The Best Buddhist Writing 2006 [Paperback]

Melvin McLeod (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2006 | Series: Best Buddhist Writing

Poignant, practical, and profound, The Best Buddhist Writing 2006 offers an eclectic and thought-provoking mix of Buddhist-inspired writing published during 2005. This year’s collection includes fiction, personal stories, essays on such themes as love, parenting, and social, political, and global issues, and practical teachings that are insightful, relevant, and helpful to your life. All are informed by a spiritual philosophy and practice that is at once profound yet accessible, radical yet life-affirming. This volume contains writings by some familiar favorites, as well as some new voices.

ContributorsDzigar Kongtrül  *  Joan Sutherland  *  Thich Nhat Hanh  *  Marc Ian Barasch  *  Polly Trout  *  Lin Jensen  *  Sakyong Mipham  *  Sharon Salzberg  *  Anne Cushman  *   Katy Butler  *  Peter J. Conradi  *  Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede  *  The Dalai Lama  *  George Crane  *  Christina Feldman  *  Mariana Caplan  *  Pema Chödrön  * Carolyn Gimian  *  Norman Fischer  *  Charles Johnson  *  Jon Kabat-Zinn  *  Tenshin Reb Anderson  *  Erik Hansen  *  Diana Atkinson  *  Judith Toy  *  Frank Olendski  *  David Loy  *  The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche *  Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche  *  John Welwood  *  Nancy Hathaway  *  Mark Magill  *  Noelle Oxenhandler

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The third annual "best of" anthology of Buddhist writing demonstrates the wide applications of Buddhist insights among today's English-speaking practitioners. From parenting and dying to forgiving a murderer, Buddhism has something to say about awareness and impermanence. The usual thinkers—Pema Chödrön, Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama—are included with 30 other writers. Selections from various teachers constitute the backbone of the anthology, and they are clear and useful for practitioners. But a number of writers are not teachers, which enhances the variety of perspectives and subjects. All anthologies have their hits and misses. "Dr. King's Refrigerator" by Charles Johnson quickly and imaginatively engages. "After the Flood" by Erik Hansen injects Buddhist compassion into the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. On the other hand, "Coming to Our Senses" by respected mind-body researcher and meditation teacher Jon Kabatt-Zinn is a disappointingly stale alarm sounded about a crisis on the planet. Carolyn Gimian's "The Three Lords of Materialism" lacks precision ("There is that kind of co-emergent quality to life altogether"). This series continues as a great window on the world of a small and articulate community shaping contemporary American spiritual practices. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

Editor McLeod observes that the essays and stories collected in the third volume in this annual series basically track the coalescence of American Buddhism. And certainly the "merging of the greatest and most successful materialist culture with the greatest and most penetrating nonmaterialist philosophy" does inspire profoundly interesting cogitations by a diverse group of writers. There's the advice of Tibetan Buddhist -Dzigar Kongtrul, a story by Charles Johnson, Diana Atkinson's frank account of a lifelong struggle with illness and serious surgery, and Judith Toy's discovery of Buddhism in the wake of the murders of three family members. Many writers move beyond the personal into the social and global as various forms of caregiving, including parenting, are viewed through a Buddhist lens, and several contributors offer fresh extrapolations of Buddhist thought to provide insights into "the suffering caused by social, political, and economic systems." David Loy, for example, discerns both our "collective selves" and "collective problems," naming three poisons: "institutionalized greed," "institutionalized ill will," and "institutionalized delusion," thus illustrating that the reach of dharma is boundless. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (October 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590304004
• ISBN-13: 978-1590304006
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Collection, April 7, 2007

By 

Alan Gettis "Author of The Happiness Solution... (River Edge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Best Buddhist Writing 2006 (Paperback)

Over 30 of the leading voices in Buddhism contributed to this 2006 edited tome by Melvin McLeod, the editor-in-chief of The Shambhala Sun.Included are such pillars as The Dalai Lama, Pema Chodron, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Thich Nhat Hanh. Indeed, the 30 plus authors are the super stars of the Zen and Tibetan Buddhist world. Therefore, I was a bit surprised that many of the contributions underwhelmed me. I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book after devouring the 2004 and 2005 editions.(This is the 3rd in the annual series).That being said, there is still plenty to be excited about. I particularly enjoyed the story by Norman Fischer entitled, "Wash Your Bowls." And the poetic piece on love by John Welwood was very moving. All in all, it was a good read and I'm certainly looking forward to the 2007 edition of "The Best Buddhist Writing."

5.0 out of 5 stars Missing from my collection, June 13, 2011

By 

Mike in Alamo - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Best Buddhist Writing 2006 (Paperback)

"The Best Buddhist Writing 2006" is a volume I have been missing in my collection. I don't know how this happened, but I'm very glad I now have a copy!All the articles are excellent and I have really enjoyed reading them.

4.0 out of 5 stars good, January 20, 2008

By 

Jeffrey S. Hatfield Jr. - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Buddhist Writing 2006 (Paperback)

That story by Diana Atkinson was absolutely incredible. Without having the book right here in front of me to recall specific details, all I can say is that I remember a few of the stories to be good, while most were just regurgitations of Buddhist teachings. I'm sorry but I read Sutras and Philosophical works all the time so none of that is going to impress me. What i like to read are stories like Diana like give you a true experience and that truly move you and teach about the sheer reality of the human condition.