Famous for his spiritual how-to books, Deepak Chopra turns to fiction with a novelization of the life of the Buddha

May 26, 2007

Stuart Laidlaw

Toronto Star

Deepak Chopra doesn't shy away from the big subjects. Buddha this year, Jesus next.

"I like to take on big topics," he says.

The prolific author and New Age guru, who swings through Toronto this weekend as part of his seemingly never-ending speaking tour, has just released Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment, a novelization of the life of the Buddha that was two years in the making.

By the end of this month, he is to submit to his publisher a book – this one 10 years in the making – encapsulating his thoughts on the importance of Jesus Christ by examining the meaning behind 100 of Christ's sayings.

For Chopra, jumping between Buddha and Jesus is perfectly reasonable. The two, he says, have much in common.

"They are both young redeemers," Chopra tells the Star in a telephone interview.

"Redemption is the key, and redemption is within you."

Growing up in India, where Buddhism was born, Chopra has long known the facts of the Buddha story – of Prince Siddhartha, raised to be a warrior king, who turned his back on privilege and family to seek enlightenment.

Like the Jesus story, there are tales of healing the sick along the way, of battling demons and even resurrection in the form of the prince, by now a monk, becoming the Buddha (or Enlightened One) nearing death and achieving enlightenment under a fig tree in just one night.

Chopra is certainly not the first to draw parallels between Jesus and Buddha. Canadian author and former Anglican minister Tom Harpur has long made the comparison, including in his recently released book Water into Wine, in which he points out similarities in the two men's lives and legends.

But Chopra hoped to do something different.

He did not want to retell simply the events of the Buddha's life, but to explore the personal struggle he must have gone through on the road to enlightenment.

To do that, he decided, he needed to approach the story as a work of fiction, since this would give him the freedom to imagine the Buddha's inner thoughts.

"The tough part was what going on in his head," says Chopra.

The approach is perhaps key to understanding Buddhism, a non-theistic faith that does not assert a deity, but instead stresses personal enlightenment through trials, reflection and meditation.

As such, Chopra says he wanted to explore Buddha's personal struggles as a guide for others.

"It's every man's struggle," Chopra says.

Along the path to enlightenment, Chopra says, the Buddha struggles with the kinds of things all people face: questions about the meaning of life, of death, of life after death and a constant struggle to vanquish inner demons in hopes of becoming better people.

In the Buddha story, these demons are represented by Mara, king of the demons.

The Buddha's victory over Mara comes only when he realizes that Mara is not the external demon he believed him to be, says Chopra, but something more.

"In the end, he realizes that Mara is his own self," says Chopra. "He is struggling with his own shadows."

Liberal interpretations of the New Testament story of Jesus's confrontation with the devil have presented it as a similar vanquishing of inner demons by Christ, and not a literal battle between the son of God and Satan.

In his Jesus book, to be titled The Third Jesus, Chopra hopes to present Christ as a figure of inspiration to believers and non-believers alike.

The first Jesus, he says, was the historic figure, while the second was theological.

The third Jesus to be explored in his book, Chopra says, is more a "state of consciousness" who is best understood through the things he said and the wisdom he passed on.

"If we really understand them at a deep level, we would have a transformation," he says.

Hi all. I purchased this book yesterday in Singapore and noticed it was selling like wild fire. Anyone actually read this yet ? What are your thoughts on it ?

Regards.

Edited June 8, 200719 yr by Austhaied

Haven't read it and probably won't....not the kind of stuff I'm interested in...but one comment. My view is that the Buddha's life is definitely not "every man's struggle" at least from the Theravada perspective. Certainly the Pali Scriptures (which are well received by all types of Buddhists I think) indicate that what the Buddha attained is not what everyone attains and it is not necessary for everyone to attain to Buddhahood. It seem to me that by calling it "every man's struggle", Chopra is showing a shallow understanding of what the Buddha was....or maybe I'm just showing how narrow minded I am....take your pick.

Chownah

One thing's for sure, Chopra is good at marketing.

Haven't read it and probably won't....not the kind of stuff I'm interested in...but one comment. My view is that the Buddha's life is definitely not "every man's struggle" at least from the Theravada perspective. Certainly the Pali Scriptures (which are well received by all types of Buddhists I think) indicate that what the Buddha attained is not what everyone attains and it is not necessary for everyone to attain to Buddhahood. It seem to me that by calling it "every man's struggle", Chopra is showing a shallow understanding of what the Buddha was....or maybe I'm just showing how narrow minded I am....take your pick.

Chownah

No... you are quite right

the Buddha was a man born of woman... otherwise people wouldn't believe they could do the same as him (reach enlightenment).... but he was a man quite unlike the rest of us, having practised the perfections over countless billions of aeons

http://www.mahindarama.com/amata-foundatio...-28-Buddhas.doc

a booklet you can download.... about the last 28 Buddhas and how long they must perfect themselves

Famous for his spiritual how-to books, Deepak Chopra turns to fiction with a novelization of the life of the Buddha

May 26, 2007

Stuart Laidlaw

Toronto Star

Deepak Chopra doesn't shy away from the big subjects. Buddha this year, Jesus next.

