David Brazier

From Goodreads:
David Brazier is a man on a mission. In The New Buddhism Brazier sets out to save Buddhism from complacent navel-gazers who would rather meld with the infinite than take Buddhism into society where it belongs. Brazier is erudite and engages some complex issues in historical and contemporary Buddhism, largely centering on the self-styled Critical Buddhists, who attempt to cleanse Buddhism of infections from popular religion, specifically Chinese Taoism. Brazier begins with a history of early Buddhism, showing that the Buddha began a social movement that tended to go astray when institutionalized. His main theme is that monism, whether philosophical or social, is anathema to Buddhism and ends in stagnancy and tyranny. Brazier is strongest when summarizing scholarship and referring to specific authors or texts. But when his argument requires details he turns vague, when philosophical terms demand clarity he glosses over, and when rival theories deserve charity he chooses polemics. Despite these drawbacks, The New Buddhism, like Peter Hershock's solid Liberating Intimacy and several recent Engaged Buddhism titles, is a welcome call to a Buddhist communitarian ethic. --Brian Bruya… (more)

David Brazier fuzes the essence of Zen with the essence of therapeutic practice (counselling and psychotherapy) in a beautiful book that will be of help to mental health practitioners but also the layperson - whether they know much about Zen or psychotherapy.

The book is full of practical wisdom gleaned from years of practical experience both as a Zen teacher and a practicing therapist. It is influenced by the work of Carl Rogers and especially his concept of person centered therapy and unconditional positive regard both of which sit neatly with the core elements of Buddhist practice. Above all it is deeply human, compassionate and full of understanding for the normal as well as the abnormal travails of life. Brazier is a gifted thinker and respected teacher in the Zen Buddhist tradition but he is also a very down to earth, practical end grounded therapist and teaches others through his Institute for Zen Therapy in London. This practical bent is evident throughout the book.

For instance, Brazier writes about guilt, not as a way station on an internal road to punishment since he says that we have been punished enough by the consequences of our actions in the past. But it helps us to bring about "a change of heart" and without this real forward movement beyond our past towards the future, is harder to achieve. "A person can practice as much meditation as they like, give to charity and so on but if there is no contrition, there will be no real change. A change of heart comes by searching our lives and being willing to make changes in ourselves. It involves giving up the habit of self defence." (185)

He tells us: "to really do something for yourself you have to start by doing something about yourself. Until you experience the need to do so, nothing will really change." (135) "Good habits become a springboard for high achievement." (155) The phrase "Most of us miss most of our life!" (67) sums up a core tenet of Zen - the practice of mindful awareness. Brazier reminds us that failing to use the energy of the here and now means that "an opportunity has been lost which will never return." (68). The secret is to act, after due time spent thinking and planning. Action is what brings results and ultimately success.

Reassuringly he writes that the evidence is "that at your core you are essentially trustworthy. (34) "If you view the world as a whole `then you are part of something greater than your self," (33) This is both a book about the practice of therapy and a book about the practice of spirituality. Both lead us to what Brazier describes as a full life, one filled with wisdom and which is not wasted. Essentially this is to "live authentically, to live from ones depths, whether in simple matters or in those we are apt to call heroic."(183)… (more)

An interesting interpretation of the Four Noble Truths of the Buddha, taking an alternative view to 'accepted' Buddhist tradition. Brazier argues that the Buddha did not say that enlightenment meant the end of suffering, but rather that suffering is noble and is part of an enlightened life (trust me, Brazier does a better job of explaining than me!) An interesting juxtaposition of psychology and Buddhist thought, this book would be an interesting read for Buddhist practitioners of various traditions.… (more)

Very good in terms of his personal essentially non-mysical down to earth conceptions of Buddhist concepts. The authors pragmatic social-humanistic call to arms is inspiring and this prompted me to think strongly on the relationship of ethics to the world in Buddhism. Myself I am a fan of metaphysical and mystical approaches and the author really challenged me in these areas as he is fairly hostile to such approaches in Buddhism in general. His assertion that the detachment discussed in various Japanese Zen Buddhisms are very conducive to being adopted as philosophies of warriors who kill efficiently, thus are these approaches which peace seeking individuals want to cultivate?-- which is not an easy point to dismiss. Thought provoking and thoroughly engaging book even though I don't agree entirely with all the negative sentiments on mystically inclined non-dual approaches in certain sects of Buddhism. I can not agree with the "corruption" notions that some buddhism is more pure or true than others, but perhaps more close to the original message. It is natural for religions to develop in widely different paths as they are diffused throughout and modulated and expanded on their inception than their founders established. In fact the founders are usually just radicals who do and think differently at their time, and rarely establish the religion themselves… (more)