Discussion Questions for Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment

Discussion Questions

1. How did reading Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment change your understanding of Buddhism and its founder?

2. One way to follow the Buddha is to live a life of compassion-how do you currently manifest compassion in your life?

3. Born a Brahmin wanting for nothing, the Buddha managed to break the bonds of attachment.  We are bombarded by messages of things we need and it feels as though a "wanting mind" is impossible to escape. How might one start to break the bonds of attachment today? How do we decide what attachments are reasonable, and what can be dispensed with?

4. Do you think if the Buddha lived in our present day he could have reached enlightenment? Take a moment to discuss or imagine what a modern path to enlightenment might look like.

5. Have you ever tried to meditate, quiet your mind, or expand "the silent gap between thoughts?"

6.

What have you found challenging about meditation? What have you learned and discovered?

7. Deepak Chopra asks himself a question after writing about the life of the Buddha: "What can this teaching do for me? Is there something that will open my eyes and make me more awake, right this minute?" How would you answer this question? Do you agree or disagree with Deepak's answer?

8. The life of the Buddha is ultimately a story of transformation. In what ways does transformation affect our lives today? Can you think of ways in which you've been transformed?