An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World

In 2004, I saw a review of this book that began, "Mishra wanted to write a novel about the Buddha." My heart stopped, because at the time I was a fledgling writer with grand plans to write a trilogy about Yasodhara, the wife of Siddhartha, the prince who became the Buddha. I'd read Mishra's [b:The Romantics|307278|The Romantics|Pankaj Mishra|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403180722s/307278.jpg|1737290], a novel about a young Brahmin in contemporary India and his relationship with a British woman. It was a debut; it wasn't perfect, but it was a really good read about the clash of cultures. I thought I could never write as well as Mishra.

So I was relieved and intrigued when the review of An End to Suffering continued on to describe this show more book as a travelogue following the Buddha's path, and started to read it.

I wasn't disappointed. At that time, I found it a wonderful introduction to the Buddha's life and thought, told from the interesting perspective of an Indian journalist who knew nothing about the subject when he started. He has a vague idea about writing a novel and embarks on many years of research and travel in the Buddha's footsteps. He visits the places of pilgrimage, and finds them filled with tourists of many nations, but not with Indians. His has a fascinating perspective on how little Indians, whose modern religions are thousands of years old, are taught about the Indian sage who 2500 years ago founded a major world religion. While describing his journeys, he gives a solid background on the Buddha's time and the spiritual traditions that Prince Siddhartha grew up with. He then links the Buddha's time and teachings to contemporary life. His travels encompass Kashmir, and Afghanistan, where the Taliban has just destroyed the statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan. He had interesting experiences with the American Buddhist communities of the time. He began writing the book in 1992, and prior to finishing it the attack on the World Trade Center convulsed the world.

As I prepare to publish my first novel, I was reminded of this book and decided to reread it. On rereading, I found his descriptions of the political situation in Kashmir and Afghanistan maddeningly familiar. Ten years on, his experiences with the American Buddhist community seem like they could have taken place today.

Mishra's cultural and spiritual journey are moving. He succeeds in bring the Buddha's teaching into his own life, saying:

"To live in the present, with a high degree of self-awareness and compassion manifested in even the smallest acts and thoughts—this sounds like a private remedy for private distress. But the deepening and ethicizing of everyday life was part of the Buddha's bold and original response to the intellectual and spiritual crisis of his time...In much of what he had said and done he had addressed the suffering of human beings deprived of old consolations of faith and community and adrift in a very large world full of strange new temptations and dangers..."

I'm very glad I picked it up again. show less

An End to Suffering tells of Pankaj Mishra's search to understand the Buddha's relevance in today's world, where religious violence, poverty and terrorism prevail. As he travels among Islamists and the emerging Hindu Muslim class in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Mishra explores the myths and places of the Buddha's life, the West's "discovery" of Buddhism, and the impact of Buddhist ideas on such modern politicians as Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Mishra ultimately reaches an enlightenment of his own by discovering the living meaning of the Buddha's teaching, in this "unusually discerning, beautifully written, and deeply affecting reflection on Buddhism"

An End to Suffering tells of Pankaj Mishra's search to understand the Buddha's relevance in today's world, where religious violence, poverty and terrorism prevail. As he travels among Islamists and the emerging Hindu Muslim class in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Mishra explores the myths and places of the Buddha's life, the West's "discovery" of Buddhism, and the impact of Buddhist ideas on such modern politicians as Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Mishra ultimately reaches an enlightenment of his own by discovering the living meaning of the Buddha's teaching, in this "unusually discerning, beautifully written, and deeply affecting reflection on Buddhism"

Have to agree with those who find that the three strands of this book--travelogue, Buddha-narrative, and spiritual reflection--are not successfully knitted together. Yet, despite this failing, this is engaging reading.

In the Life-of-the-Buddha portions, I think that Mishra aspired to a compelling, contemporarily-relevant retelling, but the narrative is so well-worn that it has a too-well-defined momentum and trajectory of its own. I do think that this thread, though, will make interesting reading for someone coming fresh to the material.

Mishra's own travelogue is not terribly compelling, but the questions that he draws from it are. There is some refreshing about his openness as a spiritual seeker.

He comes across as a likable, show more articulate, naturally contemplative persona, and I certainly do not regret the time spent. show less

As the previous reviewers noted. This is a very complex undertaking. It is obvious that Pankaj Mishra is a very talented and original writer and thinker. It is also very obvious that he really needed to sit and contemplate long and hard on what he wants to say in this book.

As previously noted, this is a autobiography of a student in search of a life and a calling. This is also a cultural biography of the Buddha, thirdly, this is also a meditation on the meaning of Buddhism in contemporary society.

I would say that Mishra missed on all three but he aimed so high that upon reflection, the sum of the effort is brilliant. The synthesis of the bits was ragged, which made for rough reading and understanding, which in turn detracted from the show more intent of the author.

I felt the meditation on the meaning of Buddhism was the weakest part of the three. Not that he lacked valid points and arguments, on the contrary, he did a greatjob of raising questions and ideas for contemplation. The whole section towards the end of the book dealing with our society as we know it and as we saw it metamorphose in the aftermath of 911, seems forced and rushed. It really did not seem like he had much time to really think through his ideas. He had done much hard work, and he needed to do more, but he stopped short.

The history of the Buddha was much more successful, although I think a more pedantic and to the point biography can be found in Karen Armstrong's Buddha.

The autobiography was very interesting, the main disappointment I had with it was that I had expected a linkage between the autobiography, the history of the Buddha, and the meditation on the applicability of Buddhist philosophy. There were parts where he was brilliant in integrating the three, but ultimately he failed.

This does not mean that this book is not a good read, or that it does not raise important and fascinating points, it does. But you finish the book with the feeling that a great opportunity was missed. show less

Pankaj Mishra’s An End to Suffering focuses on the life of Buddha in the world. The author was living in the village of Mashobra when he visited a number of small hamlets in India. His travels took him also to Europe, America, and the Middle East where he investigated the lives of Buddhist followers. Mishra related their beliefs to the writers of early Romans and Greeks, Enlightenment period, and contemporary political developments.
But as for Buddhism the author keyed in on the Four Noble Truths as taught by the Buddha. These were: 1) Life is pain and suffering (duhka); 2) Suffering is caused by craving (trishna); 3) Suffering can be cured; and 4) The cessation of suffering. Buddha’s teachings were viewed as therapeutic and ethical, show more rather than metaphysical or theological. He envisioned life as a process where there was old age, decay, and death. Practitioners could escape these maladies when they pursue the Buddhist teachings and achieve Enlightenment. show less

Great afternoon find at the library. Wonderful travel journal through land of the Buddha's birth place.