Starred review from October 15, 2007
From renowned Buddhist teacher Boorstein comes a small, polished gem of a book that seems somehow even more intimate and heartfelt than her previous books Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake
and It’s Easier Than You Think
. Boorstein begins with an anecdote about a day when her writing was interrupted by a call from a friend with a very ill brother; the effort of consoling her made Boorstein forget what she had been about to write. Boorstein uses her moment of resentful impatience at the interruption to illustrate how easily the mind can fall out of caring connection. The whole idea of this book, she writes, is that “restoring caring connection... and maintaining it when it is present, is happiness.” This insight is a jumping-off point for Boorstein to explore three planks of the Buddhist path: wise effort, wise mindfulness and wise concentration. Her quiet insistence that the Buddhist practices of mindfulness, meditation and metta
(lovingkindness) can quiet the mind, deepen concentration and lower anxiety is both convincing and inspiring.
November 15, 2007
As we keep good company with ourselves, so we restore our capacity to live passionately. This, according to best-selling author and Buddhist teacher Boorstein ("It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness", who believes we should kindly but keenly pay attention to our inner confusion, our feeling of off-centeredness. Boorstein shares her own experiences and provides a warm, practical discussion of three key concepts: wise effort, wise mind, and wise concentration. She also addresses cultivating equanimity through compassion, appreciation, and especially through self-befriending. Of particular impact is the story wherein workshop participants are asked to give individual reactions to an unfortunate situation. We come to see that each of us responds differently to difficulties, using one of the five major emotionsdesire, anger, fatigue, worry, or doubtmore than the others. The chapter about composure as the support for sadness could have been expanded for the reader more easily to identify how grief affects spiritual concentration. Recommended for large public library collections that bridge the gap between psychology and religion.Lisa Liquori, MLS, Syracuse, NY
Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.