Touching Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Some good stuff in here. Some of the usual mindfulness stuff. A lot of it is anti the second Iraq war, which most people now agree was not a good idea. He’s surprisingly nonjudgmental towards both President Bush and Saddam Hussein. Overall, not a book I’d recommend. There’s a lot of better material out there on any of the topics covered.

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Death, Dying, and the Afterlife by Mark Berkson

Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures by Mark Berkson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This covered a variety of topics about death without going into a great deal of depth on any of the topics. For example, Berkson gave an entire lecture each to the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist, and Confucian concept of death and death rituals (6 lectures total). I see why that's important but the course is already a summary of the concept and experience of death in human society. Throwing in summaries of all the world's religions - mostly information of which I was already aware- didn't leave a lot of time for everything else about death. I also felt like the lecture on vegetarianism- again, something I've read about at length in other more through sources- was really not to the point.

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A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is not the sexy Buddhist nun story it promises to be on the first few pages. That was a disappointment. It is also not the realistic story it promises to be for the first 60% of the book as it descends into magical realism madness. But I fell in love with the characters and any book that weaves mindfulness and physics into a narrative about time is likely to win me over.

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Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment--And Your Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just the basics. I like that it's short but there wasn't too much you can't find in all the other mindfulness books.

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The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a good simplification and modernization of Buddhism to make it less religious-y for modern readers. (Ie., never mind about rebirth and hungry souls, and what not.) It's in a question-and-answer format which is more effective for this subject than it sounds like it would be.

That said, I think it's a stretch to say the Bible or Christianity is referencing these "enlightenment" frames of mind. Also, the small section on menstruation, not necessary, and hard to take from a man that really has no idea what he's talking about. Wouldn't have loved that part even if a woman wrote it though.

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The Way of the Bodhisattva by Śāntideva

The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara by Śāntideva
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some interesting things to think about. Some weird stuff. Short but dense. Read it because Dan Harris said Dalai Lama recommended it. Hm.

I was particularly interested in some (accidental?) overlap with Christianity (love thy enemy) and modern particle physics.

As one reviewer mentioned, this is definitely not an introductory text for Buddhism but a more advanced book, and despite the previous Buddhism books I've read, a substantial amount was probably just above my head.

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10% Happier by Dan Harris

10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a surprisingly wonderful book! I picked this up by accident because I thought it was a popular science book about the phenomenon of our happiness set point and the small change we're able to make to those set points. A few pages in, I realized I was reading a memoir about a news anchor who was not the kind of person I find it easy to relate to usually. I checked on Goodreads and saw some not-so-positive reviews, and I almost gave up reading the book. I'm so glad I didn't.

The author first takes us on his journalistic investigation of religion, especially Evangelical Christianity, which then leads to his own spiritual quest. He skeptically interviewed some self-help gurus. He then went off in a different direction by examining Buddhism. This leads to a significant portion of the book examining the practice, purpose, and pitfalls of mindfulness and meditation. All the while, the author is describing how his quest helped him grow as a person, and I realized how much I can and do connect with the author.

I'm not sure if I could have totally understood the value of this book two years ago, but since then I've also regularly practiced (with some inconsistency) and read widely about meditation. This is one of my new favorite books about meditation. Harris has a very non-guru approach which was very refreshing to me because I am also not a meditation guru. He had every skeptical thought I had in my early learning process, but more importantly, he addressed problems that I had not yet resolved in my own practice. He provided information that was new to me despite the books I've read about meditation and mindfulness, and this has encouraged me to go back to practicing more regularly and possibly for longer sessions. I think I also want to go to one of those multi-day meditation retreats now.

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The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan W. Watts

The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety by Alan W. Watts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book makes sense if you're familiar with the practice (not just the idea) of meditation. But it's still too hippy-dippy, fluffy, and imprecise for me.

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Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Talks a lot about the interconnectedness of humans? For this reason, we should prevent suffering in the world...

I guess this is an alternate argument to the Christians' fundamental sanctity of human life as a reason for human rights.



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The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Even though this covers basic mindfulness and meditation really well, it's not a good starting place for the average American. It is a great book to revisit if you're already acquainted with the scientific evidence that mindfulness and meditation work, and can even be used in your meditations by following along the text.

As a starting point, I recommend The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt and Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation by Sharon Salzburg. If you're not religious or spiritual Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris would be good too (though maybe skip it if you are religious).

