Buddhism primer draws escape path from modernity

BOOK REVIEW Buddhism primer draws escape path from modernity
BY ROBERT NERALICH SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
756 words
16 April 2005
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette
45
English
Copyright (c) 2005 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved.

In his foreword to Robert Thurman's Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within, the 14 th Dalai Lama suggests that, "Buddhahood involves a state of complete awareness that finds blissful expression in a compassion that tirelessly embraces all living beings, manifesting whenever necessary to help them reach their own freedom from suffering."

This statement perfectly captures the essence of this ambitious book, in which Thurman argues persuasively that, with practice, this state is available to everyone, just as Buddha claimed 25 centuries ago that "he discovered and proclaimed that total freedom from suffering" and exquisite, enduring joy "is extremely possible for every sensitive being."

Thurman is certainly a reliable authority in this matter, since he is not only the first American to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk but also holds the first endowed chair in Indo-Tibetan studies in America at Columbia University.

Written in an accessible, eminently readable style, Infinite Life is an informative primer of basic Buddhist principles that will delight and instruct seasoned spiritual practitioners and inquisitive neophytes, as well as a charming spiritual autobiography and a masterful exercise in apologetics.

One of the book's major virtues is that it eschews any sort of religious exclusivism, and, in fact, Thurman assures readers that it can be read "while remaining loyal to your religion, allowing the description simply to broaden your imagination."

Early in the book he states this conviction even more forcefully: "In my case, I enthusiastically chime in with the Dalai Lama's call for the leaders of all world religions to abandon once and for all their campaigns to convert everybody."

Thurman begins with a brief critique of what he regards as the two major impediments to human joy in the modern world, either of which can produce what he calls "the terminal life of bondage": nihilistic materialism, which sees the world as soulless, dead and mechanical, and spiritualistic absolutism, which is a form of idolatry that "occurs when human egotism and selfishness restrict the Divine to merely personal or tribal or national possessions."

The principal goal of Infinite Life is to lead people out of these spiritual cul-de-sacs and help them experience the core truths of the human condition: selflessness, interconnectedness to others and infinite life.

For Thurman, the means to realizing these truths resides in the transcendent virtues, to each of which he devotes a chapter: wisdom, generosity, justice, patience, creativity and contemplation. These virtues are transcendent, Thurman suggests, "because they are indivisible from the understanding of the true, selfless nature of reality that is wisdom."

For example, in Thurman's view, generosity "keeps you open through deeds, making you aware of other's needs," while justice "encourages you to make your relationships with others as fruitfully harmonious as they can be."

Further, patience "armors you against any negativity that might be caused by others purposefully or inadvertently inflicting injuries on you," contemplation "provides the central strength that empowers you to achieve a new level of focus and serenity" and, finally, creativity "empowers you with limitless, joyful energy that frees you from the bonds of self-loathing and despair."

However, it is not enough for people simply to understand these virtues; they must engage them until they transform their consciousness. Therefore, each chapter includes spiritual practices that, taken together, constitute a graduated path to enlightened action in the world.

In the book's final chapter, "The Art of Infinite Living," Thurman urges readers to embrace their inherent greatness, undertake a serious spiritual practice and thereby act in ways that benefit all sentient beings. In truth, Infinite Life is a passionate challenge to readers to become spiritual heroes, "who do not make use of dogmatic assertions" but who instead employ their wisdom to help everyone "move beyond faith to direct knowledge and full experience of our true state."

Near the close of Infinite Life, Robert Thurman tells his readers that "this book opens a door for you," and since they have nothing to lose and so much to gain by accepting his invitation to enter, it would be nothing less than a foolhardy act of spiritual cowardice to decline.

Robert Neralich has a doctorate in English and teaches Asian studies at Fayetteville High School. Write to him c/o Northwest Religion Editor, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 515 Enterprise Drive, Suite 106, Lowell, Ark. 72745; or e-mail: rneralich@aol.com