Realizing Awakened Consciousness by Richard P. Boyle - Discussion
Realizing Awakened Consciousness by Richard P. Boyle
Small Steps, modified 8 Years ago at 2/8/16 10:28 AM
Created 8 Years ago at 2/8/16 10:26 AM
Realizing Awakened Consciousness by Richard P. Boyle
Posts: 246 Join Date: 2/12/14 Recent Posts
About 80% done with the book, but I would already offer a strong recommendation for a good read.
First half of the book are nterviews with eleven (big-)name Western Buddhist Practitioners: Shinzen Young, John Tarrant, Ken McLeod, Ajahn Amaro, Martine Batchelor, Shaila Catherine, Gil Fronsdal, Stephen Batchelor, Pat Enkyo O'Hara, Bernie Glassman and Joseph Goldstein*. The interviews ask questions about their path, their awakening experiences and how things unfolded afterwards.
Some of the language is a little coded, and you get the sense there's a few of the teachers who still try to downplay things, but overall I think they are being pretty forthright.
Second half of the book, the author combs through the results of the interviews and tries to draw conclusions about what awakening is, and what it consists of, along with various other hypotheses on different aspects of the process.
Here's a link to the book on amazon.
*Note: neuroscientist James Austin, author of Zen and the Brain and other books is also interviewed, though his appears in the appendix, as he is not a teacher of Buddhism (though a pretty serious practitioner).
First half of the book are nterviews with eleven (big-)name Western Buddhist Practitioners: Shinzen Young, John Tarrant, Ken McLeod, Ajahn Amaro, Martine Batchelor, Shaila Catherine, Gil Fronsdal, Stephen Batchelor, Pat Enkyo O'Hara, Bernie Glassman and Joseph Goldstein*. The interviews ask questions about their path, their awakening experiences and how things unfolded afterwards.
Some of the language is a little coded, and you get the sense there's a few of the teachers who still try to downplay things, but overall I think they are being pretty forthright.
Second half of the book, the author combs through the results of the interviews and tries to draw conclusions about what awakening is, and what it consists of, along with various other hypotheses on different aspects of the process.
Here's a link to the book on amazon.
*Note: neuroscientist James Austin, author of Zen and the Brain and other books is also interviewed, though his appears in the appendix, as he is not a teacher of Buddhism (though a pretty serious practitioner).