Yesterday Jeff Ferrannini of the radio program, Planetary Spirit, which is affiliated with Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, interviewed Bodhipaksa. The discussion was about Living as a River.
Talking to Jeff Ferrannini of Planetary Spirit radio yesterday, I was blown away by a passage he read out, which he said was a Hopi Prophecy.
There was one part to the quotation Jeff read out which does actually seem to be Hopi (I’ll post that elsewhere). But when I researched this teaching it turned out that what I’ve quoted above was (according to an article written in Yoga Journal in 1999 by Gary Gach — who I happen to know) from an elderly Iroquois man called “Uncle John,” and passed on by ChoQosh Auh-Ho-Oh, a Chumash teacher, at a Y2K conference in Oakland, California, in February 1998.
Here’s the part of the quote that astonished me, because it’s so close to the message of Living as a River.
On the web you’ll find this all together as one quotation, but it’s actually the words of several people, and I talked to ChuQosh Auh-Ho-Oh, the conduit for all of these words, to find out who said what. I must thank Matthew for helping to track down ChoQosh’s phone number.
[Uncle John] There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift, that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
[The following is an addition by ChoQosh] And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate.
[Back to Uncle John] ChoQosh, be sure to tell your people: At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a screeching halt.
[This bit is Uncle John] The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
[This is Philip Deer, a Muscogee Creek Elder] Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
[This is ChuQuosh quoting Marianne Williamson] We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
Later: I heard the “Iroquois Uncle John” version of the story on a Prophecy Keepers’ Radio interview with ChoQosh Auh-Ho-Oh. It’s on this page: if you want to hear just that, skip to the third segment of the show, and then scrub forward to about 9:45. But she’s a fascinating speaker, and if you have the time I’d suggest listening to more of the program.
Recently Bodhipaksa was interviewed by E. Christopher Clark, author of All He Left Behind and the creative force behind Geek Force Five — a blog of pop culture commentary and criticism.
Chris started by asking about Living as a River and skeptical Buddhism, but then veered into a discussion of the role of mysticism in the TV dramas, Lost and Battlestar Galactica — passions the two men share in abundance.
Peter Clothier of the Buddha Diaries blog has a very generous review of Living as a River.
It begins, “Sometimes I wonder what the New York Times bestseller list would look like if it reflected true quality of writing and the substance and value of important and challenging ideas…”
And here’s an extract from the middle of the review:
No scientist myself, I can only marvel at Bodhipaksa’s easy dance with both the history of scientific knowledge and its most current advances. His is essentially a phenomenological study of the elemental structures of reality, of our nature as human beings in the world, and of our place in the universe; in the course of it all, he ranges happily from esoteric physics (Loop Quantum Gravity, anyone?) and biochemistry to the intimate functioning of the human body (ever wonder why shit is brown?) and the brain, and out into the cosmic view of astrophysics. He is equally familiar with a great range of current social science research and with the history of human thought from the Buddha and (who else?) Heraclitus, to this day. He amasses his evidence patiently, and brings his reader along with a light touch, clear explanations, and a lively pace.
Unqualified to judge the quality of Bodhipaksa’s science, obviously, I’m comfortable in asserting that it’s always persuasive—and enjoyable to read. And always the bottom line is the mantra to which I myself return frequently in my own meditations: This is not me, this is not mine, I am not this. (I actually learned a slightly different construction: This is not me, this is not mine, this is not who I am.) It’s at once a humbling and empowering realization. When arrived at with full understanding, it has a wonderfully liberating potential, releasing us into the stream of a reality where our experience is no longer hampered by that dualistic distinction between “self” and “other” that is the cause of so much human suffering and confusion.
I originally came across Bodhipaksa’s work on the Wildmind website when I first became a Buddhist coming on two years ago now and I was looking for accessible resources that I could use to accelerate my spiritual development. I have found Bodhipaksa’s work to be ideal to fill that niche in my spiritual appetite and his latest work Living As A River: Finding Fearlessness In The Face Of Change is no exception.
Bodhipaksa uses storytelling along with fact after scientific fact to confront some of the myths that we have accumulated throughout our lives; that we are fixed beings living in a fixed permanent world just being one of them.
