HAT DOES SHAKESPEARE have in common with the Buddha? Out of this seemingly flippant comparison comes (Mandala Publishing), an intelligent and engaging book by Lauren Shufran. Shufran, who holds a doctorate in literature, wields this juxtaposition as a heuristic tool, using it to demonstrate how reading “Shakespeare Buddha” can illumine the Buddha’s teachings in surprising and often poignant ways. Each chapter begins with a quote from a play and becomes part Shakespearean masterclass—lessons in how to read with nuance—and part Buddhism seminar, lessons in the fundamental truths of existence. The book’s central thesis is that Shakespeare’s incisive talent for dramatizing the human condition is a perfect foil for understanding the Buddha’s teachings on transcending our existential quandaries. One of
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