MINDFULNESS AND MONEY: The Buddhist Path to Abundance

Ignore the consumerist connotation that the "abundance" of the book's subtitle unfortunately carries, and enjoy this basic text on how to live happily and mindfully as a householder Buddhist. This is a book for Buddhists with jobs to keep and bills to pay—people who are always mindlessly getting and spending, yet never attaining satisfaction. Kulananda and Houlder, entrepreneurs and teachers of both Buddhism and business, skillfully interpret the traditional Buddhist image of the Wheel of Life to analyze work, consumption and other real-life contemporary economic behaviors. Throughout, they suggest ways to live as mindful, generous, contented financial beings. Both authors live and work in the U.K., which gives them functional distance from the tentacles of American consumerism; members of the Western Buddhist Order, they are also familiar with the economic exigencies faced by their order's Asian Buddhist members. Their ethic elaborates on the traditional five Buddhist precepts used by monastics and householders alike: don't kill, steal, lie, become intoxicated, or engage in sexual misconduct. Kulananda and Houlder persuasively argue that these precepts are liberating when applied to the world of economic choice, and can lead to greater mindfulness and equanimity. They include exercises to help raise awareness and numerous examples to illustrate. A fresh antidote to consumerism and guilt and a sharply realistic tool, this provocative and practical book belongs not just on Buddhist nightstands, but on office desks as an essential reminder to emulate the Buddha in the workplace. (Dec. 24)

Forecast:January is the traditional season for self-help and personal finance books, and this substantive and spiritual guide could well find a loyal audience of readers who are looking for something more satisfying than the usual fare.