Dependent Origination for the Layman

Baal on Buddhism, Book 1

By: Baal Kadmon

Narrated by: Baal Kadmon

Length: 32 mins

Publisher's summary

If you have read my other books, you know that I like to take complex ideas and break them down so they become accessible to all who read it. I will attempt to do so in this book as well. I have always resonated with the Eastern paths and like my work with the Occult, I found that all these teachings are so very technical and complex. If you know me, you know that I think complexity is never a sign that the underlying teaching is effective or any good for that matter. Of course, there are exceptions, but for the most part, there is absolutely no reason for the complexity other than to impede you from understanding.

Many Buddhist concepts are not easy to understand. This seems so very counterintuitive since the Buddha himself taught ideas that were simple. Not necessarily easy to apply, but certainly simple. Like almost all religions, ideas start from a simple core set of ideas and then evolve. For example, no one could have possibly conceived that when Jesus first started to preach, that a complex ideological monolith like the Catholic Church would form as a result. Of course, the history is a lot more nuanced than that, but if Jesus did not preach the sermon on the mount, chances are, Christianity would have never formed in any of its forms. It's the nature of humanity to over complicate what is often a simple idea. As they say, put two theologians in a room and come out with three opinions. It is what it is. I am going to try to strip all that away when it comes to Buddhist teachings in my new series Baal on Buddhism.

In this volume, I will be discussing a central idea within Buddhism called Dependent Origination. Most are familiar with The Four Noble Truths, which I will cover in a future book, but this particular teaching I will discuss has all of the Buddhist core ideas within it.

©2017 Baal Kadmon (P)2017 Baal Kadmon

Eh.. cant expect too much really

It is short, and spent a significant amount of time on different Buddhist subjects which weren't dependent origination one of the major tenants of Buddhism. I've been a Buddhist and studying Buddhism daily for decades and found Dependent Origination not a trivial subject. The author talked more about himself and other books of his that he is hawking than he did about Dependent Origination If that is what you are looking for, you might well be advised to look elsewhere. I think Ananda, the Buddhas cousin and attendant famous for his photographic memory and understanding of the Buddhas teachings, commented that Dependent Origination was easily understood, the Buddha admonished him and said if he believed that then basically he didnt understand it. I think the same is true in with the author of this book. The book isnt without merit, which is why I gave it 3 stars, but very little is said on the topic. To his credit, the author plainly states that he writes on many religions, the occult, and lots of magical things which in the world of Buddhism are considered rubbish. Coming from these points of view I can see where there might be lots of misunderstandings. If you google for Bhikkhu Buddadasa (enlightened thai forest monk) for his book Paticcasamuppada: Practical Dependent Origination, you'll probably find a much better treatment. Though I haven read it, but I have read many other excellent books of his and he was considered a scholar, enlightened, and a great teacher. That's probably a read I will do soon. Best of luck to the author and readers in pursuit of enlightment.

Absolute Jibberish

Definitely not written by a Buddhist Takes a foundational concept of Buddhism and makes it incomprehensible