Dewey Decimal Project: 294.34 C

[rsadelle]

A friend quoted Pema Chodron at me and said Chodron was one of her favorite writers on Buddhism. I'd never heard of her, which led to two things: my mother bought me a copy of the issue of Shambhala Sun with Chodron on the cover, and I checked out The Pema Chodron Collection from the library. The book is actually three of Chodron's books in one volume. I skimmed through bits of the first two and they didn't catch my interest, but the third, When Things Fall Apart, did. I did enjoy it, and I think reading some of it on Thanksgiving helped me enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. I also kept thinking about something Gretchen Rubin often says: that she often learns more from one person's idiosyncratic story than from more general advice.

Comments

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I generally find I get more out of Chodron's books if I only read a chapter or so at a time (sometimes spread out over a long period of time). Otherwise it gets a little too self-helpy for me (and I really think I have a knee-jerk reaction against self-help; too much exposure at a young age and I've developed an allergy, or something like that).

Another good Buddhist author is Thich Nhat Hanh, though he's Vietnamese Zen rather than Tibetan.

I'm glad Chodron helped you with Thanksgiving, though!

[rsadelle]

Yeah, I was thinking it's probably better when read in small doses. (Especially as I was reading the last twenty pages yesterday because it was due today and I'd already renewed it once.) I might have to try Thich Nhat Hanh too!