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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ever want to experience the mental illness/breakdown of a philosopher? Also need a few motorcycle maintenance tips? This is the book for you. Some talk about mindfulness and zen as well but not the main topic in my opinion.

Spoiler alert. My hard copy is an original copy. My digital loan from the library had a 10-year anniversary edition Afterword that totally devastated me.

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Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some parts of this are very good and reminded me of guided meditations about mindfulness. However, there are a lot of parts about politics and about not traveling that I just can't get behind.

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The Book by Alan W. Watts

The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan W. Watts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I got more from The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley and from some modern similar books, Waking Up by Sam Harris, and The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt. This is a good companion book though and it goes in its own very unique direction. Plus I always give bonus points for brevity.

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The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra

The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism by Fritjof Capra
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Cute idea comparing physics and Eastern mysticism but it's not a great book about either topic and the links he draws are also not that interesting.

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Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first time I read this book I didn't appreciate the concept of meditation or the science behind it. This is a short and simple book about meditation that reads almost as a guided meditation might. I recommend to anyone that wants to actually try meditation and not just read about it.

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The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama XIV

The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama XIV
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Howard C. Cutler is the actual author of the book. Basically, Cutler has an outline of topics and questions he asked the Dalai Lama and then there are the Dalai Lama's answers to the questions. The Dalai Lama answers are excellent (obviously) but I don't love the organization of the book. I've read better and clearer books on both Buddhism and on mindfulness. I do love the Dalai Lama though.

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The Case for God by Karen Armstrong

The Case for God by Karen Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, that explains everything.

I've read other Karen Armstrong books, but this goes in a different direction. She reviews the history of God and the relationship between philosophy, science, and religion in different cultures and times. She uses all this history to make a very compelling case for God generally, but also for the merits of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. She also makes a compelling case against positivism, "the belief that science is the only reliable means to truth." She doesn't do this lightly, she understands the importance of science today, and she discuss scientific progress from Copernicus to the modern debate in physics about string theory.

She also discusses what she believes are the origins and causes of our modern religious conflicts. She recommends solutions that make a lot of sense.

Karen Armstrong is a powerhouse of religious knowledge and practice. And she clearly also did a lot of research about science. This book is long, sometimes repetitive, and sometimes difficult to understand. I feel like I came to this book at a good time: after having learned about the practice of meditation and the debates about string theory. However, there's a lot more background I wish I brought to the book in the realm of philosophy, history, and religion.

Despite the challenge, or because of the challenge, I think it's well worth it for the religious and non-religious alike. It did for me what I hope every book I open to will do for me- change the way I see the world.

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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice by Shunryu Suzuki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I took a Buddhism class in college and this was part of our required reading. At the time, it made no sense to me. This is because this book did not explain how to meditate. Since then, I've read books about how to meditate, I've attempted meditation (hundreds of times at this point), and I've read about consciousness. So now it makes sense. Even so, it was a horrible choice for an introductory Buddhism course with no discussion of meditation. It's also a poor book if you haven't already learned about meditation and attempted it, especially because he doesn't give any explicit directions about meditation beyond sitting in the correct posture. Meditation itself is barely implied. You only know that what he's talking about if you already have a background in it.

There's no explanation of how Zen is a school of (East Asian) Mahayana Buddhism, or that there are even branches of Buddhism with different beliefs. Is zazen just another word for meditation or is there something unique about it? Meditation with no purpose? I can't really figure it out from the text. You will acquire something from this practice but you can't practice it in order to acquire something or it is not zazan? Ah, koans even where we don't expect them. "Intellectually my talk makes no sense." Well, I agree with that.

Despite the name, this is an intermediate or advanced meditation book, with an emphasis on zen practice specifically which like I said is just one kind. There are some interesting thoughts here worth considering. Some of it reminds me a lot of Christianity.

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Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Buddha's name was Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Gautama Buddha. In this novel, the Buddha is referred to as Gotama. The main character, "Siddhartha" is not the Buddha, but an Indian man seeking enlightenment who eventually meets Gotama. It's kind of a buddy book because his best friend Govinda joins him on this quest. It's also sort of the story of the Buddha because a lot of the story is loosely based on what is said of the Buddha's life and teachings.

I've read a bit about Buddhism, and this one just doesn't do it for me. Possibly this is in part because of the strange device of creating a parallel Buddha life.

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