The Best Buddhist Writing 2010 - Melvin McLeod [0]
BUDDHIST
WRITING
2 0 1 0
Edited by Melvin McLeod
and the Editors of the Shambhala Sun
SHAMBHALA
Boston & London 2011
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
© 2010 by Melvin McLeod and the editors of the Shambhala Sun
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
eISBN 978-0-8348-2175-0
ISBN 978-1-59030-826-4
ISSN 1932-393x
2006213739
Contents
INTRODUCTION
LESSONS FOR THE LIVING
Stan Goldberg
THE WHOLE WAY
Joan Sutherland
THAT BIRD HAS MY WINGS
Jarvis Jay Masters
YOU ARE HERE
Thich Nhat Hanh
ANSWERS TO CHILDREN’S QUESTIONS
Thich Nhat Hanh
SETH AND WILLIE
Daniel Asa Rose
SALTWATER BUDDHA
Jaimal Yogis
IT’S ALL HAPPENING TO ALL OF US, ALL OF THE TIME
Sylvia Boorstein
DAWN LIGHT
Diane Ackerman
NATURAL WAKEFULNESS
Gaylon Ferguson
DO NOTHING
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
HOW WILL I USE THIS DAY?
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
IN THE WILD PLACES
John Tarrant
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Steve Silberman
THE JOY OF MINDFUL COOKING
Laura Fraser
JOYFUL WISDOM
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
SMILE AT FEAR
Carolyn Rose Gimian
SEEKING PEACE: CHRONICLES OF THE WORST BUDDHIST IN THE WORLD
Mary Pipher
TAKING THE LEAP
Pema Chödrön
HARD TIMES, SIMPLE TIMES
Norman Fischer
NO SELF, NO PROBLEM
Anam Thubten
THE ART OF AWARENESS
Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche
BY SONG, NOT ALBUM
Hannah Tennant-Moore
CARE TAKING
Elizabeth Brownrigg
WONDERLAND: THE ZEN OF ALICE
Daniel Doen Silberberg
THE WAY OF MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS
John Daido Loori, Roshi
THE VOICE OF THE GOLDEN GOOSE
Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi
WHY BUDDHISM NEEDS THE WEST
David Loy
MINDFUL EATING
Jan Chozen Bays
BURNING ALIVE
Andrew Olendzki
THE SHITTY MONK
Shozan Jack Haubner
CONTRIBUTORS
CREDITS
Introduction
It has never seemed more important to assess the role of religion in the world—in our own lives, in our society, in global affairs. It’s certainly surprising that we find ourselves in this situation at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Who could have predicted that at the end of the Cold War the world would divide again on the ancient fault lines of religious identity? That American political and cultural life would fall into unprecedented animosity fueled by religious passions? That the struggle between “reason” and “superstition” would be seen as one of the most important philosophical debates of our time?
Religion is blamed, and justly I’m afraid, for much of the conflict and oppression in the world today. Yet religion is also an integral part of human existence. We need more—we are more—than the merely material. We need something that takes us beyond this life and the world immediately in front of us—or at least places them in a larger, spiritual context. We have a deep inner certainty that there is more than just the world of the physical senses, that there are questions, answers, and experiences beyond the powers of science, observation, and reason. We turn to religious practice for meaning, for morality, for deep peace and harmony. For all the problems of organized religion, we are spiritual beings. We know implicitly that there is more than just this body, just this world, just this lifetime, and we need to touch it.
So as the old joke goes, we can’t live with religion and we can’t live without it. Where does Buddhism stand in this dilemma? Sam Harris, the author of The End of Faith and one of the so-called new atheists, suggests that Buddhism can meet our innate spiritual needs while obviating some of the problems of the major theistic religions. Naturally, there is much that Buddhism shares with other religions, but there are important ways in which it is different. Let’s look at some of Buddhism’s unique characteristics and