Book Review: “The Novice” by Stephen Schettini
“The Novice” is an engaging memoir by Stephen Schettini chronicling his journey towards the discovery of truth and weaves together the storied past of an inquisitive seeker into each single page. It’s an incredibly detail-oriented read which provides precise history around the landscapes, family, teachers, friends and situations that Schettini was surrounded by as a child, son, student, teacher, translator, practitioner and furthermore, the roles that followed for him after shedding his robes in his transition back into Western society.
The pages recounting the early years speak to the influences of his Catholic upbringing, his deep questioning of religion, society and an overall yearning for understanding. The author found himself in trouble with the law a few times and he turned towards experimentation with drugs - all of the hallmarks of the path that most young people face in either trying to escape from suffering or as an unwanted consequence in further spiraling downwards into suffering as a result of this dabbling. To satiate his quest for understanding, he decided to pick up and travel to India and much of the book recounts his journey through Europe, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and a multitude of stops in between.
As he made his way towards India, he was beset by illness, engaged in adventures and met many people. (I’m being ambiguous because I don’t want to spoil any of the author’s stories). Stephen was truly engaged in a spiritual journey in all senses of the word and when life within the Buddhist monastery wasn’t the idyllic escape that one would imagine it to be, he decided after several years to leave the robes behind and return to the West.
With all of his years of practice and the experiences he’d gained from living in the East, the author came to see that losing the esoteric trappings of Tibetan Buddhism helped him to gain more understanding of peace and mindfulness. This is what influences the current teachings that he offers to members of the community in and around Montreal as his focus is on helping others cultivate ‘mindful reflection’.
The author is not disparaging towards Buddhism or it’s teachings but rather he came to its teachings with a skeptical mind and has taken from it the teachings that fit most in his personal framework and have helped him achieve peace of mind and a manner to work with mindfulness in his day to day life.
I commend Stephen on his bravery in putting out this book and writing about what some would consider as a failure on the path. On the contrary, his book demonstrates the Buddha’s wish for people to question everything and not accept teachings without testing and analyzing them fully.