"I like to take on big topics," he says.

The prolific author and New Age guru, who swings through Toronto this weekend as part of his seemingly never-ending speaking tour, has just released Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment, a novelization of the life of the Buddha that was two years in the making.

By the end of this month, he is to submit to his publisher a book – this one 10 years in the making – encapsulating his thoughts on the importance of Jesus Christ by examining the meaning behind 100 of Christ's sayings.

For Chopra, jumping between Buddha and Jesus is perfectly reasonable. The two, he says, have much in common.

"They are both young redeemers," Chopra tells the Star in a telephone interview.

"Redemption is the key, and redemption is within you."

Growing up in India, where Buddhism was born, Chopra has long known the facts of the Buddha story – of Prince Siddhartha, raised to be a warrior king, who turned his back on privilege and family to seek enlightenment.

Like the Jesus story, there are tales of healing the sick along the way, of battling demons and even resurrection in the form of the prince, by now a monk, becoming the Buddha (or Enlightened One) nearing death and achieving enlightenment under a fig tree in just one night.

Chopra is certainly not the first to draw parallels between Jesus and Buddha. Canadian author and former Anglican minister Tom Harpur has long made the comparison, including in his recently released book Water into Wine, in which he points out similarities in the two men's lives and legends.

But Chopra hoped to do something different.

He did not want to retell simply the events of the Buddha's life, but to explore the personal struggle he must have gone through on the road to enlightenment.

To do that, he decided, he needed to approach the story as a work of fiction, since this would give him the freedom to imagine the Buddha's inner thoughts.

"The tough part was what going on in his head," says Chopra.

The approach is perhaps key to understanding Buddhism, a non-theistic faith that does not assert a deity, but instead stresses personal enlightenment through trials, reflection and meditation.

As such, Chopra says he wanted to explore Buddha's personal struggles as a guide for others.

"It's every man's struggle," Chopra says.

Along the path to enlightenment, Chopra says, the Buddha struggles with the kinds of things all people face: questions about the meaning of life, of death, of life after death and a constant struggle to vanquish inner demons in hopes of becoming better people.

In the Buddha story, these demons are represented by Mara, king of the demons.

The Buddha's victory over Mara comes only when he realizes that Mara is not the external demon he believed him to be, says Chopra, but something more.

"In the end, he realizes that Mara is his own self," says Chopra. "He is struggling with his own shadows."

Liberal interpretations of the New Testament story of Jesus's confrontation with the devil have presented it as a similar vanquishing of inner demons by Christ, and not a literal battle between the son of God and Satan.

In his Jesus book, to be titled The Third Jesus, Chopra hopes to present Christ as a figure of inspiration to believers and non-believers alike.

The first Jesus, he says, was the historic figure, while the second was theological.

The third Jesus to be explored in his book, Chopra says, is more a "state of consciousness" who is best understood through the things he said and the wisdom he passed on.

"If we really understand them at a deep level, we would have a transformation," he says.

In the same vein as Chopra's historical fiction on the Buddha, it is difficult to beat Herman Hesse's book "Siddhartha" for atmosphere and emotional impact. Will look forward to read what Chopra has conjured about the Buddha.

As someone said Chopra is good at marketing

Karen Armstrong dose the writing better!

Publishers Weekly

Eastern philosophy popularizer and mind-body pioneer Chopra has done novels before, and critics have not found fiction his long suit. That should change with this tale of how the Indian prince Siddhartha came to be the enlightened one, the Buddha. The subject is tailor-made for Chopra. He can draw on what he's familiar with: the ancient Indian culture that shaped the historic personage of the Buddha, and the powers of mind that meditation harnesses. Although the novel begins a little slowly with exposition and character introduction, once the character of the Buddha is old enough to occupy center stage, Chopra simply portrays the natural internal conflict experienced by any human seeking spiritual wisdom and transformation. Centered on a single character, the narrative moves forward simply and inexorably. Especially imaginative and intriguing is the low-key nature of the Buddha's enlightenment experience. In case Chopra's fans want something more direct, an epilogue and concluding "practical guide" offer nonfiction commentary and teaching on core Buddhist principles. Chopra thanks a film director friend for sparking the project, and the novel has clear cinematic potential. This fast and easy-to-read book teaches without being didactic. Chopra scores a fiction winner. (May)

Deepak Chopra's written a book?

......I think I've got to run for the bus

As someone said Chopra is good at marketing

Karen Armstrong dose the writing better!

Does it really matter that he is good at marketing ?? The main thing is the spreading of the dhamma. Good luck to him. (Mudita)

As someone said Chopra is good at marketing

Karen Armstrong dose the writing better!

Does it really matter that he is good at marketing ?? The main thing is the spreading of the dhamma. Good luck to him. (Mudita)

Have to read thebook first to see if he's spreading dhamma.