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The Wisdom of the Buddhist Masters: Common and Uncommon Sense

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In this book author Robert Sachs travels up the mountain to bring us the wisdom of ten Buddhist masters from different backgrounds. He asked them for there opinions on many topics concerning world politics, circumstances, and events and also for Buddhist responses to these problems. Some of the questions are: Is the world currently in a dark age? What actions can people take if they are trapped in situations that expose them to sickness, poverty, or warfare? What are the responsibilities of governments to address these conditions? What is the responsibility of individuals to address environmental and ecological concerns? What does the next 50 years hold for the world? Mr. Sachs has brought their wisdom to us and you will get to see Buddhist Masters give their political beliefs and recommendations. Many however stayed with the Buddha and would not speculate on the future or on things that were not relevant to practice. You well receive many useful Buddhist teachings and hear many masters view point on Buddhists being socially responsible citizens. There are very strong opinions expressed on the lack of common sense being used currently in our consumer driven economy, the war in Iraq, and the western education system. This was a new experience for me, seeing that Buddhist practice can reach out to all those around us and our world.

This book is excellent for someone who is really interrested in "the Masters." It was not as challenging to me because I have read almost all of the Dali Lama books there are. It seems when you have read one you have read them all. Nonetheless, the careful eye can pick out newer interpretations and insights.