The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self [Hardcover]

Woody Hochswender (Author), Ted Morino (Author), Greg Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

While the notion that “happiness can found within oneself” has recently become popular, Buddhism has taught for thousands of years that every person is a Buddha, or enlightened being, and has the potential for true and lasting happiness. Through real-life examples, the authors explain how adopting this outlook has positive effects on one’s health, relationships, and career, and gives new insights into world environmental concerns, peace issues, and other major social problems.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tina Turner found the strength to leave an abusive marriage after she began chanting "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo." This phrase, translated as "I devote myself to the mystic law of cause and effect through sound," is at the heart of Nichiren Buddhism, a practice clearly explained in this self-help primer. In 1253, the Japanese monk Nichiren declared Nam-myoho-renge-kyo "to be the one true law, the great `secret' hidden in the depths of the Lotus Sutra." Nichiren's intent was to make attainment of Buddhahood imminently available to all. This manual's authors heartily endorse the chant as completely accessible and effective at achieving desires for self and others. Noting that Nichiren Buddhism is "open equally to everyone... there are no priests or gurus," the authors promote the Nichiren path as fitting neatly within the modern world of science, especially physics, where impermanence is now a given. They also point readers toward finding community within Soka Gakkai International, a Nichiren-centered organization with 12 million adherents in 160 nations. The introduction by jazz great Herbie Hancock, a Nichiren practitioner for 29 years, makes one wonder if the rhythmic emphasis of this chant has a special call for musicians, but this path obviously has bold appeal for a broad audience of people who are willing to give chant a chance.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

...recommended reading for peace activists, students of Buddhism, and those who have...appreciated Ikeda's work for the past three decades. -- Midwest Book Review

...this path obviously has bold appeal for people who are willing to give a chant a chance. -- Publisher's Weekly

The perspective of compassion and the interconnectedness of all life infuse this work... -- MTB-NAPRA Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Middleway Press (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967469716
• ISBN-13: 978-0967469713
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #827,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to Nichiren Buddhism, March 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self (Hardcover)

This is an excellent introduction to the growing Buddist tradition of Nichiren Buddhism. It covers questions that might be asked by a beginner, and it also goes into deeper areas such the soul, relationships, death, true happiness, and so on. I also recommend a book of wisdom titled "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life" by Taro Gold, which is filled with the wisdom of Nichiren Buddhism and makes a great companion book to this one.

75 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buddhisciously bright, brilliant, basics of Buddhahood!, May 19, 2001

By 

Jesse Dean "Jesse Dean Executive Director, ... (penngrove, ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self (Hardcover)

What a treat! Herbie Hancock's melodious foreword opens the heart of the reader for a delightfully written, brilliantly executed introduction to Nichiren Daishonin's amazing yet practical Buddhism. The authors deliver a light, affirmative exposition of one of the world's fastest growing and most dynamic "spiritual technologies" that strengthens the human soul, empowering anyone willing to put it to use with a richer more powerful life-force to face the challenges of contemporary society. Quick paced and refreshingly to the point, this is a joyful read that strips away the cloak of religious authority, rendering highly complex and profound spiritual concepts in simple to understand contexts that make them applicable to our daily lives. The clarity and flow of the text is actual proof that the three voices of Hochswender, Martin and Morino harmoniously demonstrate the power of the simple Buddhist practice they so eloquently advocate. This book is a compelling and hopeful guide that informs the reader that enlightenment is not an unreachable golden ring but instead, a very real and useful state of being available to each of us willing to put it to the test in the ever changing perfect mirror of the eternal here and now!

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nuts and Bolts of Buddhism, July 5, 2001

By 

A. ODonnell "Amyred" (Houston, TX (USA)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self (Hardcover)

If the very idea of reading about or practicing Buddhism confounds you--and let's face it, it can be--this book will explain it in clear terms. It's almost mechanical, but that's the idea--to explain this Buddhism to the Western World (especially Americans!), are accustomed to reading things like technical manuals and reading newspapers online. It's just the way we are "hard-wired," and it's written BY Americans FOR Americans, or anyone else who would like to read it. Less theory, more substance, and more of what you check out Buddhism for. It's an easy read, too--about 210 pages, double spaced, big margins. ...

As I tell new members (as well as a few old ones) "It's all about the practice." That's it. Everyting else is superflous. The practice is everything, and it's explained in this book--how, when, where, what and why, as well as "case studies" of members who changed something with the practice and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Millions of people can't be wrong. Again, it's all about the practice, and how to go about it.

So--what are you waiting for?