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BUDDHA is an inspiring re-imagining of the life of a prince who gave up the trappings of royalty for something much more important-wisdom and enlightenment. This revolutionary journey has changed the world forever, and the lessons Buddha taught continue to influence every corner of the globe today. This is a new form of teaching for beloved Chopra and with it he brings us closer to understanding the true nature of life and ourselves.
From the Author's Note:
"I wrote this book as a sacred journey, fictionalized in many of its externals but psychologically true, I hope, to what the seeker's path feels like. In all three phases of his life-Siddhartha the prince, Gautama the monk, and Buddha the Compassionate One -- he was as mortal as you and I, yet he attained enlightenment and was raised to the rank of an immortal. The miracle is that he got there following a heart as human as yours and mine, and just as vulnerable. "
Eastern philosophy popularizer and mind-body pioneer Chopra has done novels before, and critics have not found fiction his long suit. That should change with this tale of how the Indian prince Siddhartha came to be the enlightened one, the Buddha. The subject is tailor-made for Chopra. He can draw on what he's familiar with: the ancient Indian culture that shaped the historic personage of the Buddha, and the powers of mind that meditation harnesses. Although the novel begins a little slowly with exposition and character introduction, once the character of the Buddha is old enough to occupy center stage, Chopra simply portrays the natural internal conflict experienced by any human seeking spiritual wisdom and transformation. Centered on a single character, the narrative moves forward simply and inexorably. Especially imaginative and intriguing is the low-key nature of the Buddha's enlightenment experience. In case Chopra's fans want something more direct, an epilogue and concluding "practical guide" offer nonfiction commentary and teaching on core Buddhist principles. Chopra thanks a film director friend for sparking the project, and the novel has clear cinematic potential. This fast and easy-to-read book teaches without being didactic. Chopra scores a fiction winner. (May)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Deepak Chopra, MD, FACP, is the author of God: A Story of Revelation, in addition to more than sixty-five books that have been translated into more than eighty languages, including twenty New York Times bestsellers in both fiction and nonfiction. His medical training is in internal medicine and endocrinology, and he is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, adjunct professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Distinguished Executive Scholar at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, and Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization.
Dr. Chopra participates annually as a lecturer at the Update in Internal Medicine sponsored by Harvard Medical School, Department of Continuing Education and the Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center since 1997. Time magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century and credits him as "the poet-prophet of alternative medicine."
Chopra's bestselling books on a variety of topics have been translated into 35 languages. His lectures, seminars, and learning materials are immensely popular, as are his television specials for PBS. In addition, he has founded his own medical center called the Chopra Center for Well Being and has won fans amongst celebrities ranging from Prince Charles to Mikhail Gorbachev to Demi Moore to David Lynch. When financier/philanthropist Michael Milken was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he claimed that Chopra's holistic methods shrunk his lymph nodes by 90%.
Chopra's interest in alternative medicine initially grew out of concern for his own health. After moving from India to set up a practice medicine in Boston some 25 years ago, Chopra succumbed to many of the stresses that plague medical professionals. As a result, he guzzled coffee, chain-smoked, and drank heavily. Once he began studying eastern philosophies by way of Krishnamurti and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, he became aware of medical practices outside of the sometimes limited western perspective. This awakening changed his life.
While Chopra is viewed as a major proponent of the role of Eastern philosophies in healing, he does not reject western medicine. In fact, what makes his approach so unique is the way he incorporates the best aspects of western medical research into his theories. This amalgamation of medical philosophies is at the root of self-help volumes like Restful Sleep, Perfect Weight, and Boundless Energy. Elsewhere, Chopra has addressed such diverse issues as reversing the aging process (Ageless Body, Timeless Mind), perfecting personal relationships (The Path to Love), and achieving capitalist goals via Eastern philosophies (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success).
Chopra has also become concerned with the causes of war and violence and the principles of Eastern religions, especially Buddhism, and his books on these subjects have garnered praise from such major international figures as the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Boutros-Boutros Ghali. Consequently, Chopra continues to play a significant role in world health and world politics in spite of detractors and skeptics. With an immense body of work behind him and more volumes of wisdom sure to follow, he continues to preach the simple philosophy he is certain is the key to understanding ourselves, mentally and physically: "We're not human beings that have occasional spiritual experiences, it's the other way around: we're spiritual beings that have occasional human experiences."
Chopra's father was a prominent cardiologist and an anglophile who distrusted Indian philosophies and alternative medical practices.
Despite his reputation as a serious-minded intellectual, Chopra describes himself as "playful" and "carefree."
Chapter One
The Kingdom of Sakya, 563 BCE
One crisp spring day King Suddhodana turned in his saddle to survey the battlefield. He needed a weakness to exploit, and he was confident the enemy had left one for him. They always did. His senses were closed to everything else. Screams of the wounded and dying were heightened by the hoarse commands of his officers bellowing orders and calling on the gods for help. Torn by hooves and elephants' feet, cut by iron-rimmed chariot wheels, the land oozed blood as if the earth itself were mortally wounded.
