Religion scholar KAREN ARMSTRONG. The best-selling author of –The History of God,— and –The Battle for God,— has a new book about the life of Buddha. From North India, Sidhatta Gotama, renounced normal life, leaving his wife and child to live alone and attain enlightenment. He found it through his own experiences, did not rely on a supernatural God, and fought against the cult of personality that would turn him into a leader. Instead the Buddha taught his disciples to discover the truth within themselves. His teachings flourished in India for 1500 years and then spread to Tibet, Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. ARMSTRONGs book –Buddha— is published by Penguin Lives. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE
Copyright 2001 Fresh Air