First lets say the book is very good but I believe more research should be done in some fronts. Probably the second edition could be made more technical. I believe this book is a good foundation to build up upon. If we pay attention to the story of Mara. Author says that the mara in Buddhism is somewhat similar to satan in the bible. Yes it is true...but there are five different maras in Buddhism. Satan like mara is Devaputta mara. Then there is khandha mara. Five khandhas, are considered to be maras as well. Then there is klesha mara. Then there is Kamma mara. Finally the word mara also means death.
It is very plausible that Buddha knew of philosophies of Taxila. I think author needs to show more connections between philosophies of Taxila and the pali canon. I believe devaputta mara is the least important mara to Buddhist philosophy compared to other four. Specially the khandha mara was what Abhidharma was built upon by later monks.
Get more detail about Confession of a Buddhist Atheist.
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