have been a better book I think if Armstrong had included a final chapter or two about how Buddhism continued and flourished up to this day.

No sólo aprendes de Buda, sino sus buenas enseñanzas

Buddha by Karen Armstrong allowed me to widen my knowledge by allowing me to understand both the Mythological and Factual information that different sources have.Her presentation and writing includes both of the above mentioned info which allows the reader to do a comparison b/w the both and to learn the teachings at the sane time.Have recommended this to quite a few friends/family members already.Literally gave me chills when I completed the 3rd chapterHad to kiss the book once I was done as I had no other means to show my respect and say thanks

Karen made an awesome job in researching and writing about the life of Siddhāttha Gotama (Buddha).The book is very well written and easy to read.While you learn about the trajectory of Buddha, you also get a glimpse of what it means to be an enlightened being, where to start and what path to follow.

Ein Buch aus einer Serie der Wegbereiter, den es interessiert, wird begeistert sein !

Of all the books I have read on Buddha this short little book does the best job of putting the dharma into focus, clarifies the many aspects of its origin and the various facets of the meditative practices and teachings from the earlier practices learned by Gotama to his complete understanding of enlightenment and how he taught it. It really gives meaning to many things from Goenka who often refers accurately to the early Pali texts. The history and the story are full of interesting passages taken from the earliest writings. In the end though the book is finished, just like the Buddha and everyone else leaving his karma and his work behind. I bought a hard copy for my library. Interesting that an ex Catholic nun did such a great job writing this book. Funny thing is that Gotama originally refused to let women in to the sangha probably due to the complications possible from sexual desire and even refused his step-mother who raised him. But he thought better of it fortunately. It is also interesting to muse that Chairman Mao, whose mother was a devout Buddhist, elevated all women to full social status during the revolution. Was this partly because of Buddha's teaching and things he learned from his mother? Is the successful communal nature of the Buddhist sangha over thousands of years a model for socialist societies? Could be. Everything is connected.So long, Buddha. Good bye, Buddha. (Haha there was even a Judas in the story.)