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I’m in Australia and it costs about $45 AUD for a paperback to be delivered, as no bookstores have it.

So probably going to opt for the Kindle $10 AUD version, even though I reallllllyy enjoy having the physical.

if you have an audible membership, in the buddha's words is included for free as part of their member's catalogue. so you could do a free first month and listen to it there:) that's what i will be doing

Evita wrote: "if you have an audible membership, in the buddha's words is included for free as part of their member's catalogue. so you could do a free first month and listen to it there:) that's what i will be ..."

Thanks I will check that out :)

Evita wrote: "if you have an audible membership, in the buddha's words is included for free as part of their member's catalogue. so you could do a free first month and listen to it there:) that's what i will be ..."

oh damn i wished i had checked this out! i caved and bought a physical copy at my local barnes & noble for like $30 USD bc it was the last one they had.

I started reading this in January so I'm about halfway through already. It's pretty well structured. Essentially, the sutras are bundled with a corresponding topic. So all of chapter 1 is about a certain topic, chapter 2 about another one, so on and so forth. Sometimes I've felt that the last sutras of a chapter segue very well into the topic of the next one.

So far there wasn't anything that difficult to read (maybe the introductions at the start of each chapter, as the author is more familiar with the meaning of the sutras than me, obviously). In the offchance I don't understand something I just continue reading as the overarching theme of the chapter makes itself obvious sooner or later.

For those that are weebs, I'd like to recommend Osamu Tezuka's Buddha, as there are some sutras here that I remember being fictionalized in that manga. Maybe it'll help as comparison material for Siddharta later on on the year.

I hope Pewdiepie finds this group and is proud of all of us for participating, because I am proud of us :D

DM me guys if you need the ebook or audible book

I would like to hear other's opinions on 1,2(1) "The Dart of Painful Feeling". My own reading of it would be something like... As you avoid pain, also avoid pleasure. What do you think?

Sadly I do not have an audible nor dose my library have this book so sadly I will be choosing something els but will try to find another book on the Buddha!

Alice wrote: "Sadly I do not have an audible nor dose my library have this book so sadly I will be choosing something els but will try to find another book on the Buddha!"

I found the book as a free pdf online :)

Jonatan wrote: "I would like to hear other's opinions on 1,2(1) "The Dart of Painful Feeling". My own reading of it would be something like... As you avoid pain, also avoid pleasure. What do you think?"

I think this is more about attachment to either pain or pleasure. It's not about avoiding either, but attaching yourself to the pain or pleasure causes the second dart.

If someone insults you, it's painful (the first dart, 'bodily' pain). If we are attached to that, and we stew on it (ex. thinking "he's right to say that, I am stupid, ugly etc., and I'm never going to get anywhere in life"), that's the second dart we're hit by ('mental' pain).

Or say you're in an uncomfortable or difficult situation. We feel the bodily pain of the first dart, discomfort or hardship. But then in our minds, we think about how we wish we weren't in this situation, and cause ourselves the mental pain, second dart, because we're attached to wanting to feel pleasure.

This is my understanding of that passage, I hope this helps!

Jonatan wrote: "I would like to hear other's opinions on 1,2(1) "The Dart of Painful Feeling". My own reading of it would be something like... As you avoid pain, also avoid pleasure. What do you think?"

I'd really recommend checking out this video: (Suffering, Pain, Meditation & Our Thoughts | Sam Harris)

I think it pairs really well with "The Dart Of Painful Feeling" and beautifully explains the difference between pain and suffering.

I’m finding the book a bit difficult to follow. Or at least, I am not getting the messages so far. I am currently in Chapter 2, Part 3, and it appears that the same thing (which I am struggling to grasp) is just being repeated over and over. Should it be this abstract? Does it get easier than this? Any tips for understanding the meaning? Any help is appreciated!

Alfie wrote: "Jonatan wrote: "I would like to hear other's opinions on 1,2(1) "The Dart of Painful Feeling". My own reading of it would be something like... As you avoid pain, also avoid pleasure. What do you th..."

Thanks for the video recomendation Alfie. And also thanks Joseph Goodman for the explanation.

William wrote: "I’m finding the book a bit difficult to follow. Or at least, I am not getting the messages so far. I am currently in Chapter 2, Part 3, and it appears that the same thing (which I am struggling to ..."

I have similar feelings! This is definitely a harder read overall as compared to Tao Te Ching. I want to take the time to stay and analyze every single part (for example I was curious about putting together a chat group on another platform to discuss more), but since I have to finish it before the end of February I can't really allow myself to do so. A challenge for sure.

I'm honestly finding this book to be a pretty difficult read.

I'm not a fan of the author giving his interpretation at the start of each chapter when you haven't read the passages he's talking about yet and all the historical background and language I'm unfamiliar with is a real grind to get through (I feel like I need to jump to wikipedia every few sentences).

I think rather than rushing and trying to finish the book in February I'll take my time and just read a few pages each day over the next few months to really absorb it, similar to how I read the Tao Te Ching.