"More soldiers! I want more soldiers now!"
Suddhodana didn't wait for anyone to obey. "If any man within the sound of my voice runs away, I will kill him personally!"
Charioteers and infantry moved toward the king, battered figures so filthy with fighting they could have been demiurges fashioned from the mud of the field.
Suddhodana was a warrior king, and the first thing to know about him is this: he mistook himself for a god. Along with his army, the king would kneel in the temple and pray before he went to war, but he put no trust in divine help. Leaving the gates of the capital behind, Suddhodana turned his head for one last look at home. But as the miles lengthened from Kapilavastu, his mood changed. By the time he came to the battlefield, its roiling activity and the smells that assaulted his nostrils—straw and blood, soldiers' sweat and dying horses—carried Suddhodana into another world. It smothered him completely in the belief that he could never lose.
The present campaign wasn't of his doing. Ravi Santhanam, a northernwarlord along the Nepalese border, had taken one of Suddhodana's trade caravans in a surprise attack. Suddhodana's retaliation came almost immediately. Even though the warlord's men had the advantage of the high ground and home terrain, Suddhodana's forces steadily chewed into their holdings. Horses and elephants trampled over the fallen, dead or still alive but too weak to escape. Suddhodana guided his mount next to the belly of a rearing bull elephant, narrowly avoiding the massive feet as they plunged downward. Half a dozen arrows had pierced it, driving the beast into a frenzy.
"I want a new line of chariots, close file!" He had seen where the enemy front was exhausted and ready to buckle. A dozen more chariots pulled up in advance of the infantry. Their metal-bound wheels clattered across the hard ground. The charioteers had archers standing behind them who unleashed arrows into the warlord's army.
"Make a moving wall," Suddhodana shouted. "I want to crush their line."
His charioteers were experienced veterans; they were hard-faced, merciless men. Suddhodana rode slowly before them, ignoring the strife only a short distance away. He spoke quietly. "The gods command that there can be only one king. But I swear that I am no better than a common soldier today, and you are as good as kings. Each man here is part of me. So what's left for the king to say? Only two words, but they are the two that your hearts want to hear. Victory. And home!" Then his command cracked like a whip.
"All together—move!"
Both armies rushed screaming into the breach like opposing oceans. Violence brought contentment to Suddhodana. His sword whirled as he split a man's head with a single blow. His wall was advancing, and if the gods willed it, as they had to will it, the enemy forces would open, one corpse at a time, until Suddhodana's infantry moved in, a tight wedge gliding forward on enemy blood. The king would have scoffed at anyone who denied that he was at the very center of the world.
At that hour Suddhodana's queen was being carried in a litter through the depths of the forest. She was ten months pregnant, a sign, the astrologers said, that the baby would be extraordinary. But in Queen Maya's mind nothing was extraordinary except the anxiety that surrounded her. She had decided, much too impetuously, to travel back to her mother's home to have her baby.
Suddhodana hadn't wanted to let her go. It was the custom for new mothers to go home to deliver, but he and Maya were inseparable. He was tempted to refuse, until in her guileless way Maya asked his permission in front of the assembled court. The king couldn't refuse his queen publicly, despite the dangers involved.
"Who will accompany you?" he asked with an edge of harshness, hoping to frighten her away from this foolhardy plan.
"My women."
"Women?"
He raised his hand in grudging assent. "You'll have some men, whoever can be spared." Maya smiled and withdrew. Suddhodana didn't want to argue, because in truth his wife mystified him. Making her afraid of danger was futile. The physical world was like a thin membrane she glided over, as a midge glides over the surface of a pond without breaking the water's skin. Therefore, the world could touch Maya, move her, hurt her, but never change her.
The queen departed from Kapilavastu a day before the army. Kumbira, the eldest court lady, rode at the head of the procession as it moved through the forest. It was a meager company, consisting of six soldiers too old to serve in the war astride six nags too weak to charge the enemy. After them came four litter bearers, who had taken off their shoes to negotiate the stony path, shouldering the tasseled and beaded palanquin bearing the young queen. Maya made no sound hidden behind the swaying silk drapes, except for a stifled moan whenever a bearer stumbled and the litter took a sharp jolt. Three young ladies-in-waiting, who grumbled in low voices about having to walk, brought up the rear.
Gray-haired Kumbira kept her gaze moving, aware of the dangers that lurked on both sides. This road, which was just a narrow cut in the granite slope, had begun as a smuggler's trail when poached deer hides, spices, and other contraband were trafficked to Nepal; it was still favored by bandits. Tigers were known to snatch their prey from terrified bands of travelers in this area, even in the brightest hour of the day. To ward them off, the bearers wore masks facing backward on their heads, believing that a tiger will only leap from the rear, never directly at a person who is looking at it.
Buddha. Copyright © by Deepak Chopra. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.Pegasus777
Posted September 21, 2010
Very well written, good job Mr. Chopra! I feel as though I was beside Siddhartha, on his Journey to understanding himself and his Quest for "Nirvana/Buddha"! I will recommend this excellent read!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 23, 2013
Ericas locked out go to budda result three.
