To understand topics in Buddhist philosophy, a person could take this course. But outside the  confines of a classroom, what about a person perusing today’s dose of self-help? Can and would  that person encounter teachings of the Buddha? How compatible are the messages contained  within self-help books with Buddhist beliefs and practices?  

This work explores the possibility of making ‘self-help’ useful to the Buddhist agenda.  Titled “U Thrive: How to Succeed in College (and Life)”, I borrow the literary technique of blackout poetry, redacting words from an existing text to form new phrases and statements to  reveal new meaning. I use the text available to most currently matriculated Yale-NUS College  students—U Thrive: How to Succeed in College (and Life) by Daniel Lerner and Alan  Schlechter. The book says it is “a fun, comprehensive guide to surviving and thriving in college  and beyond” aimed at freshies, providing “science, real-life stories, and tips for building  positive lifelong habits”.  

Arguably, self-help books parallel the Buddhist tradition in recognising that all (or self help book consumers) is suffering, and that liberating all from suffering begins with the right  understanding. Buddhism has spread and seed itself across the globe, offering spiritual  guidance, ethical ways of being, and creative inspiration. Mass marketed, with mass appeal,  self-help books have also reached an international audience. If I had to generalise, both offer  ‘how to life’ guides.  

However, these self-help books also place a heavy emphasis on the self to help the self,  which seems incongruent with the Buddhist understanding of no-self, where grasping and  reaching for the self causes suffering. Further, as the titular book suggests, an intention to  achieve a certain result, like success in college, does not cohere with Buddhist philosophy’s  disavowal of attachment to specific outcomes and states of being.  

The main Buddhist principle applied here was laid out by the Raft Analogy in MN22:  the contextually judicious use of advice and teachings. Specific pages were carefully selected,  and specific chunks of text deliberately hidden or highlighted. Having translated the Kalama  Sutta in AN3.65, Thanissaro Bhikku notes that any view or belief are not to be followed simply  because they seem right. This work thus attempts to exercise “appropriate attention” advocated  for in the Kalama Sutta, questioning and testing the beliefs of a self-help book through  reframing, reworking, and repurposing the text to aid in attaining the goal of Buddhist practice.  

Another key concept that forms this project’s foundation is dependent origination— nothing exists independently. I have scanned the pages of the book before any alterations, and  actively reference the texts read or notes taken in this course. See Slide 8 onwards [link to  slides]. The speaker notes of the slides provide additional explanation on my intended messages.  

It is very likely that other sources have contributed to what is being accomplished here, and so  even if unlisted, I also thank and acknowledge that which has informed the work and would  also like to extend my gratitude to all persons who have supported me in this endeavour.  

I had fun doing what I initially was averse to: reading U Thrive. Five pages were  selected and edited. Their key words (themes) include:  

The first: compassion, path, nirvāṇa, emptiness  

The second: impermanence, attachment to pleasant feeling, grasping, formation of self  The third: self, lack of control, the body, unpleasant feeling 

The fourth: inevitability of catastrophe, right view, dependent origination, suffering 

The fifth: noble eightfold path, possibility, teacher and teaching

Thank you to Dr. Sherice Ngaserin for her support and approval of this idea from the get-go. 

I am also thankful for her and my classmates’ input during class in the form of their thoughts, discussion, and notetaking: I have found their materials useful and invaluable in making this unessay.

My thanks to Chan Yi Qian for giving incredible artistic direction (e.g. dinosaur, wreck, highlights) and suggestions on the literary quality of my attempts at blackout poetry.