3 Review(s)

An End to Suffering: The Buddha In The World is an illuminating insight into the rich tradition of Buddhism down the ages and its relevance in a contemporary context. Summary Of The Book An End to Suffering: The Buddha In The World combines exhaustive accounts of Buddhism and its rich origins and its relevance today. Mishra has interpreted the Buddha’s philosophy in accordance to modern life. This book is a mixture of a cultural, religious and political study, along with being a philosophical treatise and historical guide. Pankaj Mishra talks about his life, family and peppers the book with personal accounts. Mishra’s book is an attempt to document a quest for the Buddhist past across the squalid and dusty Indian plains. It is an attempt to relate to the Buddha’s teachings in today’s times of confusion, where modern scientific life modules have not delivered as expected. The author looks at the Buddha as a forever-modern philosopher. This is essentially due to a shift in religious philosophy from speculation to ethical thought. An End to Suffering: The Buddha In The World talks about an attractive and essential paradox at the heart of Buddhism. The world itself is illusory, but the Buddha desired to change the world instead of trying to rationalize the same. This paradox is the innovative core of all Buddhist philosophy. Mishra goes into life changing questions of Karma, moral action and faith. Mishra also views the Buddha’s Eight-fold Path as a means towards eliminating suffering. An End to Suffering: The Buddha In The World can be taken as a middle path between fundamentalism or ascetic tendencies. Mishra brings in philosophy and history en route to finding his own spiritual and mental redemption in the Buddhist way of life, which places emphasis on the power of the mind above all else. Mishra views the Buddha as one of the greatest souls ever born in the country. He has also brought in a curious West-East strain in his book and pairs the Buddha’s teachings with speculative philosophies of Marx, Hume and Nietzsche. About Pankaj Mishra Pankaj Mishra is an acclaimed author, reviewer, and essayist. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the year 2008. Pankaj Mishra has also written From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia, The Romantics, India in Mind, Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India and Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Beyond. Pankaj Mishra has a Master of Arts degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in English Literature. He also graduated in commerce from Allahabad University. He has contributed various reviews and essays to The Independent, The Guardian, London Review of Books, Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Nation, Financial Times, The Washington Post, Outlook, Travel + Leisure and Time. Pankaj Mishra has won awards like the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum award and been named in the top 100 global thinkers list by Foreign Policy magazine in 2012. He has also been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and Lionel Gelber Prize. He has travelled extensively across Afghanistan, South Asia, Nepal, Kashmir, Tibet and Central Asia. He was also a Visiting Fellow at University College London’s Department of English for 2007-08.