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1: Buddhism Plain and Simple
By trying to make it simple the author ended by distort the content and make it painful to read. the author try desperately to sound knowledgeable but it sound more like it really did not get the fundamentals of Buddha's teaching. he preach instead of showing a way, enumerate instead showing a path. the book will bring only confusion to anybody rather than opening the mind. it is not a realization of our suffering but rather a mirror of Mr Hagen own distraction on believing or trying to be a zen master. Obviously having been allowed the title of teacher went straight to the head of the person but certainly did not enlighten him. well at least that what i felt and that is my own feeling. i would recommend to start with other reading materials.
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2: Get this book
Hands down, the best book on buddhism out there. Skip the frills and cultural trappings and get this book. 160 pages but it's really all you need to know. Excellent!
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3: I don't feel so stupid now
I have been searching for answers. This book gives them plainly and makes concepts easy to understand. Great book and I will buy others from this author.
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4: Good exposure to the topic.....but not plain, simple or easy.
I found this book (Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen)
a great introduction to the principles and teachings of Buddhism.
Steve Hagen takes the reader into meditation techniques, the wisdom of self and the levels of awareness. I found his examples from life to be helpful in describing the "wisdom of self".
However, you will need to take it slowly. Read it a chapter at a time and reread chapters before advancing to the next stage. Why, because it is hard to explain the "reality" of Zen Buddhism. It is hard to understand the concepts of Buddhism, and even harder to explain those same concepts to another person who has no foundation to build on.
Buddhism (which comes from Buddha -the awakened one) in a nut shell is a fundamental way of looking at life. Live life for the moment; take it in for what it is. Enjoy the connection to the universe and do not let material things, mental worries and belief systems interfere with understanding the reality of living.
As you can see from the last paragraph- words cannot really describe Buddhism plain and simple. No book can describe the reality of the world around us. So this book may be a bit of a hard read for the very beginner.
By Sam Hendricks, Author of "Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Fantasy Football" and the soon to be released "Fantasy Football Almanac: 2008"
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5: Pass it on!
This book takes the mystery out of Buddhism. As I am neither a student of religion nor a psychologist, I can't tell whether what the author describes are the actual beliefs of Buddhism or just plain common sense and knowledge of the human psyche, but I give it to everyone I know.
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