FEATURED MEDIA: Editor’s Choice
October / December 2009
FEATURED MEDIA: Editor’s Choice
By Adrea Willson; illustrations by Andy Weber
Written as a children’s book (age 10+), Ten Thousand Days of Summer, the first of a planned trilogy re-telling the amazing life-story of Siddhartha Gautama, covers his auspicious birth, extraordinary childhood feats and his pampered young-adulthood until his encounter with the well-known “four sights” that prompted him into the life of a shramana, a wandering spiritual seeker. Containing prose and poetry (and a beautiful illustration on nearly every page), the work is clear and elegant, unafraid to enrich the characters’ personalities and their roles in Siddhartha’s story with careful embellishment. Keenly aware of the legend’s transformative potential, Andrea Willson has crafted a beautiful work that Lama Zopa Rinpoche has commented “will benefit many beings.”
Wisdom Books (UK)
Paperback £6.59
www.wisdom-books.com
Snow Lion Publications (US)
Paperback $15.95
www.snowlionpub.com
There is only one moment when we can be truly happy. That’s this moment. So how do you deal with problems that seem to contaminate every moment? Buddha told us to embrace our suffering. Introduce compassion into the mix, and thus the hell of suffering ceases to be hell. Easier said than done, you say? Here are some succinct and manageable techniques to cut through the busyness and anxieties that make up our day, all in a truly lovely, potent little book – just reading it makes being alive a total joy.
Published by Shambhala Publications
Hardcover US$19.95
www.shambhala.com
By Anam Thubten
The most incredible success we can achieve is to become a nobody! Ah, the bliss of dissolving all notions of having an ego! And it can be done. “True meditation is nothing but the art of abiding, without effort, where you don’t have to try to get rid of anything,” says the author, who was born in eastern Tibet and has been a teacher in the West since the 1990s. It’s that awareness of non-doing thatis one of the keys to a truly happy life in which the separation between samsara and nirvana simply disappears. Anam Thubten goes to the heart of the matter in this easy-to-read, yet profound, book written in an accessible contemporary style.
Published by Snow Lion Publications
Paperback US$14.95
www.SnowLionPub.com
By Guy Newland
Newland has once again tackled the central concept of Mahayana Buddhism in this improved presentation. The book is actually a reworked and fine-tuned version of his earlier edition, and brings greater clarity to Tibetan Buddhism’s essential philosophical point. Emptiness is not a mystical sort of nothingness: it is a specific truth that can be understood with careful reflection. Using contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes, the author clearly shows us how to find the answers to “what is emptiness.”
Published by Snow Lion Publications
Paperback US$14.95
www.SnowLionPub.com
By His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Translated, edited and annotated by B. Alan Wallace
This incredible teaching on the Wisdom Section of Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life has been meticulously translated by B. Alan Wallace with the added bonus of an oral commentary by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Presented in the summer of 1979 in Switzerland to an audience of about a thousand Tibetans, it does assume some background in Buddhist philosophy on the part of the listeners, and that particular section can be challenging, but this is a very clear elucidation and this updated edition is a key work for Buddhist scholars.
Published by Snow Lion Publications
Paperback US$16.95
www.SnowLionPub.com
By Deborah Schoeberlein
Mindfulness is definitely going mainstream. It belongs in the classroom, and parents will hope that their children encounter teachers like Schoeberlein – someone who is fully present and therefore teaches better. And parents themselves will benefit greatly from this book which is a treasure trove of techniques. An apple for this teacher, for sure.
Published by Wisdom Publications
Paperback US$16.95
www.wisdompubs.org
By Jeff Klein
When we work for a living, we are so fortunate if we actually like what we do, and feel that it is benefiting the world we live in. Klein shows us that it is possible for a business to be run profitably while addressing social issues with integrity. A business is a living system and awareness of the role we play in that system is crucial. This book is especially useful as a guide for entrepreneurs who want to be effective leaders fostering effective teams. Klein practices what he preaches: he’s part of the FLOW team cofounded by the CEO of Whole Foods and an educational entrepreneur; all three are committed libertarian do-gooders. A practical book.
Published by Sounds True
Paperback US$16.95
www.workingforgood.com
By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
It’s been nearly two decades since the bestselling Mindfulness in Plain English was published, and this new book is a classic in the making. It shows us that having faith in the Buddha, and applying a healthy striving with sincerity and energy, will guide us towards wisdom. This does seem so achievable, as the author gives us the theory, piece by piece and voila! Mindfulness in perfect balance. Of course we have to get rid of some hindrances along the way but the goal is worth it.
Published by Wisdom Publications
Paperback US$15.95
www.wisdompubs.org
Edited by John Stanley, David R. Loy and Gyurme Dorje
At last – a clear exposition of our responsibilities as Buddhists in dealing with the enormous challenge of saving our planet. Two of the world’s most influential Buddhists – His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh – are joined by many rinpoches and leading Buddhist scholars in helping us to define our roles. Our individual and our ecological predicaments are remarkably similar and the persuasive voices in this book help us to understand this – and give us some tools to “take corrective action to ensure a safe-climate future,” as His Holiness puts it. Please read this book!
Published by Wisdom Publications
Paperback US$16.95
www.wisdompubs.org
By His Holiness the Dalai Lama; translated by Thupten Jinpa
The middle way is the way of the intelligent person who uses critical inquiry in all matters, including faith and devotion. It is that perfect middle way we all aspire to, and how fortunate we are to have access to these brilliant teachings given by the Dalai Lama in Toronto in 2004 and now impeccably translated by his principal English translator. The first half of the book presents the Buddhist path to enlightenment à la Nagarjuna. The second half shows how to put the key elements into practice, and it is here that His Holiness offers a beautiful explanation of Lama Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path – true renunciation, the altruistic wakening mind and the correct view of emptiness. A truly inspiring book.
Published by Wisdom Publications
Hardcover US$19.95
www.wisdompubs.org
By Jeff Bell
We all live with uncertainty about the present and the future. But what if fear-based doubts take over your life as they did the author’s? Yes, he was a full-blown sufferer of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) a.k.a. “the doubting disease.” This book shows that even a massive problem like that can become an opportunity to help himself and others. Whether we have experienced short bursts of “what if” reactions to life, have a bad case of OCD, or know someone who has, this book can be appreciated as an honest, meticulously researched and personally experienced story. He has enlisted the expertise of more than a dozen leading experts whose cogent advice is an added bonus.
Published by New World Library
Paperback US$14.95
www.newworldlibrary.com
