The Best Buddhist Writing 2005 - Softcover

McLeod, Melvin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1590302753 ISBN 13: 9781590302750

Publisher: Shambhala, 2005

Synopsis

Wise and witty, heartfelt and profound, this second volume in an annual series brings together the year's most notable prose and verse inspired by the power and insight of Buddhist practice. Compiled by the editors of Shambhala Sun , North America's oldest and most widely read Buddhist magazine, the collection offers a lively array of styles, perspectives, and concerns of contemporary Buddhists.

The twenty-five talented contributors include familiar favorites as well as some surprising voices who will delight and enlighten the reader, with pieces ranging from personal memoir, adventure travelogue, prison journal, and poetry, to advice for practitioners and wisdom teachings of the masters. Among this year's outstanding selections are:
   ·  Natalie Goldberg looks at the complex and troubled relationship with the two most important men in her life: her father and her Zen teacher.
   · The Dalai Lama explains Buddhism's signature doctrine of emptiness.
   ·  Dharma teacher Gaylon Ferguson writes on issues of self-worth and social justice for people of color.
   ·  Journalist Joan Duncan Oliver reflects on her struggle with twin addictions: "a drink and a man."
   ·  Thich Nhat Hanh offers personal meditations to help us lead a more wholesome and mindful life.
   ·  Cognitive psychologist Eleanor Rosch discourses on mind, meditation, and the creative process.
   ·  Peter Matthiessen ponders the longing for adventure as he travels the Antarctic.
   ·  Zen teacher John Tarrant tells how he applied a famed koan as his mother was dying.
Contributors: Faith Adiele · Geoffrey Shugen Arnold · Rick Bass · Edward Espe Brown · Michael Carroll · Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche · Peter Coyote · John Daido Loori · H. H. the Dalai Lama · Scott Darnell · Gretel Ehrlich · Gaylon Ferguson · Norman Fischer · Gehlek Rimpoche · Natalie Goldberg · Joseph Goldstein · Jeff Greenwald · Erik Hansen · Sam Harris · Joan Duncan Oliver · The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche · Barbara Rhodes · Lewis Richmond · Eleanor Rosch · Andrew Schelling · Gary Snyder · John Tarrant · Thanissaro Bhikkhu · Thich Nhat Hanh · Claude Anshin Thomas · Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche · Francisco J. Varela

About this title

About the Author:

Melvin McLeod is the editor-in-chief of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma: A Practitioner's Quarterly. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

From Booklist:

McLeod, editor in chief of the Shambhala Sun, presents the second volume in this spirited and spiritual series, once again achieving a thought-provoking mix of diverse voices and topics in an assemblage of well-crafted essays, memoirs, and teachings. As he observes, Buddhism is still new to America, and as American Buddhism evolves, it will form a unique facet of the tradition, a union of the wisdom of such Asian masters as the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Gehlek Rinpoche, all contributors to this volume, and such homegrown Buddhists as Natalie Goldberg and Gary Snyder, also present here. The Buddhist vision is ecological, hence the resonant musings of preeminent nature writers Gretel Ehrlich and Rick Bass. Peter Coyote considers "the practice of politics from the perspective of Buddha." Scott Darnell writes about prison, repentance, and Buddhism. Edward Espe Brown takes a Buddhist view of food, and cognitive scientist Eleanor Rosch analyzes the creative process. Meditation, compassion, mindfulness, living a spiritually conscious life in a materialistic culture--all are approached with acuity and artfully elucidated. Donna Seaman
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About this edition

• Publisher: Shambhala
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1590302753
• ISBN 13: 9781590302750
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288