WHEN THINGS FALL APART - PEMA CHODRON

WHEN THINGS FALL APART - PEMA CHODRON

RATING:B-

A 22-chapter book collection coming from some of Pema Chodron's talks. Various aspects of life in the Western world and Buddhist attitudes and applications to assist us to deal with matters are given in an everyday language with a scattering of explained Tibetan words. If you simply read the book, as I did, it is a fairly quick read - but if you plan to work with each topic it can extend the length of time needed to cover a thorough reading.

I personally found the book a quick read, as whilst relating to various parts of the text I did not actually stop to practice, being mostly familiar with these practices already. However, I am still glad that i chose to read the book, as every new view on topics is helpful in the long run.

I would recommend the book to Westerners interested in a general Buddhist source of inspiration and assistance with their practice, along with those wishing to work with the various topics covered.

BREAKING FREE - SRIMALA

BREAKING FREE - SRIMALA

RATING: C

A rather strange book, I found. The book details the life of an English woman as she goes through various stages of living her life and how learning and practicing Buddhism alters her direction. That the author spent most of their life in England and was sincerely practicing Buddhism might lead one to assume that my having been born here, spent a little more than half of my life so far living in England, and being a serious practitioner of Buddhism would allow me to find multiple connections. However, I found that there were very few similarities.

The actual autobiographical aspect was simple enough to understand, but the Buddhism it contained was so very different to the Buddhism that I practice, it was confusing and hard to find any common ground. I found it more geared towards a Hinayana than Mahayana path, although apparently it was the latter. Giving one example, the book leads one to see the practices more as stages one can struggle towards in order to succeed, rather than stages one naturally reaches due to ones practice.

I would recommend the book to those interested in general Buddhism, English Buddhism, and Western Buddhism - rather than those engrossed in Dzogchen studies or a developed practice of Tibetan Buddhism. I would also recommend this book to those who wish to read of how Buddhism can change ones life in the Western world, and those interested in reading Buddhist biographies.