The Path of the Buddha (Writings on Contemporary Buddhism)

So compelling is the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama that it loses none of its sheern with a retelling. Impelled by a desire to deal with the sorrows of human existence, he renounces the world when barely twenty-nine and finds Buddhism. Giving Buddha's spiritual journey a contemporary dimension, this anthology contains essays by spiritual leaders like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Thubten Yeshe on the impact of Buddhist philosophy on them. Equally poignant are the accounts of others who, dissatisfied with the present world, embark on a search for salvation.

Urged by a seemingly simple notion, Donna Brown starts her quest to find a really 'good' person; a journey which takes her from the heart of Canada to Nepal's remote Kopan monastery. An inexplicable restlessness takes Robina Courtin from dabbling in drugs, political activism and martial arts to finding truth as a Buddhist nun. Though born into a Sikh family, robed monks and monastic rituals, and eventually chooses the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism over science. For Kabir Saxena, Buddhism offers a practical path in this broken, imperfect world.

Varied and meaningful, The Path of the Buddha provides a rare glimpse into Buddhism.

About the Author

Renuka Singh has a doctorate in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. For the last twenty-five years, she has been working in the field of gender studies and has also worked with several non-governmental organizations, and at the Women's Studies Centre, Delhi University. She has been a Research Fellow at the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research on Women at Oxford University and UGC Senior Scientist at JNU. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and also the Director of Tushita Mahayana Meditation Center, New Delhi.

Renuka Singh is the author of The Womb of Mind (1990), Women Reborn (1997) and has co-authored Growing up in Rural India (1989). She has compiled and edited The Path to Tranquillity (1998), The Transformed Mind (1999) and The Little Book of Buddhism (2000). These books have been published in several languages.

Experts from Review

'Buddha Shakyamuni tells us that a practitioner should think in terms of eons, not just days and hours. From a Buddhist viewpoint, life has no beginning. What we do have is the desire to overcome suffering. But desire alone is not enough to achieve the goal. What we need is the correct method to help us achieve this aim.'

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
OVERCOMING NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
A LAY-PRACTITIONER
BUDDHAS IN HIBERNATION
A MONASTIC ON THE MOVE
SEEKING THE VIEW
PATH TO TRANSFORMATION
THE BUDDHIST WAY OF LIFE
THE HUMAN MIND
WORKING WITH EMOTIONS
THE REFORMIST'S ROLE
MAITREYA PROJECT
ENGAGED BUDDHISM
IN HARMONY WITH NATURE
BUDDHIST SUGGESTIONS FOR A JUST SOCIETY
BIRTH OF A BUDDHIST PUBLISHING COMPANY
BUDDHIST OIKOUMENE
SOME THOUGHTS ON FUTURE OF BUDDHISM
DETAILS ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS