Buddhism Without Beliefs is the kind of finely written primer about the precepts of Buddhism that even a heathen like me can appreciate and understand. For the non-Buddhist, or the aspiring Buddhist, it will be of much assistance. Filled with compassion, lucidly written, this is a book that explains much about an ancient, ever-living philosophy that has much to offer the stunned searchers of truth in our chaotic age of modernity. -- OSCAR HIJUELOS, author of Mr. Ives` Christmas and The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love In this simple but important volume, Stephen Batchelor reminds us that the Buddha was not a mystic who claimed privileged, esoteric knowledge of the universe, but a man who challenged us to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, and bring into being a way of life that is available to us all. What the Buddha taught, says Batchelor, is not something to believe in but something to do -- and as he explains clearly and compellingly, it is a practice that we can engage in, regardless of our background or beliefs, as we live every day on the path to awakening, Radiant in its clarity, Buddhism Without Beliefs reminds us not just of Buddhism`s true nature, but of our own as well. Freeing us from the notion of Buddhism as a religion, Stephen Batchelor shows us how necessary the Buddha`s teachings are in today`s world. It may not be what he intended, but he has made a believer out of me. -- MARK EPSTEIN, M.D., author of Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective Though he is a former monk in both the Zen and Tibetan traditions, Batchelor is now associated with a nondenominational Buddhist community in England. He deliberately eschews elitist, monastic Buddhist traditions, which often make enlightenment appear all but impossible to attain. Throughout, simple meditation exercises acquaint readers with Buddhist principles that illuminate `the nature of the human dilemma and a way to its resolution.` -- Publishers Weekly