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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Teaser Tuesday: The Wise Heart

Okay. The one book I have been able to settle on, that isn't making me feel either crazy or guilty, is Jack Kornfield's The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology. It is possibly because reading this book is helping me work through the crazy and guilty and giving me other things to think about. I'm not reading it quickly... but I am reading it, and so the teaser will come from this easy-to-read, challenging-to-think-about, calming book. I've chosen three sentences, because three sentences form the complete thought.

From The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield, p13:

Among the most central of all Buddhist psychological principles are the Four Noble Truths, which begin by acknowledging the inevitable suffering in human life. This truth, too, is hard to talk about in modern culture, where people are taught to avoid discomfort at any cost, where "the pursuit of happiness" has become "the right to happiness." And yet when we are suffering it is so refreshing and helpful to have the truth of suffering acknowledged.

Teaser Tuesdays are hosted by Should Be Reading. It works as follows:
  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • Be careful not to include spoilers!
  • Include the title and author.

9 comments:

Amy said...

I always like reading books like this in small bites. Thanks for the tease!

Book Dragon said...

I like this, will you be giving us more or will you be finished before next week?

here's mine

Catherine @ The Blonde Diaries said...

That sounds like a good and interesting book. I haven't read anything like this but I think I will have to look into this book and similar ones.

Phyl said...

What a great choice, both for a book and a teaser! Sometimes you really need this sort of book to level you off and help you return to some kind of equilibrium. Great choice!

My own teaser, meanwhile, is at Bookishgal.

Lisa said...

I like the way you worked the philosophy into your teaser! Great choice.

My teaser is here.

Cecelia said...

Mmm...I may have to muse on this a while to get the full effect. I can see how you're enjoying it (and reading it slowly!). Great teaser! You can check out mine here.

Unknown said...

Amy - yes, I think reading too much at once would lead to idea-overload, and I want to let some of the thoughts in this book sink in.

Book Dragon - I suspect this one will be around for a while! I hope to tease something new next week, but I'll likely review this one with quotes when I'm finished it. That said... I may tease this one next week if I haven't started reading something else yet.

Susan - Thanks! I'll have a look.

Catherine - I haven't read a lot like this either. I got the idea for this one from Eat, Pray, Love, and I think I'll probably add more like this to the list once I'm done. Something to intersperse with other things, I think. I don't want to overdo it.

Phyl - As you say! I was resisting reading this, thinking that I needed something light and fluffy, but then it occurred to me that I might need exactly this book and I think it was a good choice to start it now.

Lisa - I actually had to cheat and be a little less random with this one. The book is full of sentences that make absolutely no sense on their own, so I tried to find something that was both short and a fully realized thought.

celi.a - I'd say try the whole book for the full effect ;) but it's definitely not one for everyone, or every mood.

Mandy said...

I really like books by Jack Kornfield. He's one of my faves. Thanks for the teaser!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a good book, calming and makes you think.