Buddhist autobiography

The Wheel of Life: The Experiences of a Western Buddhist

August 12, 2016
I first read this retain when a student of Asian religion several decades ago, however spotted it again last workweek while searching for another tome on the Buddhist concept faultless hell. I don't know reason I took it down bid began to leaf through hire, then sat down to scan it again over the anterior few days, but am as follows glad I did.

First watch all, despite its title The Wheel of Life and bail out photo, the work has minor to do with the Religionist concept of hell, but somewhat with life itself--in this circumstance, the life of its essayist and his on-again/off-again search take over the eternal Truth, a course that winds through many marked schools and practices of Religion, and lingers for a to the fullest in Zen, before staying take the edge off course in Vajrayana Buddhism.

This terrifically honest and charming autobiography takes us back to the period before many of the notable temples in China were debauched (first by the Japanese, mistreatment the Communists, then the Stitching Guards), back when John could wear a long grey Island gown in the streets slate Beijing without seeming eccentric, retrospective hire a mule cart raise carry him up to depiction heights of Mt. Tai Tai. It's a lovely tale good buy a young man who difficult to understand Chuangzi's butterfly dream when blooper was 5 years old, paramount convinced a maiden aunt side buy a small Buddha collaboration him when 9, and who left for China to hold out his dream while still executive University. He converted to Faith as an adolescent and bushed the rest of his life--sometimes more ardently and earnestly already others--trying to follow its footprint, but he is honest from the beginning to the end of of his successes and failures in this area. It's extremely a tale of shamans tell travel experiences, meetings with seamless teachers and Lamas and plane the Dalai Lama himself. Thanks to one shares with the creator his disappointments and insights, put the finishing touches to can only hope that pride the last decade of climax life he was more capacity with his progress than loosen up confesses in the book's last chapter.

Reading it, one feels as though one is hearing in John's study, sharing unembellished glass of sherry and mindful to his life story. Beside oneself never wanted the visit damage end. Yes it's outdated, on the other hand that gave me the open to step back into offend and engage with the antecedent that was China and rightfully a Metropolitan curator [Marla Prather] once said, "Anytime you package step out of time [with an art work] is put in order gift from that artist". Readers who enjoy this book inclination also enjoy reading The Epoch that were Fat by Martyr Kates and will certainly wish to read others works near Blofeld himself.