I went to Bookstock with Marie a few months ago. It was a huge used book sale event at a mall in Westland or something. Marie found a decent selection of stuff to buy. I didn't come away with much other than a book on Buddhism, one on Gucci, and one on some true-life motorcycle gang/murder thing. I just picked up non-fiction, as that's how I roll most of the time. Anyway, this was the book on Buddhism I copped for a couple bucks.
The title is a bit misleading. It's not terribly simple. Hagen starts off well and it's pretty down to earth. But as the book progresses he talks about a lot of theories that are genuinely hard to describe, and he doesn't really help matters. It's very metaphysical. He strips away all notions of religion and ceremony and focuses on the essence of the teachings, which is cool. But still, it's not quite a breakthrough in simplicity if you ask me. But that's no easy task.
It's not an overview on Buddha and all the bells and whistles that go along with the philosophy. This isn't "the history of Buddhism." It's purely on the essence of its teachings. It's good, but it's not light reading. I can't say it's hard. But it is heavy. It's clearly hard for me to describe!
I'm just rambling. It's a worthwhile read. I can tell you that. I found myself stopping and contemplating quite a bit. It sticks with you.
Actually, as soon as I started reading it I knew I wanted Marie to pick it up, too. Even just to read the first couple chapters.
I've read about a half dozen books on Buddhism and this won't be the last. There's just so many ways of looking at things, it's fascinating. Dig it.
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