Living with the Devil

Stephen Batchelor

ISBN 10: 1594480877 / ISBN 13: 9781594480874

Published by Riverhead Books,U.S., 2005

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Living with the Devil
• Publisher: Riverhead Books,U.S.
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1594480877
• ISBN 13: 9781594480874
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Used; Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

In best-selling author and former monk Stephen Batchelor's seminal work on our greatest struggle - to become good - he traces the trajectory from the words of the Buddha and Christ through the writings of Shantideva Milton and Pascal to the poetry of Baudelaire the fiction of Kafka and the findings of modern physics and evolutionary biology to examine who we really are and to rest in the uncertainty that we may never know. Whether we are religious or not the Devil - evil incarnate - is a concept that can still strike fear in our hearts. What if he does exist? What if he is causing all our problems in his determination to keep us from reaching our full potential? Stephen Batchelor takes the concept of the Devil out of literature and history and brings him to life in his many forms and guises: the flatterer the playmate the caring friend the stranger who offers rest and solace the person who knows you best and shows you your greatness in the world. And most of all as the great obstructer that blocks all paths to goodness and true humility. For the first time Batchelor fuses Western literature - Milton Keats Baudelaire - with Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian traditions in a poetic exploration of the struggle with the concept and reality of evil. LIVING WITH THE DEVIL reveals the voice of a new poet and philosopher for our times.

About the Author

Stephen Batchelor is a former monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions and the author of the national bestseller Buddhism Without Beliefs. He lectures and conducts meditation retreats worldwide, and is a contributing editor for Tricycle.