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Buddhism Plain And Simple Book Report

1522 Words7 Pages

Buddhism: Plain and Simple by Steve Hagan was a very intellectual, and enlightening read. The book is the strongest, and clearest description of Buddhism you will ever find. All the facets of Buddhism are discussed in the book: the main four truths of the buddha-dharma, the eightfold path, the arising and ceasing of duhkha the false belief in a personal self and plentiful more. As clear as the descriptions were, I, personally, found the book to be a bit frustrating although my understanding of the religion was fulfilled. Throughout the book, I found myself asking my wife, some thoughtful questions and picking her brain for insight. Buddhism: Plain and Simple as enlightening as it was, found ways to breakdown such a complex religion and giving the reader a very direct, and straightforward view. As easy as it was to read, it still left me with some unanswered questions. I am personally, not very religious, so my view of religions and the world is very broad and open. I thought I would be more attracted to this read, but the fact is, the faith and philosophy intertwined with Buddhism and Asian culture was very confusing. There are so many cultures defined by Buddhism, and although Steve Hagan did such a beautiful …show more content…

For those that seek to free themselves of pain and suffering, it is essential for them to grasp the concept of the fourth truths. Lucky for the reader, Hagan does a brilliant job of breaking this down easy for the reader to grasp, but I don’t think he necessarily knows how to direct someone to put it into use. Hagan states “basically, we’re confused about what we actually want. We don’t easily see that all we really want— all any of us want— is simply to be awake” (34). The statement by Hagan is striking, and bold. This is where I started to really grasp the concept, but not fully understand how to it connects to my personal

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