This is an excellent addition to the library of Buddhist works meant especially for practitioners. It focuses on contemplation, as opposed to either textual study, meditation, or the practice of precepts. Its premise is that contemplation has historically been a key component of practice, a link between study and meditation that is often neglected today. To "flesh out" the practice, the author proceeds through a survey of the Buddhist philosophical landscape, using statements that are key tenets of various systems--e.g. Vaibhashika, Sautrantika, Chittamatra, Madhyamaka--and applying the practice of contemplation to those statements. The statements are explained using examples from everyday life that are often exceptionally clear and thought provoking. This procedure helps you to see how contemplation, like the practice of morality, can be an important component of one's practice, a part of the "mind re-training" so central to serious practice, which cannot be limited to the time of meditation alone. Definitely worthwhile.

I was looking for a book that could explain in a more comprehensible manner some of the arcane concepts of Buddhism. Andy Karr makes a valiant effort to do so in this book. He has a good sense of humor and relatively down-to-earth approach to subjects that are extremely difficult to grasp. He also explains the different schools of tenets and describes their somewhat differing approaches to the subject. I recommend it!

Contemplating Reality is a wonderful contribution to the body of teachings on analytical meditation. Analytical meditation is a very important practice of the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist traditions, which emphasize bringing intellectual study and experiential praxis together. It is a key to ensuring that the knowledge we gain from our studies will not be left on our book shelves, but will permeate our day to day experience.

In this delightful book, Andy uses fresh and modern examples, even delving into discussions of modern science, to help readers find a ground-level approach to unlocking the life lessons of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism's four main philosophical systems: the Vaibhashika, the Sautrantika, the Chittamatra, and the Madhyamaka. Praised by Publisher's Weekly and many Kagyu and Nyingma lineage teachers, this short book will whet the reader's appetite for contemplation and its prerequisite, study. What's more, it will offer a senior Western Buddhist student's seasoned perspective on a heretofore relatively unexplored topic in the West.

After spending a few frustrating years trying to understand the various schools of Buddhist logic and their arguments about the nature of reality, it was a pleasure to read Andy Karr's book, "Contemplating Reality." Karr takes the reader step by step through the Buddhist logics in everyday language that makes the journey a simple pleasure.

Although the book is written in a way that encourages reading short sections and stopping frequently to think about what has been presented, it is so readable that one can just slow down, smile, and continue on. The progression of the book follows the progression of the Buddhist schools, but somehow Karr has managed to eliminate the tedium that so often accompanies the classic presentations of these arguments.

In fact, I think Karr did a lot of the work for us by clearing up the confusions for himself before presenting the points to us. His understanding make the exercises accessible and enjoyable. And his choice of quotes and poetry from historic Buddhist masters brings a profundity to the material that often transcends logic altogether.

So if you are open to investigating the nature of things as they are, "Contemplating Reality" is a way to understand emptiness and its inherent friendliness that will add freedom and humor to your path in life.

"As of this writing, George W. Bush is perceived to be a good leader by many people. Many others perceive him to be a dangerous idiot and a tool of corporate interests. On the other hand, his daughters perceive him as a father. His parents perceive him as a son. Osama bin Laden sees George W. Bush as an enemy and a demon. To a mosquito George W. Bush is a meal. The microorganisms that inhabit his intestines perceive him as home. Whose version is right?" (CR, p. 88)

With a wry, sometimes wink-of-the-eye sense of humor, and a spontaneous honesty hard to achieve in print (for all his study, the author cops to once not having had a daily meditation practice), Contemplating Reality untangles the complexity of the schools and subschools of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist thought in the clearest terms I have ever seen--supported by a series of analytical and contemplative meditation exercises derived from 2,500 years of Buddhist practice. Andy Karr's book is personal, practical, plain and profound.