In 1978, "a kind of international Buddhist ecumenism" coalesced into the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, a network of Buddhist practitioners advocating nonviolent, spiritually based activism in the "social, political and economic affairs" of our day. In time, the movement became known as engaged Buddhism. Moon, longtime editor of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's journal Turning Wheel
, has anthologized some of the journal's best articles into the current book, which she divides into three sections. The first focuses on how engaged Buddhism helps each author deal with his or her own personal suffering, such as surviving inside a federal prison or recovering from a childhood defined by violence and shame. The second section features essays that describe the experience of taking engaged Buddhism "into the world," such as a wry account of being arrested for protesting the arrival of a "weapons train" at a naval base. The third section shifts away from the anecdotal toward the analytical, including pieces on the roots of engaged Buddhism and suggestions for teaching its principles to one's children. Moon includes contributions from well-known Buddhist figures such as Thich Nhat Hanh, but the bulk of the essays are from "ordinary people," including a death row inmate and a corporate attorney. But Moon's real brilliance is insisting on essays that eschew the hypothetical. Instead, they describe frankly the intimate joys, humor, failures, even despair, of practicing engaged Buddhism. These are compelling, often captivating accounts of individuals collectively trying to affect the world. (Apr.)
