Living with the Devil: A Buddhist Meditation on Good and Evil

Description

A best selling Buddhist philosopher offers a personal meditation of extraordinary insight. A revolutionary text, a classic, a must read. Whether we are religious or not, the Devil evil incarnate is a concept that can still strike fear in our hearts. What if he does exist? What if he is causing all our problems in his determination to keep us from reaching our full potential? Stephen Batchelor takes the concept of the Devil out of literature and history and brings him to life in his many forms and guises: the flatterer, the playmate, the caring friend, the stranger who offers rest and solace, the person who knows you best and shows you your greatness in the world. And, most of all, as the great obstructer that blocks all paths to greatness and true humility. For the first time, Batchelor fuses Western literature, Milton, Keats, Baudelaire with Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian traditions in a poetic exploration of the struggle with the concept and reality of evil. "Living With The Devil" reveals the voice of new poet and philosopher for our times.

Stephen Batchelor is a former monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions and the author of the national bestseller Buddhism Without Beliefs. He lectures and conducts meditation retreats worldwide, and is a contributing editor for Tricycle.

"A moving and timely study of the problem of evil from a Buddhist perspective. [Batchelor] draws deeply on traditional Buddhist insights as well as stories from the legends surrounding the Buddha's life to suggest that our need to divide experience into good and evil is itself the problem... Rejecting this violence and its dualities, Batchelor suggests, will leave us free for true awareness... highly illuminating." -Library Journal "It's fantastic. Magnificent even. What an achievement! This is an astonishing work, one that I will recommend over and over again. It is a rare treat to be offered such thoughtful, engaging, lucid, and clarifying prose." -Mark Epstein, M.D., author of Thoughts Without a Thinker "The author of Buddhism Without Beliefs and a former monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions, Batchelor... demonstrates how the anguish associated with the transient nature of life has preoccupied humans for centuries... that mankind has always relied on the temptations of the devil to still anxiety and create an aura of permanence. Although he explores a number of philosophies, Batchelor's focus is on the path to nirvana (a cessation of desires)... [His] genuine concern and desire for a better world come through clearly." -Publishers Weekly "Opens doors of understanding we might not even have known were closed... an illuminating read." -Joseph Goldstein author of Our Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism "A revolutionary text, a classic, and a must-read." -Joan Halifax, author of Shamanic Voices