World As Lover, World As Self (Paperback)

by Joanna Macy (Author) "Our planer is in trouble..." (more)
Key Phrases: reinhabit time, volitional formations, paticca samuppada, Sri Lanka, Bongpa Tulku, Buddha Dharma (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This overview of Joanna Macy's innovative work combines deep ecology, general systems theory, and the Buddha's teachings on interdependent co-arising. A blueprint for social change, World as Lover, World as Self shows how we can reverse the destructive attitudes that threaten our world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Parallax Press; 8th printing edition (June 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938077279
• ISBN-13: 978-0938077275
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #196,454 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a shopping bag of delights, September 14, 2000

By	R. Griffiths "bookchoice" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Joanna Macy recalls how as a young child she sent a sick and quarantined relative a shopping bag of objects that would tell their own story of what she had been about and what she was thinking and doing. Now she likens this collection of essays to such a bag. Not an autobiography, it nevertheless conveys most clearly the author's personal concerns in the fields of Buddhism, deep ecology and systems philosophy. The chapters comprise 'so many pieces of my life that reflect the pursuits of my heart and mind'. The book is arranged in the following sections: One: Trusting our Experience Two: Rediscovering the Early Teachings Three: Learning in Asia Four Opening New Doors The first part invites readers to engage with their own feelings about environmental destruction and social injustice, and offers conceptual tools to enable this connecting to take place. Part Two discusses the contemporary relevance of classic Buddhist teachings, especially the concept of 'mutual causality'. While this will clearly be of interest to Buddhist practitioners, others including myself, will find it has a much wider significance. The third part expands on Macy's experiences of Buddhist encounters in Asia. It could have been entitled 'engaged Buddhism in action'. She recounts some fascinating meetings and some valuable lessons learnt. The final part of the book shows how Macy's expanding world-view has led to opportunities for growth and development and sharing accross a wide variety of contexts. Especially interesting for me was her description of 'The Council of All Beings'. The book's title refers to an essay in part one, which suggests people tend to view the world in one of at least four ways: as battlefield, as trap, as lover or as self. Her reflections on these attitudes are alone worth far more than the cost of the book. I loved her quotation from a conversation with Australian rainforest campaigner, John Seed: 'I try to remember that it's not me... trying to protect the rainforest. Rather , I am part of the rainforest protecting itself.'

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, December 5, 1997

By	Ron Mader "Planeta.com Founder" (Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reading Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff's Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor this fall, I was reminded of Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy's World as Lover, World as Self, a book I first read at the beginning of this decade and have reread several times since. The environmental problems we're witnessing today will require as much spiritual transformation as economic change. And it's not a question of "getting religion" as much experiencing the spirituality of place. I've had as many negative encounters with fundamentalists as I have had with newagers. The first believe that life gets better after you're dead, the second group believe that life is but a dream. Is there an alternative? Macy writes about the Buddhist practice of "Sarvodaya" - which means "everybody wakes up." She writes: "In my mind I still hear the local Sarvodaya workers, in their village meetings and district training centers. Development is not imitating the West. Development is not high-cost industrial complexes, chemical fertilizers and mammoth hydro-electric dams. It is not selling your soul for unnecessary consumer items or schemes to get rich quick. Development is waking up - waking up our true potential as persons and as a society." (p. 132)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fantastic book!, November 15, 2007

By	Michael Babel "mikeyb" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal (Paperback)

If you're someone who's interested in changing the planet and help shaping the future of culture this book is not to be missed. Joanna Macy lays things out in a such a provocative, yet non-academic way. it's an easy read in that it's written chock full of information, yet from the heart. enjoy!