Buddhist Acts of Compassion [Paperback]

Pamela Bloom (Author), Joan Halifax (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2000

"My religion is compassion," the Dalai Lama has said. Indeed, the vow to be of benefit to others lies at the heart of Buddhist practice. This book collects dozens of profound and moving stories of true compassion. From the Buddhist monk who offered his body to starving animals, to modern Western practitioners who use Buddhist principles for healing and social reform, these stories inspire with their depth, tenderness, humor, and occasional outrageousness. Included are tales of the "crazy wisdom" kindness practiced by many masters in the Tibetan and Zen traditions, as well as selections from the best-loved Buddhist figures of today, including Sogyal Rinpoche, Sharon Salzberg, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Dalai Lama.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This collection of real-life stories reads like an antidote to a world that sometimes feels cruel, overwhelming, or just plain rude. In a sense, this could be called "Chicken Soup for the Buddhist Soul," with each story offering a stirring example of how we can spread loving kindness and compassion throughout the world. Editor Pamela Bloom collected 40 first-person stories of compassion as told by Buddhists from all over the world. We hear the story of a monk who welcomed a dying, underprivileged child into his home, giving the boy nine months of peace and attention before his death. A civil rights protestor tells how she learned compassion and love for the "opposition" from a jail cellmate.

In the introduction Bloom explains that readers do not have to have any affiliation with Buddhism to appreciate the underlying principle here--the fact that acts of compassion not only relieve the suffering of others, they relieve our own suffering. "Loving sentiment begins to arise out of our deepest connection to all life," she explains. As a result, acts of loving kindness "become appropriate to the situation without leaving any messy imprint of the 'do-gooder.'" --Gail Hudson

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: Conari Press (November 12, 2000)
• ISBN-10: 1573245232
• ISBN-13: 978-1573245234
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,185,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pamela Bloom is an award-winning writer, interfaith minister and spiritual counselor with a passionate interest in healing. She started her writing career as a music critic in New York, later veering into travel writing, where her adventures included dancing samba in Rio's Carnaval, biking through China, trekking through the Amazon, and dancing reggae with the Hopi Indians. Her books on Brazil--"Amazon Up Close" and "Brazil Up Close," both won the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for Guidebook of the Year. She has also written a number of spiritually oriented books, including "on the Wings of Angels" and an essay packaged with the teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A conscious medium for over 25 years, Pamela had the exciting experience recently of channeling her latest work: "Heaven Speaks: Intimate Interviews with Illuminated Souls" with co-author Carla Flack. Her 2000 book, "Buddhist Acts of Compassion" is now being republished by Hampton Roads in April, 2010 under the new title "The Power of Compassion: Stories that Open the Heart, Heal the Soul and Change the World"--a compilation of true-life stories about transformative moments of kindness. A children's story for adults, "The Little Guitarra Who Played Herself," will also be available imminently on Amazon.com. Please visit her website--www.BooksbyPamelaBloom.com for more information, private sessions and press. And please visit her YouTube channel: www.YouTube.com/thepowerofcompassion--to enjoy original videos based on her book "The Power of Compassion."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, November 8, 2000

By 

Bryan Lowe (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buddhist Acts of Compassion (Paperback)

I have been on the Buddhist path for more than a year now, with many breaks in my journey! For some reason this book struck a nerve, clicked for me. Really just a collection of stories or examples of Bhuddhist compassion, many of them have rung true for me, really opened an understanding for me in ways some other books have not. Were those other books required to lay the groundwork for my understanding? Perhaps. This may be a wonderful SECOND book on Buddhism. Find a general introduction to buddhism or two... then get this one. It has been said the goal of Buddhism is to awaken... and the goal of awakening is compassion. This book helped me to understand the power of that. I don't know for sure if this book will have the impact on you that it did on me. I can say that at a minimum you will enjoy the book and find many of the stories enlightening and interesting. A very quick read if you do not stop and let it sink in. Much longer read with some self reflection.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What do you give a want to be a Buddhist friend for a gift?, November 8, 2000

By 

Quaker Annie "reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buddhist Acts of Compassion (Paperback)

A beautiful photo is the cover for this book containing short stories of Buddhist "acts of compassion." (Although, as the introduction explains, Buddhism does not contain separate acts of compassion, but IS a flow of universal connectedness.)

In this book are stories from many different schools of Buddhism, each supporting the belief that prayer, faith and compassion make life peaceful and miraculous in a simple manner.

The stories are short, and deceptively ordinary. (Lama Choedak Yuthok tells of an American husband who divorces his wife in order to become a Buddhist monk, and of her loving acceptance; Julia Russell shares a story of how a lonely, angry schoolchild finds love and acceptance because of very simple acts of kindness from her teacher and schoolmates; a gay man finds that changes in his own life have caused a major change in someone else's life.)

But they tell of how living your beliefs will have strong effects in the lives of many. In between the short stories are words of wisdom from many Buddhist teachers. At the end there are Meditations for Developing Compassion with little explanations of Metta Practice ("living-kindness, a..meditation..used to cultivate..a calm, concentrated mind" and "the quality of loving-kindness itself.") Tonglen meditation is also explained, a Tibetan practice for taking on the pain and suffering of others.

A nice book of encouragement and example, (not an instruction manual), very good for those who are just becoming interested in Buddhism.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Human Acts of Compassion, February 22, 2001

By 

Suzanne Stein (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buddhist Acts of Compassion (Paperback)

Ms. Bloom has collected, edited, and offered us a wonderful book of short stories and quotes to be read and savored at any time.It's a book I could pick up one day, read a page or two before starting work, then read again a week later if I chose to. What I found so fascinating was that although the title contains the idea of Buddhism, it need not have contained it at all. These acts of compassion are a true celebration of our humaness and as Ms Bloom quotes from the Dalai Lama, "My religion is kindness." This book is an act of kindness that had a positive effect on me. It allows one to open just a little more to the possibilities I can engage in during everyday life. This book makes a wonderful gift for others regardless of background. It is a book to be read at the beginning, the middle, and during,the continued unfolding in anyone's practice. It's one of those books that encourages endless levels of inspiration and discovery as we deepen and manifest our own acts of compassion. I highly recommend it.