…by Deepak Chopra.
A book about the life of Buddha, as the title suggests. The tale begins with the birth of Price Siddhartha, delves into how Siddhartha goes on to become monk Gautama and ends with how Gautama attains enlightenment and becomes Buddha. I won’t be able to do any justice if I start to narrate the whole story here, so I’m not even going to try.
Let me begin by saying that I am not aware of many details about the life of Buddha. So, personally for me, this book was a good start to get a peek into the stories and anecdotes from his childhood to his days as a young prince, from his decision to become a monk to him attaining enlightenment. It was a fast paced, engrossing story to read and I enjoyed it.
What I most liked about the book was the spiritual / philosophical outlook of life that Buddha’s words bring forward – the thought that everything / everyone around is an illusion, that letting go of desires will take us a step closer to looking beyond the illusion that surrounds us, that there is a state of pure eternal consciousness within all of us and to reach it we need devotion and hard work, etc. I don’t know how much of it the deep rooted teachings I really grasped, but I definitely am intrigued by it all.
The point that disappointed me about the book is the fact that the author discusses very little of Buddha’s life after he is enlightened. Two thirds of the book is only about his life before, as a prince, as a monk. As much as I enjoyed reading that, I would’ve liked it more if that part was cut short and the latter part was discussed in detail.
For the longest time I’ve wanted to read a book with a spiritual angle to it…something that doesn’t preach religion or God, but talks about how someone reached peace within himself/herself. And this book has provided acted as a good start. Now I know that I will be reading more about Buddha’s life and teachings.
This book was the Reader’s Choice Book of the Month for this month. So, did you read the book? What are your thoughts?
My rating: 3*.
*for the rating scale, click here.
