The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life Paperback | Pages: 384 pages

Details About Books The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life

Title	:	The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life
Author	:	Jean-François Revel
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 384 pages
Published	:	February 15th 2000 by Schocken (first published 1997)
Categories	:	Philosophy. Religion. Buddhism. Nonfiction. Spirituality

Narration Concering Books The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life

Jean Francois-Revel, a pillar of French intellectual life in our time, became world famous for his challenges to both Communism and Christianity. Twenty-seven years ago, his son, Matthieu Ricard, gave up a promising career as a scientist to study Tibetan Buddhism -- not as a detached observer but by immersing himself in its practice under the guidance of its greatest living masters.

Meeting in an inn overlooking Katmandu, these two profoundly thoughtful men explored the questions that have occupied humankind throughout its history. Does life have meaning? What is consciousness? Is man free? What is the value of scientific and material progress? Why is there suffering, war, and hatred? Their conversation is not merely abstract: they ask each other questions about ethics, rights, and responsibilities, about knowledge and belief, and they discuss frankly the differences in the way each has tried to make sense of his life.

Utterly absorbing, inspiring, and accessible, this remarkable dialogue engages East with West, ideas with life, and science with the humanities, providing wisdom on how to enrich the way we live our lives.

Mention Books Supposing The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life

Original Title:	The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life
ISBN:	0805211039 (ISBN13: 9780805211030)
Edition Language:

Rating About Books The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life

Ratings: 4.13 From 1284 Users | 107 Reviews

Weigh Up About Books The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life

As a Easterner, when I first pick up this book, I am expecting to read a comparison of the Buddhism and Christianity. After reading it, I am shocked to find out that not only does it provide a comparison, but also that my original concept in Buddhism is totally wrong.If you have a little knowledge or you want to know the real thinking of Buddhism, I strongly recommend you to read this book. If you are a Buddhist, this book provides a good contrast between Eastern and Western thinking.

A biologist turned Buddhist in conversation with a philosopher about the meaning of life. If that isn't interesting by itself, they happen to be son and father. (respectively) World views separated by time and distance. What really works is that Matthieu Ricard and Jean-François Revel have absolute clarity on the points of view they represent, and yet, are not in the discussion to force their perspectives on the other. The scope of the discussion includes scientific research, metaphysics,

2005, Happiness without a happy personDidnt fare well for the monk. Fake naiveté, which is the most the father can do to alleviate the lack of vital force in Mathieus replies (what a good father), sadly, imprints the mark of mediocrity on this book. Hardly a debate, the discussion is overshadowed by the sons bet on the absolute truth. The ultimate nature of things, which transcends any aspect of being and non-being, of apparition and disappearance, of movement and non-movement, of si singularity

I don't think I learned anything new and I struggled with the dialog format. but it did address some of questions I had about Buddhism. Explicitly asks and answers questions like whether it considers itself a religion, whether it is nihilistic and how it sees reincarnation. a soft filing out of the details in compact and accessible portions of wisdom. the summary of western philosophy is no less valuable than the Buddhist view which dominates. In the end I can recommend it highly. :-)

This is a fine investigation of Buddhist philosophy by an eminent French humanist and his son, a Buddhist monk with a phd in biology. They know what a proof is. Beautifully balanced and fair minded, with an ear for the resonances between different schools of thought. Should we strive for personal success, or is that striving a snare and a delusion? What is success, truly? And how to be truly fulfilled? These two men love each other and respect each other's views. Honest and illuminating.



Good topic. Did not enjoy the books style3.5 Stars. Sadly the book did not meet my expectations. Although it does a good job at laying out the basic concepts of Tibetan Buddhism (at least for someone that had not read anything about them), there were several elements that made the reading tedious or at least less enjoyable to me:1. It often feels more as the Monk VS the philosopher, rather than AND. The father often criticizes Buddhism and very frequently highlights how its ideas are really not