Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place

"I've studied politics my entire life. It's been because of my time working on this book that I've finally learned what's really important in politics." So says Melvin McLeod, editor of Mindful Politics, a book that transcends Right and Left, progressive and conservative, to get to the heart of what matters: how we can all make a positive difference in our complex political world.

This is not your typical political book. It's not written at a fever pitch, it doesn't use a good/bad binary, and it doesn't tout partisan policies. Instead, this timely collection addresses the less-discussed but more important questions about politics: What insight does religion have to offer politics? How can we as concerned citizens move beyond the particulars of legislation and party affiliation, and take direct action? How, amid divisive and challenging times, can personal growth and effective advocacy take place together?

In short, Mindful Politics offers the perspectives of 34 important authors and thinkers on how each of us, right now, can make the world a better place.

McLeod includes essays and insights from some of the brightest, and most controversial, lights of Buddhism - and beyond.

Included are:

• Thich Nhat Hanh
• Sam Harris (author of The End of Faith)
• The Dalai Lama
• Jerry Brown
• Pema Chodron
• Trungpa Rinpoche
• bell hooks
• Ezra Bayda
• Meg Wheatley
• ...and many more

Melvin McLeod attended the National Defence College of Canada, the country's highest institution for the study of domestic and international affairs. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Shambhala Sun magazine and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Journal. He is also the editor of the Best Buddhist Writing collections. He has spent his life studying politics; he took a degree in political science, including a period of study in Washington, and has covered political stories in his capacity as a journalist. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.