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Stephen Batchelor: Buddhism without Beliefs (1998, Riverheads Books) 4 stars

A national bestseller and acclaimed guide to Buddhism for beginners and practitioners alike

In this …

Review of 'Buddhism without Beliefs' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There are definitely good nuggets within this book. Some of the writing tends to drag things out with overly repetitive explorations of a one word topic. I get that from the perspective of how deceptively complex some things can be. However in many places it feels like the scripture reading in the Holy Hand Grenade scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail. There is no new depth added either directly, or even indirectly because something is being described again from a different perspective. It just feels like extra word count.

If you are reading this in passing it is a quick read. If you are reading this trying to meditate on the concepts then it is best to take it one chapter at a time and explore those concepts of each chapter in isolation. It will still be a quick read in terms of time that eyes are on pages but internalizing the information takes longer. I think both ways of reading it would be equally valid.