In what amounts nothing short of brilliance Bodhipaksa in one instance uses the story of The Vin Fiz; the first attempt by a man to fly east to west across the United States in an aeroplance to smash the myth of a fixed permanent self and explain the difficult concept of “no self” or “anatta”. This particular story and explanation of “no self” and “anatta” is the crescendo of the whole book however the book does not end here.
Bodhipaksa then continues throughout the book continuing through the six elements as one would peel away at an onion except with this onion you don’t want it to end. This book is definitely the kind of book that makes you think throughout and consider the book as a whole and the book as a sum of its parts.
For those with some experience in Buddhism; chapters 14: Stepping Into The Stream and 15: The Self Beyond Measure could well be considered a cheat sheet for anybody wanting to move their practice to the next level.
Complete with things to look out for in your practice the chapter on Stepping Into The Stream is a mirror for the experienced and not experienced a like and would be worth buying the book for this chapter alone.
The final chapter The Self Beyond Measure polishes up on the content previously discussed and brings the book to an orderly close.
I have given this review a five star recommendation as a reflection of the overall quality of the content of the book. I would recommend it to anybody with a basic background in Buddhism and upwards. I consider this book an essential element of my Buddhist library alongside other greats I have such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Ajahn Chah.
This book is like no other book on Buddhism I have ever read before. Maybe that’s because it’s not really a book on Buddhism, but on life (and death). I actually hate writing reviews for books even for my own blog because when I read a book I just want to enjoy it without trying to remember specific aspects or highlight pages.
However, I just wanted to make some comments about Living As A River because it has made me think and made me feel uncomfortable with some of my current beliefs. And that is a good thing because we have to move through a state of uncertainty when changing.
What Bodhipaksa does so wonderfully is weave a mixture of the past and the present. Yes he talks about the life of Buddha as you would expect in such a book, but it is a long way from being a biography or a book full of stories set in the dim and distant past. He also uses cutting edge well researched science to make some of his points about what we really are as human beings and possibly more importantly, what we aren’t.
I don’t expect to get too many people rushing to say this review was useful to them, but I will say this. I really enjoyed books by the likes of Kabat Zinn, Ram Das, Thich Nhat Han, Pema Chodron and Jack Kornfield, but in my opinion this takes it to the next level and does what those do only in parts, makes the Buddhist philosophy more accessible and understandable to the masses.
It’s also a damn fine read and a book I will be recommending to clients.
This is the first book I’ve come across that explores the Buddhist concept of no-self in an entirely accessible AND rigorously intelligent way. That’s quite a feat! Bodhipaksa has beautifully interwoven his knowledge of the dharma with an obvious love and curiosity about all things scientific. The result is a thoroughly engaging book that drew me in from the very first page and has left me thinking and reflecting long after finishing. I highly recommend it.
A week or two back I had an interview with Greg Voisen of Inside Personal Growth, in which we discussed my book. Greg said:
I had the distinct pleasure of recently interviewing Bodhipaksa who recently published a new book through Sounds True publishing entitled “Living as a River“. In our interview together we discuss the constant change we are living in as well as our impermanence as human beings on this planet…
“Engaging fusion of science & spirituality w/o dumbing down the science or marginalizing the spiritual. A difficult task. Bravo!” @RapidCityPubLib
“Loved recent intreview on @BuddhistGeeks one of the best I’ve heard from this podcast. Definitely getting the book!” @rra3
“Many thanks for the great podcast. Listened on the way home from a retreat. Already downloaded the book to iPad.” @jbigay
“I’m digging Living as a River (http://tinyurl.com/32unev2) – #psychology and #Buddhism are two of my favorite topics” @WilliamHarryman
“from @bodhipaksa’s Living as a River ‘the science that engrosses me outside meditation lingers in my mind and mourishes my practice’ http://livingasariver.com/ | exactly!” @ZenDirtZenDust
“@edcross I’ve been enjoying @Bodhipaksa’s book “Living as a River” | Skeptical but not as hardline as Batchelor.” @ZenDirtZenDust
“Reading @Bodhipaksa’s “Living as a River” Rarely am I so drawn to an introduction. Very similar to my outlook. Skeptical w/o rejecting.” @ZenDirtZenDust
This is an excerpt from a talk I gave at Aryaloka Buddhist Center. It uses the first flight across the continental US as an analogy for the impermanent and interconnected nature of the self.
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