Confession of a Buddhist Atheist

Stephen Batchelor

ISBN 10: 0385527063 / ISBN 13: 9780385527064

Published by Speigel & Grau, 2010

About this Item

The author has inscribed this volume on the 1/2 title page. This volume contains underlining, margin marks, and the previous owner has placed page references from the text in other areas of the book, e.g. the map at the back of the book, these markings are in black ink. There are also a number of pages in which the upper corner has been folded, creased. Additionally, there has been some yellowing to the page edges. Two other items related to Buddhism have been laid into this volume by a previous owner. This is a stated First Edition with a full number line.

Seller Inventory # SpSi156

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Confession of a Buddhist Atheist
• Publisher: Speigel & Grau
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385527063
• ISBN 13: 9780385527064
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Signed

About this title

Synopsis

Written with the same brilliance and boldness that made Buddhism Without Beliefs a classic in its field, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist is Stephen Batchelor’s account of his journey through Buddhism, which culminates in a groundbreaking new portrait of the historical Buddha.

Stephen Batchelor grew up outside London and came of age in the 1960s. Like other seekers of his time, instead of going to college he set off to explore the world. Settling in India, he eventually became a Buddhist monk in Dharamsala, the Tibetan capital-in-exile, and entered the inner circle of monks around the Dalai Lama. He later moved to a monastery in South Korea to pursue intensive training in Zen Buddhism. Yet the more Batchelor read about the Buddha, the more he came to believe that the way Buddhism was being taught and practiced was at odds with the actual teachings of the Buddha himself. 

Charting his journey from hippie to monk to lay practitioner, teacher, and interpreter of Buddhist thought, Batchelor reconstructs the historical Buddha’s life, locating him within the social and political context of his world. In examining the ancient texts of the Pali Canon, the earliest record of the Buddha’s life and teachings, Batchelor argues that the Buddha was a man who looked at human life in a radically new way for his time, more interested in the question of how human beings should live in this world than in notions of karma and the afterlife.  According to Batchelor, the outlook of the Buddha was far removed from the piety and religiosity that has come to define much of Buddhism as we know it today. 

Both controversial and deeply personal, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist is a fascinating exploration of a religion that continues to engage the West. Batchelor’s insightful, deeply knowledgeable, and persuasive account will be an essential book for anyone interested in Buddhism.
 

About the Author

Stephen Batchelor is a former monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions and the author of books including Alone with Others, The Faith to Doubt, The Awakening of the West, Buddhism Without Beliefs, and Living with the Devil. He lives with his wife, Martine, in southwestern France and lectures and conducts meditation retreats throughout the world.