Confession of a Buddhist Atheist
Confession of a Buddhist Atheist is a personal account of the author’s thirty-eight year engagement with Buddhism. The first part of the book (Monk) follows the author’s journey from his departure from England at the age of 18, his first meeting with the Dalai Lama in 1972, his six years training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, his disillusion with the Tibetan tradition and departure for a three year Zen training as a monk in South Korea. The second part (Layman) recounts the author’s return to lay life in Europe and focuses on his quest to find out who was Siddhattha Gotama, the historic Buddha, and discover what is truly distinctive in his teaching. This quest interweaves reflections on early Buddhist doctrine, a journey through modern India to visit the sacred sites of Buddhism, and a detailed reconstruction of the Buddha’s life on the basis of the Pali Canon.
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1. Online Reviews and Blogs
The New Buddhist Atheism by Mark Vernon (Guardian Online: 10 March, 2010)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/mar/10/buddhism-atheism-hitchens
Book Review: “Confession of a Buddhist Atheist” by Stephen Batchelor by Vinod George Joseph (Blog: 31 March, 2010)
http://winnowed.blogspot.com/2010/03/book-review-confession-of-buddhist.html
Questioning is the Piety of Thought by Andrew Goodwin (Blog: 9 April, 2010)
http://professorofpop.blogspot.com/2010/04/questioning-is-piety-of-thought.html
A Very Impressive Gentleman by Guy Zimmerman (Blog: 12 April, 2010)
http://www.timesquotidian.com/2010/04/12/a-very-impressive-gentleman/
Buddhist Backlash: Stephen Batchelor Braves the Storm by James Rotondi (Huffington Post: 20 April, 2010)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-rotondi/buddhist-backlash-stephen_b_521675.html
Losing My Religion by Peter Manseau (BookForum: April/May, 2010)
http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/017_01/5383
As of 23 April, 2010, 19 reviews of Confession of a Buddhist Atheist are posted at amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271927467&sr=1-1
2. Interviews
Compilers Ignored Historical Chronology. Interview with Stephen Batchelor for Outlook (India) by Sheela Reddy. (March 8, 2010)
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264459
3. Video
Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist: The Fascinating Spiritual Journey of former Buddhist monk Stephen Batchelor. Interviewed by Dan Harris for ABC News. (9 March, 2010)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/confessions-buddhist-atheist-10050697
Stephen Batchelor: Confession of a Buddhist Atheist (book reading and discussion at Book Passage, Corte Madera, California, 19 March, 2010)
http://fora.tv/2010/03/19/Stephen_Batchelor_Confession_of_a_Buddhist_Atheist
4. Audio/Podcast
Stephen Batchelor. Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. Talk and reading given at the book launch at New York Insight, New York, 4 March, 2010.
http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/169/talk/8455/
Stephen Batchelor interviewed by Michael Bergeisen. Podcast. This will be broadcast on May 1, 2010.
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/
5. Foreign Language Editions
German: Bekenntnisse eines ungläubigen Buddhisten: Eine spirituelle Suche by Stephen Batchelor, translated by Renate Seifarth, will be published by Ludwig Buchverlag, 14 June 2010.
Portuguese (Brazil): Editora Pensamento-Cultrix, Sao Paulo, Brazil, have acquired the rights to publish a translation of Confession of a Buddhist Atheist in 2010 or 2011.