The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to ... (ISBN 0807077259)

A classic in the field:
Donald Rothberg has done a great service in filling a sorely needed gapin this field. This is a deep and considered work. It could only have been written by a mature spiritual practitioner, with years of practice and activism behind him, and, also a great scholarly mind. One often comes across spiritual books which seem to have been a response to the opportunity to get a message out on another front, a book for the sake of a book. In Rothberg's case, however, one is in the presence of a true writer and scholar. When reading this book you can guess that years of wise attention have been invested in it. You sense that each word is carefully chosen. The chapter titles have clearly been thought about, and to list them gives a good overall perspective of the breadth of issues and material covered: Connecting Inner and Outer transformation; Establishing the conditions for Safety Near and Far: Ethical practice; Mindfulness in action; Clarifying and setting intentions; Opening to Suffering, Opening to compassion; By taking care of myself I take care of the world; Not knowing but keeping going; Interdependence; Transforming Anger; Acting with equanimity; Committed Action, not-attachment to the outcome. In each of the ten chapters Rothberg identifies a guiding principle, linked with specific practices, for connecting the spiritual and the social. The practices are applied to three domains, namely the individual, the relational, and the collective. And, though one senses that Rothberg may be on a "side", there are methods here which seem to transcend the dead end knee-jerk arguments that characterise the divided world of politics these days. Rothberg invokes the great tradition of peacemakers like Gandhi and King who would wish to turn their enemies into friends. The book manages to correct the sometimes overly individualist reception of Buddhism and other traditions new to the west, and also corrects the overly external orientated perspective of social activism. It is a highly challenging work, from the wake up calls to ethical behaviour and mindfulness in daily life, to the deep work on the often neglected area of emotions. And despite the high aspirations and idealism of the work, Rothberg exhibits and models a certain inspiring humility. He is not a know-it-all theorist but clearly one who has learnt from painful trial and error on the coalface. The quality of this work also reflects well on the Buddhist movement in america, which seems to be working hard in its second generation to integrate eastern wisdom with uniquely western circumstances and culture. The contributions of Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Sylvia Boorstein, Sharon Salzberg and others also reflect this deep intermingling, and indeed, new birth of wisdom for new times. This is a grounded and practical book. It is a support to anyone on any spiritual path that includes social justice. Personally, I find it an encouragement both to engage in spiritual practice and to renew my activism. It is a packed offering. It will be revisited like a bountiful well. It will go down as a classic in the field.

Handbook for a Spiritual Life:
This book is definitely one of the most important books I have read in my life. Its a practical guide to transformation on the personal, relational, and collective levels. Its unbelievably comprehansive and well thought out. Im always very excited to find books that involve practical aspects that I can immediately apply to my life; this ceratinly is that type of book. The author is extremely well informed, well read, and highly educated in his field. The Engaged Spiritual Life is definitely a book that should be added to your collection and used on a daily basis if you desire to live a spiritual life and act as a catalyst for Universal Transformation. Highly recommended as a text for a spiritual life.

There is no Joy in Mudville:
A quote from the book. "I noted not much joy was present in me (the books author), and he (the teacher) asked how I might find a better balance." There is no doubt that Mr. Rothberg knows his subject matter backwards and forward. However for me, the writing is relentlessly morose. The book does not find the right "balance." If Buddhism is about increasing happiness, our own and others, then I would rather do my learning with books that exhibit some degree of happiness, otherwise it is just too depressing. I think we learn better when our moods are lifted not depressed. At least I do. I plotted through the book, picked up a few things along the way, but it was a long hard slog.