A review of Karen Armstrongs biography on the Buddha. An Insightful Biography. Karen Armstrong, the author of the best sellers A History of God, The Battle for God, and Islam A Short History, is known for her reputation as a lucid and insightful historian of Western religions, with a particular expertise on Islam. Leaving the interplay of monotheistic history might seem like a departure for her, but it really isnt. Even in A History of God, Armstrong referred often to happenings in the Buddhist world to give an even wider perspective to Western religious history. Karen Armstrong Buddha Pdf BooksMuhammad Karen Armstrong PdfApparently, she has an inside connection she dedicates this book to Lindsey Armstrong, her Buddhist sister. There are many excellent biographies of the Buddha available, especially coming from a faith perspective, such as Thich Nhat Hahns Old Path, White Clouds. However, Armstrong predictably applies her historians ability to capture the sense of the time and presents Siddhatta Gotama aka Siddhartha Gautama Armstrong uses Pali forms consistently in this book in the context of his time and culture. She begins with a frank assessment of the difficulty of a historians work in capturing Gotamas life. Although the massive Pali canon bursts at the seams with his conversations and accounts of events in his life, they are conspicuously stylized for recitation, and they deliberately avoid revealing his personality. Furthermore, they were not committed to writing until hundreds of years after his death, so a historian must use them judiciously. Buddha karen armstrong Below PDF File Buddha Karen Armstrong Page 1. Title Buddha Karen Armstrong Subject buddha karen armstrong Keywords. Free PDF Download Books by Karen Armstrong. Buddhism is a faith that commands over 100 million followers throughout the world. Buddha stands with Christ, Confucius. Karen Armstrong Collection., Buddha, The, Spiral. Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1. Add Review. With such bestsellers as A History of God and Islam, Karen Armstrong has consistently delivered penetrating, readable, and prescient The New York Times works that. Karen Armstrong Buddha Pdf' title='Karen Armstrong Buddha Pdf' />Nevertheless, Armstrong dives into the accounts, separating the oldest accounts from later ones, and embellishments from history. Her style might seem somewhat repetitive to someone familiar with Buddhism, but she wants to build a clear understanding with a reader who knows nothing on the subject. Generally, her style is clear and fresh, only occasionally does her perspective get in the way, for instance, in psychologizing Mara the tempters appearance as Buddhas subconscious shadow. Looking around the Buddha. Armstrongs greatest accomplishment here is in looking around the Buddha to give the reader a sense of the social and political situation in upper Ganges basin, the family life of a prince of a major tribe, and the interweaving threads of his family and companions throughout his life. Buddha Karen Armstrong. Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd. Buddha By Karen Armstrong. Penguin LIVES Series. Karen Armstrongs Buddha is not a bad book at all. It is highly interesting and engages the reader to think in new directions. But not all of them are worthwhile. Buddha Buddha. by Karen Armstrong. Looking around the Buddha. Armstrongs greatest accomplishment here is in looking around the Buddha to give the reader a sense. For instance, we find that becoming a sanyasin, a renunciate monk, was not at all uncommon. Armstrong shows us that thousands of young people throughout the region were sick of the structure of their society and resolved to go forth as renunciates, rebelling against a world system that seemed evil and meaningless by dedicating themselves to finding the key to total liberation from it. For them, total liberation meant never having to return to this realm where ultimately sickness and death prevail. So pervasive was the dissatisfaction with the state of things, that Armstrong says these mendicant monks were seen as heroic pioneers and were honored as rebels by society as a whole. Plant Breeding Software S. The account of the six years between Gotamas going forth to becoming the enlightened one is particularly fascinating. We learn surprisingly specific information of the teachers he had, the philosophies they upheld, the disciplines he practiced, and why he ultimately found all of them lacking. From there, we learn of his dedication to the practice of mindfulness, the discovery of the Eightfold Path, and his enlightenment. Much Buddhist writing is simply dreary. Unenlightened Buddhists not only lack the experience which they seek, but they may not have the environment of joyous enlightenment around them to fuel their quest with joy. Non Buddhists who write on Buddhism routinely misinterpret vital but difficult concepts such as nirvana, anicca, and anatta, sometimes even believing them to signify a quest for annihilationAmazing the persistence of such ignorance. Armstrong is the first writer Ive come across who successfully communicates the incredible joy the Buddha radiated, which drew tens of thousands of people to his radical way of life. People saw something passionate and compelling in him In short, this book will certainly give readers new insight into the Buddha, and might give many new insight into Buddhism itself. Karen Armstrong Islam Pdf' title='Karen Armstrong Islam Pdf' />In her book,Buddha, published in 2001 in New York, Karen Armstrong notes that there is no chronological account of the Buddhas life, or record of his teachings.