Choosing Compassion
How to Be of Benefit in a World That Needs Our Love
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
Beloved Tibetan Buddhist teacher Anam Thubten shares how, by cultivating our practice of compassion, we can open our hearts and benefit the world.
We see so much pain and injustice in the world—how can we make a positive difference? Beloved teacher Anam Thubten invites us to deepen our compassion. Through practices that open our hearts and expand our awareness of connectedness with the world, we will be able to act with courage for the benefit of all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a hopeful, conversational tone, Tibetan Buddhist monk and teacher Thubten (No Self, No Problem) urges readers to tear down mental defenses in order to open their hearts and feel the suffering of others. Sharing wisdom garnered from over four decades of Buddhist study, Thubten asks readers to reject tribalism and the propensity to divide humanity into groups, and instead to embrace all of humanity as one. In the modern era, he writes, people are more connected than ever before; a benefit of society he believes is hampered by the most worrying problem today: what he terms an "all-pervasive unawareness" (the product of individualistic values) that perpetuates anxiety and fear. To overcome this, one must recognize the suffering of others and the need for compassion, because "compassion is the best medicine to cure this illness, the illness of loneliness, isolation, and alienation." Alongside a brief overview of the Buddhist doctrines of the Four Noble Truths, Thubten also suggests reciting a Tibetan prayer: "May all living beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering." For the general reader or Buddhist novice, Thubten's observations on Buddhist teachings of compassion will provide action steps for living a life focused on the concerns and needs of others.
