Safeguarding the Heart (P) [Paperback]

Venerable Yifa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

The horrific events of September 11, 2001—when two airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and a fourth in a field in Pennsylvania—were stark reminders of the tenets central to the Buddhist conception of existence: that life is full of suffering, that everything is impermanent, and that everything in existence is connected.

Buddhist nun Venerable Yifa explores these fundamental ideas by studying in detail what happened that day, the causes and effects of what occurred from a spiritual perspective, and how we can learn from the tragedy to access even deeper spiritual truths. In the process of this examination, Yifa reveals the Buddhist perspective on the nature of suffering, the meaning of justice, what is evil and what is good, and why some people die and others live.

Yifa then elucidates Buddhism’s eight different types of suffering from a practical standpoint, illuminating the essential Buddhist ideas of compassion and mindfulness and showing how we can apply these principles to everyday life and in our relationships. Her aim throughout is to help us both reach out to and heal others and protect ourselves—to safeguard our hearts—when suffering strikes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Venerable Yifa has been a nun at Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan since 1979. She received her Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale University in 1996. She has been provost at Fo Guang Shan Buddhist College and dean at Hsi Lai University in California and Taiwan. She is the author of The Origin of Buddhist Monastic Code in Song China and a contributor to Benedict’s Dharma: Buddhists Reflect on the Rule of St. Benedict. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Lantern Books (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590560345
• ISBN-13: 978-1590560341
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #929,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Venerable Yifa is a nun belonging to the religious order Fo Guang Shan, which was founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun in Taiwan and seeks to make Buddhist practice relevant to contemporary life. Yifa lives at Hsi Lai temple in Hacienda Heights, California. Venerable Yifa is also a contributor to Benedict's Dharma: Buddhists Reflect on the Rule of St. Benedict.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Enriching and comforting, October 1, 2003

By 

Terri Chee (Salem, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Safeguarding the Heart (P) (Paperback)

This book offers a Buddhist explanation (and comfort) of the horrific incident on September 11 that engulfed this nation and the world in grief and horror.
After reading this book, I found myself to be more accepting of the terrible events that took place and why they took place. She explains how in events are like these that we are all interconnected, how the impact on the victims impacted us as well.
She also points that in the midst of human tragedy such as these, a stronger sense of community was born, slowly diminishing the spirit of individualism.
I found this book to be enriching and comforting to those who lost loved ones on that day. It may not provide all answers to those asking but at least it provides a different view of explanining the occurance of tragedies.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Why Chinese Buddhism is not making headway in the West., August 17, 2004

By 

J. Iungerich (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Safeguarding the Heart (P) (Paperback)

The other reviewer has to be a personal friend of Yifa, because this book is the worst answer possible to events of 9/11. With so many compassionate books by Authors like the Dalai Lama, Thich Nat Hahn or even Ven. Yi Fa's Master, Master Hsing Yun, you wonder how someone who spent so much time with Buddhism can be so outright cold. Forgive the arrogance or a Chinese Monk telling American's how they should view the tragic events of 9/11, and you are still left with a mass of pedantry where Ven. Yifa lectures down to Americans. Instead of trying to help people she uses the book to bash American culture. It's amazing this monk even allowed to publish.
But with Vietnamese, Japanese and Tibetian Buddhism flourishing in the west, it not hard to see why Chinese Buddhism is floundering. It is like a case study on how to write a book that is full of arrogance and completely lacking in the compassion found in the rest of the Buddhist tradition. I met Yi Fa in person and the same attitudes I saw in book, I saw in person. You can't really put your finger on it but when reading the book you just get the sense that Yi Fa hates Americans. But don't take my word for it check it out for yourself. You can have my copy free - not that it's worth anything.