Hopefully I don't end up on the wall of shame for that 😆

I find the interpretation of the author in between the chapters very difficult to get through. I’m thinking about skipping those parts and just reading the actual chapters, what you y’all think about that idea?

Brody wrote: "I find the interpretation of the author in between the chapters very difficult to get through. I’m thinking about skipping those parts and just reading the actual chapters, what you y’all think abo..."

That's what I've been doing but I'm still having a hard time getting through this book, not sure this style of writing is something that I can really get into.

Brody wrote: "I find the interpretation of the author in between the chapters very difficult to get through. I’m thinking about skipping those parts and just reading the actual chapters, what you y’all think abo..."

I also agree, I've been skimming those sections, not really bothering with the details. I'd say there is still some worth reading a sentence here and there over skipping them entirely though. At least I am a bit curious to religious interpretations of the text, and I feel like knowing that helps me engage with the text more.

Having reached the chapter “Deepening One’s Perspective on the World�� I can’t help but wonder about the core teaching in Buddhism. The cessation of suffering. Why is this the goal? Though I am aware that now I’m questioning this teaching and finding it unnatural the way the book tells that most people will.

I think people are very much bound in their momentary feeling: when you feel good you see suffering as something manageable and necessary and when you’re feeling awful it might feel that you’d give anything to not feel that way. Since right now I’m feeling okay I can think clearly that there’s a balance with “gratification�� and “danger�� in life. But is this clarity? Or is it just a thought bias making me forget what it was like when I was feeling awful?

Back to my original point. I also see that as there is balance in the dynamic of pleasure and suffering, there is balance in the cessation of both. But, why can’t we be happy with the first balance of having the two. That is what makes life, life. Humans�� lives would be something completely different if everyone had “escaped the world�� to enlightenment. Of course I can think of many good outcomes of this, for the planet for example��

Maybe what I’m trying to say is that it could be enough for people to change the way we respond to suffering instead of trying to get rid of it altogether.

I felt like my sanity was wavering while writing this. Don’t know what I think anymore :’D
I would like to spark some conversation on this subject!

Lumi wrote: "Having reached the chapter “Deepening One’s Perspective on the World�� I can’t help but wonder about the core teaching in Buddhism. The cessation of suffering. Why is this the goal? Though I am awar..."

Lumi, thanks for sharing. Your point is quite interesting.

When I consider your words, my mind goes like this: 1) All living beings will suffer. 2) Buddhism wants people to suffer less. 3) Buddhism doesn't want people to not live, but at least to not focus too much on the senses and pleasure, since that will tie their well-being to constant positive input, which isn't sustainable in the long run. 4) By honing that skill, people will suffer less BUT 5) this also means that the ones who follow buddhism in a way has let their aversion for/fear of suffering dictate the way they live their lives. Is that really total freedom? Wouldn't it be better to work with acceptance?

Well, that seemed smarter in my mind then it did when I wrote it down! I don't really think I managed to poke a logical hole into the teachings, and that was not my intention either. But whatever, it was fun to think about.

I've been struggling to get through this too. hopefully I can complete it in the year and that will count.

So far I find the teachings a bit nihilistic at their core

Took me 2 extra days but I finished! Didn't understand everything, though that wasn't my intention anyway. I will admit, it did feel like it got a little esoteric towards the end, the last chapter was completely lost on me. The introductions didn't help that much either, I ended up skimming the last two. I kinda forgot how incomprehensible religous texts can get to be.

In Pewd's "721 books in 2018" video he did mention this book, and from what he said it seems to me that he liked the most the earlier parts of the book - the ones dealing with how buddhism can benefit your average joe. I do think that for many of us that applies as well - the important part of the book is the beninning, the rest 3/4s of it is just additional stuff.

Despite the fact that I found it hard to understand, here and there on the latter parts of the book I got reminded of the concept of Maya that can be found in Indian religions. Particularly in the few areas where the idea of the irrealness of the real world was explored. I learned the concept through Schopenhauer (I think he called it "representation"? now that I think about it Felix will be reading the book about that later on this year), but in summary (in the best way to relate it to what's said in the book) it is that the real world is an illusion. Not so much as in solipsism, but more as in the attachements we have to things is illusionary, the thing-in-itself is not the same as the thing we percieve. Check wikipedia for more info

As for,

Jonatan wrote: " Is that really total freedom? Wouldn't it be better to work with acceptance?" & Deborah wrote: "So far I find the teachings a bit nihilistic at their core"

It's been a while since I read it so take it with a grain of salt as I might be misremembering, but both of you present the same idea in which in Genealogy of Morals Nietzsche criticises Buddhism (and the ascetic thinking that was getting popularized in Europe at the time). He saw it as life-denying. Not necesarily a "cop-out" out of life irrc, but more as of a type of thinking that, while it doesn't primarly promote it, it does easily fomment escapism