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Daily Buddhism, Meditation, Reviews

Book: The Gift of Loving Kindness

Book: The Gift of Loving Kindness
by Mary Brantley and Tesilya Hanauer
Review by Brian Schell, http://www.dailybuddhism.com
New Harbinger Publications, 286 Pages, ISBN: 1-57224-562-X
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157224562X/?tag=askdrarca-20

I’ve mentioned loving kindness meditation here on the Daily Buddhism quit often in my postings the past few weeks, and it may still not be clear what it’s all about. This book makes it clear as glass. The book is small (6‚Äùx6‚Äù), and as the title itself suggests, would make an excellent gift for someone interested in taking up a simple form of meditation for perhaps the first time. Although the introduction and explanatory pages mention Buddha a few times, the book is not religious and could be enjoyed by anyone of any faith.

The introductory section explains why the authors wrote the book, how to use the book, and basic instructions for both formal and informal loving kindness meditations. This takes around 44 pages, and is an interesting, fast read. The instructions on the formal meditation are clearly presented, and easy to follow and practice.

The book centers heavily on the ideas of generosity, forgiveness, and compassion. Towards others, of course, but starting with directing those concepts towards yourself. The book explains early on that it’s hard to direct loving kindness outwards towards others if your mind is filled with blame or self-hate. Therefore, the book focuses on directing loving kindness (generosity, compassion, and forgiveness) towards yourself first, and then expanding that mindfulness outward towards others.

The rest of the book is broken into four parts, consisting of exercises that expand or modify these basic instructions in simple, yet useful ways. Part one of the book consists of meditations of loving-kindness towards yourself, part two is about loving-kindness towards difficult emotions, part three covers loving-kindness towards others, and finally, part four involves loving-kindness towards the world. On the last few pages are some additional resources for further exploration.

The bulk of the pages are filled with 100 mindful practices that can be attempted in any order. Some are quite good, others are a little weak, but since you can pick and choose the ones that appeal to you, there’s plenty to work with. Each exercise is explained clearly and concisely, usually with only two or three paragraphs. Some of the ideas are a bit saccharine, but with a book on this subject, that’s nearly unavoidable.

Buddhism Level: Beginner. All Daily Buddhism readers should be able to understand all parts of this one. It has no jargon and requires no special background. It’s even fine for those who may be uncomfortable with Buddhism, yet interested in meditation.

It’s easy to do, it’s easy to understand. Send yourself a little gift of loving kindness, and you can learn to pass it on to the rest of the world.

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Order the Book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157224562X/?tag=askdrarca-20
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Daily Buddhism, Reviews

Book: Footprints in the Snow, by Chan Master Sheng Yen

Book: Footprints in the Snow
By Chan Master Sheng Yen
Reviewed by Brian Schell
Doubleday, 210 Pages, ISBN 978-0-385-51330-2
Buy from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385513305/?tag=askdrarca-20

Have you ever dreamed about becoming a Buddhist monk? I have. I’ve visited some of those temples, and can imagine living there, doing the daily work, chanting, meditation, and so forth. After reading this book, I see that my mental picture of it all may have been a bit rosy.

Footprints in the Snow is the autobiography of Sheng Yen, a Chan (“Chinese Zen”) Master. There are several biographies of the man in Chinese, but this is the first edition in English. Sheng Yen was born in an extremely poor farming family in the Chinese countryside. With few other options, he was taken by a family friend to the Wolf Mountain monastery, where he learned the basics of becoming a monk. He later moved on to Shanghai, but the war between the Communists and the Nationalists drove him to become a soldier-for-life in Taiwan. Eventually securing his freedom from the soldier’s life, he once again became a monk. After travels to Canada, the USA, and back to China, he finally became a Chan Master and one of those most influential Buddhists alive today. He combines his personal story with historical events, and we can see how political changes in China and Taiwan altered not only his life, but Buddhism in general.

I found this book hard to put down. I’m not usually a fan of biographies, but his easygoing writing style and obvious love of what he does makes every page enjoyable. Along with the story, the author explains a bit of Buddhist philosophy in a comfortable, jargon-free style that DailyBuddhism readers will appreciate. My favorite parts of the book, however, are his interactions with the monks and abbots of the various monasteries. Far from being the altruistic teachers and devoted worshippers we usually envision, he shows us the real picture. Many of the Chinese monks sell their services for money, they get into trouble with alcohol and women, there is “office politics” in the hierarchies, and so forth. The pettiness of some of the monks and abbots are shocking. One thing is clear though, in the monk’s world, everything revolves around money. Given that we stereotypically assume monks to be poor and penniless, above such financial concerns, the reality or monastery life is quite different.

He goes from poor farm boy to a monk, to a soldier, to an abbott, to a monk again, eventually becoming homeless and rising back to the top. All the way, he refines his teaching style and is attached to nothing. It’s a dramatic story, and there are some good educational bits on Buddhism scattered throughout. If you ever wanted to know about Monastery life, this is a must-read.

This one is going into my “Read it Again someday” pile.