Earth Dharma
Fall 2005 Vol. 22 #1
Fall 2005 Vol. 22 #1
Short reviews of Cinema Nirvana by Dean Sluyter • Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth by Tulku Thondup • Pure and Simple: The Extraordinary Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Laywoman by Upasika Kee Nanayon • How to Free Your Mind: Tara the Liberator by Thubten Chodron • Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? by Ajahn Brahm • Compassion: Listening to the Cries of the World by Christina Feldman • Waking Up to What You Do by Diane Eshin Rizzetto
Cinema Nirvana: Enlightenment Lessons from the Movies
by Dean Sluyter
(309 pp., Three Rivers Press, 2005)
Death is real; it comes without warning. And Buddhist teachings invite us to regard the “death dance” at play in our everyday experiences. Cinema—that flux of light and time—is now championed by many as the medium of choice for communicating these perspectives. Dean Sluyter selected fifteen films—such as Snow White, The Big Sleep, Easy Rider and Jaws—to showcase his point that the spiritual is to be found everywhere in the pedestrian synchronicities which make up our lives. His style is glibly passionate, funny and refreshingly idiosyncratic. He delivers in-depth and behind-the-scenes lore for each of the films selected. Recommended for unrepentent filmaholics everywhere. —SDG
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Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth: A Tibetan Buddhist Guidebook
by Tulku Thondup
(240 pp., Shambhala Publications, 2005)
Tulku Thondup was recognized at the age of five as the reincarnation of a celebrated Nyingma scholar. In this book, he offers an in-depth account of the dying process. It is followed by detailed accounts of near-death experiences by Tibetan delogs, along with commentary and advice. (Delogs are those who returned from death with amazing reports of their visions.) This is also a guidebook that contains instructions and advice for Buddhists and non-Buddhists. Included are practices to prepare for our own death, as well as prayers, meditations and rituals to assist the dying. In order to achieve a peaceful death, we need to develop positive attitudes, serve others, do practices of purification, and achieve clarity and peace of mind. Tulku Thondup states, “Peace and joy bring more peace and joy—that is the law of karma, the natural principle of causation.” Above all, he emphasizes that karma is the determining element in every rebirth, joyful or otherwise. —JE
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Pure and Simple: The Extraordinary Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Laywoman
by Upasika Kee Nanayon
Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
(261 pp., Wisdom Publications, 2005)
Upasika Kee was the foremost female dharma teacher in twentieth-century Thailand. Her voice is spirited, courageous and no-nonsense. She has a relentless “fight to the death” attitude and exhorts us not to stop until we are enlightened: “So you have to decide to be either a warrior or a loser.” Upasika Kee is not an advocate of the “allowing” school of meditation, which she compares to standing by while your house is being fire bombed. She’s a swordswoman, unsentimentally slicing though the worms lying in the filth of the mind. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the translator, recommends reading these talks aloud; the repetition of dharma words and images helps mobilize their power. “To let go of anything, you first have to see its drawbacks . . . as when you grab hold of fire and realize how hot it is, you’ll automatically let go and never dare touch it again.” —KG
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How to Free Your Mind: Tara the Liberator
by Thubten Chodron
(144 pp., Snow Lion Publications, 2005)
Tara is a buddha who sits on a lotus in the body of a beautiful young woman radiating green light and teaching compassion. Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron’s conversational teaching style is easy to read, and she draws her analogies from twenty-first-century Western images. For instance, to illustrate the ultimate emptiness of Tara’s nature Ven. Chodron follows the seventh-century commentator Chandrakirti’s use of a cart as the object of analysis, but in her version, the cart becomes a BMW. The core of the book is a commentary on “Homage to the Twenty-one Taras” and a lengthy reflection on “A Song of Longing for Tara, the Infallible.” Ven. Chodron conveys traditional instructions, or sadhanas, on the cultivation of dharma-methods used in relation to the various forms of Tara. There is a wealth of insight into the process of freeing the mind, and the Tibetan approach to bringing forth the Resolve for Awakening (bodhicitta) is unusually accessible. —RHS
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Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? Inspiring Stories for Welcoming Life’s Difficulties
by Ajahn Brahm
(288 pp., Wisdom Publications, 2005)
Ajahn Brahm, one of the early Western disciples of Thailand’s renowned Ajahn Chah, has written a delightful compilation of teaching tales. “A truckload of dung” is a metaphor for sinking into depression, negativity or anger. Drawing from more than thirty years’ experience as a monk, Ajahn Brahm encourages readers to convert this dung into fertilizer. That way, the flowers of kindness and compassion can grow out of difficulty or tragedy. He counsels a woman overcome with guilt when, after having badgered some friends to go on a car ride, one was killed and the other paralyzed. Applying the Buddhist proverb, “Better to light a candle than to complain about the darkness,” he suggested she work at the local hospital’s rehab unit, thereby turning this tragedy into a way of helping others. He also encourages people to smile and laugh so that their immune systems can be strengthened and because “laugher makes us beautiful.” That’s why, as he says, his temple is often called “Ajahn Brahm’s Beauty Salon.” Ajahn Brahm delivers the right ingredients for a big smile and a happy mind. —RK
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Compassion: Listening to the Cries of the World
by Christina Feldman
(180 pp., Rodmell Press, 2005)
Christina Feldman begins her book Compassion with a reference to the Lotus Sutra, setting forth the spirit of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the embodiment of universal compassion. She goes on to explore the subject with personal stories as well as teachings from Chassidic and Sufi masters, Tibetan lamas, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Council and even cartoonist Gahan Wilson. Also included are concise and lovely guided meditations focusing on the different potential recipients of our compassion. The result is a wonderful guide to both the understanding and realization of this most noble response of the human heart. —WN
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Waking Up to What You Do
by Diane Eshin Rizzetto
(197 pp., Shambhala Publications, 2005)
I recently had the pleasure of discovering this book by Diane Eshin Rizzetto, a dharma heir of Charlotte Joko Beck. It was while convening a lively weekly dialogue with friends and practitioners on walking the path of Buddhist precepts in everyday life. Rizzetto’s book, which is an inspiring as well as practical guide, was a welcome addition to our reading and study list. What I enjoyed most about this book was its fresh presentation of how to work with the precepts not as admonishments or even guidelines. The precepts are viewed as a source of aspiration and encouragement to investigate life with intelligence and compassion. How refreshing! Rizzetto’s book is organized in a clear and inviting fashion, beginning with an overview of the precepts and proceeding to an in-depth study of each precept. The text is enhanced by personal accounts from Rizzetto’s decades of teaching Zen, by interactive conversations with her students and by stories from her own life. Please read this good book and then pass it on to a friend so that the circle of investigation and engaged practice widens. —WJ
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From the Fall 2005 issue of Inquiring Mind (Vol. 22, No. 1)
© 2005 Inquiring Mind
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