Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (1906–1993) was the most innovative and influential Thai teacher of the twentieth century, throughout which he observed, critiqued, and responded to the changes of modernity. A devoted student of the Pali suttas, he was deeply interested in the science of awakening and dedicated his life to reacquainting humanity with the path that centers nibbana—the end of suffering—in each day of our lives. His practice center in Thailand, the Garden of the Power of Liberation, provides a natural setting for practice and is full of skillful means for introducing fellow travelers to the “Heart of Buddhism.”

"I had the privilege of meeting the Venerable Buddhadāsa when I first visited Thailand in 1967 and also at his forest monastery, Suan Mokkh, some years later. He was my senior spiritual brother, and conversations with him revealed what a learned and accomplished practitioner he was. I welcome the publication of this new compilation of his work." —H.H. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, author of Our Human Potential

"I wish to recommend this new translation of a major teaching from the great Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. It is a very comprehensive and easily readable presentation to inform us of how to develop and cultivate the Eightfold Path. It gives one much to contemplate and encourages one’s own practice of meditation." —Ven. Ajahn Sumedho, author of The Sound of Silence

"This book introduces the reader to one of the most important figures of modern Buddhism, Ajahn Buddhadasa. Together with the Dalai Lama, he is one of the foremost thinkers who has worked to adapt Buddhism to the modern world by putting forth interpretations of the tradition that are rooted in the Buddha’s teachings while at the same time new and provocative. This book is an opportunity to meet this very creative teacher and to familiarize oneself with his ideas, which present the central teachings of Buddhism in a way that is in tune with the times. This book contains some of his core teachings and will give the reader a glimpse into some of his at times controversial thoughts. This is why Ajahn Buddhadasa has been an inspiration for thousands of modern Buddhists (Thai and Western, including myself), and this book offers an opportunity to meet this great mind. I cannot think of a better book for people who think in a scientifically informed perspective and are also interested in Buddhism." —Georges Dreyfus, author of The Sound of Two Hands Clapping

"Ajahn Buddhadasa was a teacher ahead of his time. Delivered half a century ago in rural Thailand, the refreshing and informal lectures collected in this book prefigure many of the pragmatic, critical, engaged, and secular developments in Buddhist thought and practice that have become widespread today. A radical and often controversial figure, Buddhadasa stripped away time-honored beliefs that have accumulated around Buddhism over the centuries and returned his audience to the immediacy of their own embodied experience. Dispensing with the metaphysics of rebirth and other realms of existence, he envisioned the Dhamma as a way of life here and now that can be realized by everyone, lay and monastic alike. This book opens a window onto an extraordinary Buddhist teacher, whose message may be even more relevant today than when it was first delivered." —Stephen Batchelor, author of After Buddhism