Armstrong's esteemed works, including such standards as A History of
God and The Battle for God, have primarily focused on the monotheism
of the Middle East. Now she turns farther eastward to craft this short
biography for the Penguin Lives series. Armstrong carefully ties
the Buddha's time to our own and champions his spiritual discoveries
with an understated dignity that even the Buddha might bless. While
exercising a scholar's restraint, she reveals a detectable compassion
for Sidhatta Gotama, the radical who walked away from a pleasure palace
because he refused to "remain locked in an undeveloped version"
[of himself]. Armstrong overcame peculiar challenges to write about
this historical figure who became "a type rather than an individual,"
as his personality and life particulars evaporated into the power of
his selflessness. She turned this lack of details for a conventional
biography to our advantage, opting to enhance Gotama's story with the
broad canvas of his time and culture, thus making him accessibly human...

Download File Size:132.28 MB

---