This is the 20th anniversary edition of the national bestseller, [amazon_link id=”0887626203″ target=”_blank” ]What the Buddha Never Taught. [/amazon_link] I received my review copy just after Christmas and finally got around to reading it last week. This is a travel memoir done very well.  It’s easy to see why it has sold over 50,000 copies worldwide.

It’s a vicarious way in to experience a Thai monastery where we can watch the scorpions scurry up the walls, the cobras rear up in the path and more importantly, to experience the rigorous life of a Buddhist monk without actually having to live in the jungle.

Tim Ward is a seeker. He came to Thailand to join this tiny community of devotees after a monk in Bangkok had given him two books on mediation and recommended this particular monastery “…as the best place in Thailand for foreigners to learn how to put the Buddha’s teachings into pracitce.”

The resulting story is rather enlightening, though not quite in the way I would have suspected. I liked that Tim kept questioning everything and never took himself too seriously.  In fact, at times he let his negativity fly. It was rather refreshing to read someone’s spiritual quest without it being all light and happy affirmations.

This monastery, like so many religions, seemed to have lost the essence of the original message. It seemed burdened in bureaucratic rules and the incorporation of cultural – not spiritual – traditions. Some of the monks see these disciplines as freeing. Tim discovered otherwise. It reminded me of how I appalled I was by Assisi, Italy. I couldn’t believe the ornate churches built to honour the saint who spent his life renouncing wealth. I don’t understand how those institutions don’t appreciate the irony of those situations. But I digress…

If you are interested in Buddhism, travel, spirituality, memoir or just like a good engrossing read, I recommend [amazon_link id=”0887626203″ target=”_blank” ]What the Buddha Never Taught[/amazon_link].