mybuddhistblog

Hi Everybody, just to backtrack a little, this blog essentially follows the argument of my most recent book, The Case For Buddhism, which was published in July of this year. What the book does is to examine fundamental Buddhist teachings, in the light of and in relation to the latest understanding of human motivation and behaviour that has come from the huge amount of research over the past 10-15 years in sociology and psychology and neuroscience. The book was written in direct response to the many requests I received from several parts of the world, to write a totally practical and down-to-earth book that Nichiren Buddhists could comfortably give to their friends and family and acquaintances who might not be interested in taking up a Buddhist practice, even to those who might be distinctly sceptical about the whole idea of people in the western world taking up a Buddhist practice...as indeed I was 20 odd years ago...very sceptical...so that they might build up a much clearer understanding of what Buddhism is about, and what it seeks to achieve in individual lives, and in society. As I say in the book ( p3)

' I believe strongly that Buddhist values and principles can enhance any life, lived anywhere in any circumstances, whether or not that person has the slightest interest in taking up a Buddhist practice. My objective is understanding, not recruitment. So this is certainly a serious committed personal account of Buddhism, but only in the sense that Buddhism is about ordinary daily life. It is not in any way about a remote, inaccessible and other-worldly philosophy. Not at all...

Put simply this particular case for Buddhism is basically about learning in a wholly practical way, how to build a stronger and more resilient sense of wel-being, for oneself and others, no matter what the circumstances we find ourselves in. And that's clearly a hugely important qualification. We tend to persuade ourselves that our external circumstances are the determining factor in our overall sense of well-being. Buddhism offers us the astounding truth that building or creating this sesne of well-being at the core of our lives is essentially a matter of choice, how we choose to live. That in itself is a life-changing lesson, and in my experience, we don't have to especially knowledgeable, or dedicated, or indeed religious in any way to learn it. Thousands of ordinary people have done it...'

What I do throughout the book therefore is to pursue what I have called a dual track

'...I take a number of issues that are central to the practice of Buddhism, issues such as compassion and altruism and gratitude for example, or creating meaningful relationships, the dilemma of suffering, how we deal with destructive emotions such as anger and greed, the complex matter of ethics and morality and so on, and l look at these issues from both the classical Buddhist, and from the scientific point of view. These issues aren't by any means concerned with the margins of our life are they? Most of them indeed are profoundly life-changing. The kinds of things you might say that are of the greatest significance to all of us. Buddhism as you would expect has a great deal to say to us about how we might approach them in a way that creates the most value for our lives and for those around us. And now modern science offers us this immensely supportive perspective...

Indeed, one of the most remarkable things for me , as I went through some of the best of this modern social research, was the realisation of just how many of the findings about what it is that makes people feel good about themselves and their lives, and experience a sense of wholeness and purpose in their lives, are prefigured in the kinds of ideas Buddhism has been teaching for so long...'

' The plain fact is that we now have a great opportunity...an opportunity to move on from the commonly held and largely superficial stereotypes of what Buddhism is about, becausewe now have this unusual and unexpected conjunction of views. They may be using different idioms and different methods, but essentially, both Buddhism, and now the social scientists, are telling us that a greater sense of well-being at the heart of our lives is fundamentally what we are all seeking, and that there are some clearly defined ways of achieving that objective...however tough and challengingthe modern world may be.'

Thank you for reading this far. It's greatly appreciated. Greatly.

William
PS I ought to add perhaps that the book itself, The Case for Buddhism, is available on Amazon.