Why I Am a Buddhist: No-Nonsense Buddhism with Red Meat and Whiskey

If you relate strongly to, or have an appreciation for Buddhism but are not ready to live like a monk then this could be the book for you. It helped me sort through the difference between the real teachings of the historical Buddha and the cultural baggage and new age nonsense that often gets lumped in and called Buddhism. The book is an entertaining and thought provoking read/listen with plenty of humorous anecdotes thrown in about the authors life, what led him to Buddhism and some of the ways it helps him navigate his own busy life.

Rebel Buddha by Dzogchen Ponlop

This book is exceptionally well written. The author takes a vast and complex subject and presents it in a way that is both fun and interesting. The author tells his story and gives his insights with humor and charm, always taking great care not to be preachy or dogmatic. Although the narration was a bit breathless and some pronunciation suspect, the book is enjoyable to listen to and I found myself staying up on more than one occasion to listen to just one more chapter.

Buddhism is presented as being eminently practical for our modern world. Perhaps unique among religions this is one which makes pretty good intellectual sense. Partly that is due to the skill of the author and the thoroughness with which he has mastered his topic.

If I have a criticism it is that, in my opinion as a lifelong Hindu, he misinterprets, and misunderstands the nature of karma, the evolution of the soul and the importance of mystical experience. That may sound harsh, but it should be a positive reason to read this book. His eloquent arguments get you thinking and in the process you end up with greater clarity about how you feel.

Absolutely one of the best books on Buddhism out there.

I just found this book to be well organized, and even fun to listen to. The narrator did a great job, has a clear, steady voice and knew when to inject humor into his voice.

honest, inviting, interesting

No characters...just plain simple explanations of how and why to believe in Buddhism without all the crap.

Loved this book. I'm sure I'll be reading it again!

As a parent, I liked how he related stories of dealing with his young son while still trying to practice Buddhist concepts. The book is not a focus on parenting, though.

I enjoyed the narration and it was a good performance. I laughed a lot.

Not a deal-breaker, but the editor of the audio apparently stopped doing his job in the last 10 minutes or so. You can hear Tom Pile re-read a few sentences when he didn't seem happy with the first version. It was actually kind of funny.

I would listen to it again if the narrator's voice could be reworked so that it was more audible. The content was interesting, but the narrator (or the production of the narration) was not good.

This is my first book by S.T. Asma.

I am not sure if it was the narrator or the production that ruined the audio quality of this book. It was impossible to listen to in the car and more difficult than most books to listen to in headphones. I download with the high-quality option, but it did not help at all with this book. It is a huge problem with this recording.

If the audio was better, I would have probably experienced a moving moment in the book, but, alas, it was not to be.

Why would anyone release a book with this poor of an audio production?

While the aurthor is an excellent writer, I felt he went "off topic" too often, for me anyway. I bought this book because I wanted to know how Buddhism fit into his life and why, not how others have used it or changed it. I really got a lot out of this book, I just felt that I had to wade through too many areas I hadn't signed up for. I guess I just like to keep things as simple as possible.