New Buddhism

One of the books I most love in this regard is Stephen Batchelor’s Buddhism Without Beliefs.

Now, I have to add David Brazier’s The New Buddhism to the list.

Here’s a very interesting review by Brian Victoria, who raised a bit of a ruckus with his study of Japanese Zen complicity in the Second World War. And here’s another review, one I find even more compelling, by Ken Jones, another of my favorite contemporary commentators on Buddhism, together with a rejoinder by David Braizer, himself, and a response to the rejoinder by Ken. This conversation raises what I consider the only major problem with David’s thesis, what appears to me to be an inadequate appreciation of emptiness, or as I prefer for the translation of sunyata, boundlessness. Ken nails the problem.

As an additional treat here is a critical essay (in pdf) by Robert Aitken addressing two of Brazier’s earlier books. Possibly of additional interest, it focuses on issues related to the Four Noble Truths, as per my immediate past post.

What I have no doubt about is that David Brazier is presenting a lively and important vision of Buddhism as it is maturing in the West.