Customer Reviews:
 Great story about Buddha July 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a very enjoyable account the the life of the Buddha. Even if you are not a Buddhist, I highly recommend this book.
 "A page turning masterpiece" ??? July 4, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
That quote from Wayne Dyer is a not surprising huge bit of hyperbole. These guys love to review each others books, don't they. Quite the marketing ploy.
The unfortunate dilemma for this nice little story is that it will inevitably be compared to a real "timeless classic", Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Read that one folks, it is the real deal. Hesse was a contemporary of and a patient as well of Carl Jung's...would like to have been a fly on the wall for those sessions. I read that book many years ago and it just lingers in my unconscious mind. Chopra's "Buddha" can't hold a candle to it. Sorry Deepak groupies, I call em as I see em.
readable and interesting June 2, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Most of Chopra's work is an entertaining novel of Gautama's early life. The last two or three chapters--which I found the most informative--delve more deeply into the tenets of Buddhism. Although I'm neither a mystic nor even a dabbler in Eastern religions, I am fascinated by the way others view the world.
To my way of thinking, shedding of the material world is impossible as long as we're alive. Attempting to do so, in that it is doomed to failure, is therefore...foolish. On the other hand, under certain circumstances, and in very limited ways, it can be approximated. I am reminded of T.E. Lawrence of "Lawrence of Arabia" fame who had a simple trick. He would hold a flaming match to his hand and wouldn't flinch. When asked, "Doesn't it hurt?" He replied, "Of course it hurts but...the difference between you and me is that I don't care if it hurts." Try it the next time you go to your dentist and maybe you'll find that Lawrence, and almost certainly Buddha, were on to something.
Maybe some of you all have read the last stanza's of Poe's "El Dorado". I'll paraphrase:
"When his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim's shadow.
"Shade," said he.
Where can it be,
this land of El Dorado?"
"Over the Mountains of the Moon
through the Valley of the Shadow.
"Ride, boldly ride,"
the Shade replied,
"If you seek for El Dorado."
Lord Buddha wouldn't have agreed.
Ron Braithwaite, author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico
 Excellent book May 6, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have read several other Deepak Chopra books in the past, but this one feels different. Style of writing is a lot easier to read and this fictionalized version of the life of Buddha makes for fascinating reading. Growing up in India, I had some understanding of Buddha's life and wanted to know more. I could not put the book down till the end. Strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in knowing more about Buddhism and how it evolved.
Loved it! May 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Deepak Chopra is one of the few authors who seems to just get better with age. Not only is this novel informative from a historical basis, it is also inspiring and uplifting. I listend to the 9 hour audio book while on a long car trip. Loved it!
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