Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings of The Awakened One - Softcover

Blomfield, Vishvapani

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857388304 ISBN 13: 9780857388308

Publisher: Quercus, 2012

Synopsis

The words and example of Gautama (often known by the title, 'Buddha') have affected billions of people. But what do we really know about him? While there is much we cannot say for certain about the historical Gautama, this persuasive new biography provides the fullest and most plausible account yet. Weaving ancient sources and modern understanding into an engaging narrative, Vishvapani Blomfield examines Gautama's words and impact to shed fresh light on his culture, his spiritual search and the experiences and teachings that led his followers, to call him 'The Awakened One'. This book draws on the myths and legends that surround him to illuminate the significance of his life. It traces Gautama's investigations of consciousness, his strikingly original view of life and his development of new forms of religious community and practice. Blomfield's insightful and thought-provoking biography will appeal to anyone interested in history and religion, and in the Buddha as a thinker, spiritual teacher and a seminal cultural figure. Gautama Buddha is a compelling account of one of history's most powerful personalities.

About this title

Review:

'Master of clarity and simplicity, Vishvapani presents through the life of Buddha an understanding of Buddhism of immense relevance to the way we live now' Dorothy Rowe, author of Beyond Fear and Depression: The Way Out of Your Prison. (Dorothy Rowe)

From the Back Cover:

Whilst many accounts of the Buddha's life mix legend and history, this compelling new biography discriminates between fact and fiction to reveal Gautama, the remarkable human being behind the myth, and sheds new light on his teachings. Plunging us into the noises, smells and jostling streets of Gautama's world, Vishvapani Blomfield brings the Buddha to life as a passionate and determined individual - a strikingly modern figure who rejected contemporary beliefs and found his own answers by mastering his mind. Even after he gained Enlightenment and became the Buddha ('the Awakened One') Guatama experienced struggles as well as triumphs as he trod India's dusty paths. Vishvapani shows how he sought to establish a community of practitioners amid his society's divided culture and perilous politics, and how the ideas that became the Buddhist teachings grew from Gautama's efforts to address the needs and beliefs of his listeners. Drawing on years of meticulous research into original sources, Gautama Buddha takes us to within touching distance of one of history's greatest figures.

About this edition

• Publisher: Quercus
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0857388304
• ISBN 13: 9780857388308
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416