Name: What Makes You Not a Buddhist
ISBN: 9780834823167

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

So you think you're a Buddhist? Think again. Tibetan Buddhist master Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, one of the most creative and innovative lamas teaching today, throws down the gauntlet to the Buddhist world, challenging common misconceptions, stereotypes, and fantasies. With wit and irony, Khysentse urges readers to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism—beyond the romance with beads, incense, or exotic robes—straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught.

What Makes You Not a Buddhist

Jamyang Khyentse

Dzongsar Khyentse is one of the most creative and innovative young Tibetan Buddhist lamas teaching today. The director of two feature films with Buddhist themes (the international sensation The Cup and Travelers and Magicians), this provocative teacher, artist, and poet is widely known and admired by Western Buddhists. Moving away from conventional presentations of Buddhist teachings, Khyentse challenges readers to make sure they know what they're talking about before they claim to be Buddhist. With wit and irony, Khyentse urges readers to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism--beyond a romance with beads, incense, and exotic people in robes--straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught. In essence, this book explains what a Buddhist really is, namely, someone who deeply understands the truth of impermanence and how our emotions can trap us in cycles of suffering. Khyentse presents the fundamental tenets of Buddhism in simple language, using examples we can all relate to.

rumbledethumps

This is one of the more accessible books on Buddhism I have read. The author does a good job of explaining the fundamental tenets and beliefs of Buddhism, and I would recommend for that reason.

Where the author loses me is in claiming that Buddhism is not a religion. Yet the origin story of the Buddha is a mythic epic, where Siddhartha faces demons and gods. As is often the case with believers of any faith, his own faith seems so true that it cannot possibly be compared with another religion, and therefore is above the label of "religion."

He writes, "Probably the biggest discovery in human history was Siddhartha’s realization that the self does not exist independently, that it is a mere label, and therefore that clinging to it is ignorance." This statement relies on faith. There is actually no evidence to back up this statement, but no doubt it seems inarguably true to those who believe it already.

This was expected when I started reading, so I still recommend this book highly for its clear explanations of Buddhism, especially the Four Seals. And I suppose also for the insight as to What Makes Me Not a Buddhist.

What Makes You Not a Buddhist

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