Seeing with the Eye of Dhamma

Dhamma--a Pali word meaning “law of nature” or “truth,” but commonly used to refer to the overall body of Buddhist teachings--has the potential to fundamentally change one's life. In this comprehensive set of teachings, Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, perhaps the most influential Thai Buddhist of the twentieth century, introduces the Dhamma to lay practitioners in a relatable and powerful way. Beginning with an extensive discussion of spiritual practice and moving into specific teachings on Dhamma, this book will be an indispensable resource for Theravada Buddhists, Insight Meditation practitioners, and all readers interested in a profoundly committed modern approach to the Buddhist path. Review “I wish to recommend this translation of the great Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu’s Seeing with the Eye of Dhamma. It is a very comprehensive and easily readable presentation to inform us of how to develop and cultivate the Eightfold Path. It gives one much to contemplate and encourages one’s own practice of meditation.”—Ven. Ajahn Sumedho, author of The Sound of Silence “This book introduces the reader to one of the most important figures of modern Buddhism, Ajahn Buddhadāsa. Together with the Dalai Lama, he is one of the foremost thinkers who has worked to adapt Buddhism to the modern world by putting forth interpretations of the tradition that are rooted in the Buddha’s teachings while at the same time new and provocative. This book is an opportunity to meet this very creative teacher and to familiarize oneself with his ideas, which present the central teachings of Buddhism in a way that is in tune with the times. This book contains some of his core teachings and will give the reader a glimpse into some of his at times controversial thoughts. This is why Ajahn Buddhadāsa has been an inspiration for thousands of modern Buddhists (Thai and Western, including myself), and this book offers an opportunity to meet this great mind. I cannot think of a better book for people who think in a scientifically informed perspective and are also interested in Buddhism.”—Georges Dreyfus, author of The Sound of Two Hands Clapping

“Ajahn Buddhadāsa was a teacher ahead of his time. Delivered half a century ago in rural Thailand, the refreshing and informal lectures collected in this book prefigure many of the pragmatic, critical, engaged, and secular developments in Buddhist thought and practice that have become widespread today. A radical and often controversial figure, Buddhadāsa stripped away time-honored beliefs that have accumulated around Buddhism over the centuries and returned his audience to the immediacy of their own embodied experience. Dispensing with the metaphysics of rebirth and other realms of existence, he envisioned the Dhamma as a way of life here and now that can be realized by everyone, lay and monastic alike. This book opens a window onto an extraordinary Buddhist teacher, whose message may be even more relevant today than when it was first delivered.”—Stephen Batchelor, author of After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age