In the Lap of the Buddha

With its emphasis on emptiness and detachment, Buddhism's path sometimes seems an esoteric, disengaged, distant trek removed from the realities of life in the emotionally, physically, culturally crowded world. White South African Gavin Harrison's loving manual, however, casts light on the application of meditation to real-life conditions like HIV and AIDS, memories of childhood sexual abuse and the less dire fear and pain of daily life. The heartfelt prose rings true, as do the parallels between the lives of contemporary Americans and the life of Siddartha Gautauma; and Harrision's life itself, here documented, convincingly makes the case that Buddhist meditation practices are not a path away from life but rather a road into and through it. (Aug.)