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Posted February 23, 2013
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Anonymous
Posted January 4, 2013
Knowing almost nothing about Buddha, I was surprised how exciting this novel is. I enjoyed it immensely and found it fun AND enlightening. You do not have to be interested in becoming a buddhist to enjoy this exciting, almost fairy tale-like novel.
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Posted July 28, 2012
Great book
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Posted April 10, 2012
Wow, the path to finding your true self within. If you have an open mind then this book is for you.
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Posted February 25, 2012
Great historical look in an interesting format.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I rarely give five star reviews... usually the best I do is four. And I came at this skeptically because of the touchy feely repuation of the author. I was wrong. This is an absolutely incredible book.
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Posted June 23, 2011
Hi, i'm trying to buy the book but it says it is unavailable... what does it mean? :s
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 29, 2011
Best telling of the Buddha story I've read. Read it while traveling through Thailand and it was perfect complement to what I was seeing and experiencing.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.When it comes to reading books, I rarely choose historical fiction. In fact, this was my first spiritual historical fiction. (At least that I remember!) So I will admit some reluctance in starting this book.
Mr. Chopra does a fine job of storytelling with this 'possible' tale of how Siddhartha Gautama became The Buddha. He outlines Siddhartha's separateness before birth and how human he was. And how different he was from others around him. Yet he was the same, for he felt pain, suffered, and enjoyed pleasures as all humans do. Siddhartha's difference is what made him seek out the answers to the questions we all ask.
I will not say much more about the book for fear of telling too much. I will say I felt what Siddhartha felt and at times had to put the book away until my eyes were not clouded with tears. (Maybe I was just tired and thus the watery eyes?) And the end is not quite what I had envisioned but it was great.
Now for the not so good: I felt the story plodded much of the time. Sometimes the scene changed abruptly which caused me to go back over what I had read to make sure I hadn't missed a line or so. I also felt there was not always a clear reason for the main character to make a decision when he did.
All this taken into consideration, I say.....read this book. Glean from it as you may or not. 'Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment' is worth your time. ~ Debra Saturday
I had trouble getting into this book but after I got into it I really enjoyed it. Not having any real knowledge of who Buddha was except that there was a religion based on his teachings I really liked that the author took what is known about Buddha and made it into a novel that was educational and interesting (I know that should have been one or two sentences but I've been taking down Christmas decorations and I'm tired). Obviously it's fiction so the book is not 100% true to his life but after researching more about Buddha after finishing the book I found that the author didn't really change to much.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I attended Catholic school for thirteen years and, as a result, I'm not very religious. I also have never considered myself a particularly spiritual individual. This book, while a fictionalized account of the life of Siddhartha Gautama, made me really want to investigate Buddhism.
Deepak Chopra, while not famed for being a novelist, demonstrates a compelling way with words. His prose feels heightened without being flowery or ornate. You can approach this book as a novel, a spiritual treatise, or a mix of both. You are in good hands with Chopra and the experience will move you.
I attended Catholic school for thirteen years and, as a result, I'm not very religious. I also have never considered myself a particularly spiritual individual. This book, while a fictionalized account of the life of Siddhartha Gautama, made me really want to investigate Buddhism.
Deepak Chopra, while not famed for being a novelist, demonstrates a compelling way with words. His prose feels heightened without being flowery or ornate. You can approach this book as a novel, a spiritual treatise, or a mix of both. You are in good hands with Chopra and the experience will move you.
Driver
Posted December 5, 2010
The trip to spiritual enlightenment is the hook. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It helped me see my own religion in a different light.
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Posted November 21, 2010
I loved this book! I have only mediocre knowledge of the story of Buddha but always had a yearning to discover it. I was interested the entire way through and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great story. I had thought it would be focused on spirituality but Deepak Chopra does an excellent job of creating a story of it!
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Posted November 16, 2010
this book was an easy read, inspering and enlightening
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Aeromoon
Posted November 3, 2010
This book brings Buddha to life and blends the physical world with the mystical in a seamless and enjoyable manner. Mr. Chopra has managed to portray Buddha in a way that all faiths and cultures can appreciate.
The struggles and suffering that Buddha experiences are universal. Buddha's journey is however, very unique. His humility and devotion to truth is absolutely inspiring. His gentleness is powerful.
I look forward to reading more of Deepak Chopra's work and feel my eyes have been opened to a world once unknown to me. Thank you Mr. Chopra!
SKYKING0714
Posted October 23, 2010
Easy to read and well done. A beliveable account of a great man. Thought provoking and still fun to read.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 19, 2010
Well written. Good story in typical Chopra style.
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Overview
BUDDHA is an inspiring re-imagining of the life of a prince who gave up the trappings of royalty for something much more important-wisdom and enlightenment. This revolutionary journey has changed the world forever, and the lessons Buddha taught continue to influence every corner of the globe today. This is a ...