Monday, October 1, 2012

Buddhism and UFO's

"Buddhism and UFOs" is the title of one of the chapters in a book I bought recently called Freeing the Buddha, by Brian Ruhe. Before getting on to the author’s unique take on the subject of UFOs, it’s worth saying a few words about the book as a whole. It was originally published in 1999, but the second-hand copy I bought was printed in India in 2005. Brian Ruhe himself was born in Canada, but he is a formally trained Buddhist teacher who knows more about the history, beliefs and practices of Buddhism than most English-speaking writers on the subject. On top of that, he has a very readable and engaging writing style. All of this suggests that Freeing the Buddha is a book worth getting hold of – which of course is why I bought it. But having read it, the author’s interpretation of Buddhist teaching is unusual and highly individualistic, and – in my opinion – quite "un-Buddhist" in places.

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