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Shambhala Publications; Wisdom Quarterly

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The Tao of Joy Every Day by Derek Lin.

The beauty of Taoism is that the wisdom is simple yet profound and that is the strength of Derek Lin's book, The Tao of Joy Every Day: 365 Days of Tao Living. Its easy reference style makes it a great gift for those who are often too busy for deep, extended, contemplative meditation.

The book offers up easily digestible wisdom for when you need a quick bit of inspiration. It is a great way to start the day, and it's small size makes it ideal for a nightstand book. It's short but powerful entries are great for settling the mind before bedtime, or on nights when you can't sleep.

Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the ancient, Taoist wisdom is translated for a modern audience and tailored for today's society. Therefore, it's quite easy to see how the Taoist wisdom can be applied in our every day actions and situations. It's a great "stocking-stuffer" gift for this, and any other holiday season. It's a great addition to any Eastern wisdom book collection.

~I bow to the Buddha within all things~

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The Buddha in the Classroom: Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers.

"The Buddha in the Classroom: Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers," by Donna Quesada is primarily a book that long-time teachers, new teachers and students studying for a teaching job will find helpful. I must say, however, that while there are some helpful Buddhist tips for anyone, they are fairly basic and can be found in greater depth in books that are primarily about Buddhism in general. But, for less ardent students of Buddhism, it might just be the right amount of Dharma mixed with career advice.

This book is really geared toward the teaching community, and how they can use mindfulness techniques to keep teaching fresh for both teacher and student. The book advertises itself as helpful to anyone and while that it's true, you have to read through a lot of specific advice to teachers. Still, I can see how the tips the author gives would be helpful to anyone who feels stuck in a rut with their career.

I get a lot of books and this one wasn't horrible but it wasn't great, either. I'm probably give it a 6 out of 10 rating; one being worst on that scale and ten being best.

~Peace to all beings~

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Looking for Books to Help Navigate a Mean World.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has noticed in the last decade or so that much of society has become increasingly mean, disrespectful, rude, greedy, selfish and heartless toward their fellow humans--as well as toward animals. Now, I realize that not everyone is this way but at least in my area of the world, social politeness has degraded severely in my lifetime.

As many of you know, I have a debilitating psychiatric condition called, schizoaffective disorder, which is basically bipolar with some schizophrenic symptoms. Along with having a.d.d., it's hard for me to filter out the toughness and harsh social relations that are poisoning our society. Since I have trouble screening the constant bombardment of stimuli in this world, I have little bandwidth, so to speak, to absorb this nasty behavior.

Thus, I get sad, angry and frustrated with the world, rather easily. Whether it's navigating reckless driving, dealing with selfish people at the market, or living amongst others who live a shallow, superficial life; it's hard to learn how to live amongst such heartlessness and ignorance without it depressing you to the point of wanting to give up!!

So, I am looking for some suggestions on some books that I could read about how to deal with mean, nasty, rude, selfish people. I'm not talking about any of the traditional Buddhist texts/books but rather those specifically dealing with how to live in this world without it getting to you, and turning you into a cynical person from a purely psychological, clinical point of view. To narrow it down further, I'm looking for a "self-help" type book on tips for dealing with such cruelty. Of course, meditation helps a lot, (as do Buddhist books) but I need something that's more related to specific tips on living in the modern world of cruelty from a non-religious point of view.

Please, don't criticize me or condemn me for my struggles. I'm a very tender person and gets easily depressed, down on myself and easily over-whelmed with negativity. If you don't know of something that can help, and would rather tell me my problem is not being a "good enough Buddhist," then please have some compassion and keep your thoughts to yourself.

I know this is the anonymous dominated cyber-land, but please treat me with respect and remember that behind my profile is a real person who struggles a lot with psychological issues. I'm a strong person but also quite fragile to stress. This is a very hard issue for me to deal with and talk about. I don't need criticism--I need support, understanding and some tips on a few books that might help me deal with my psychological stresses from having to live with this world. Thank-you for understanding my sensitivity. It's hard enough writing this out and exposing myself, so please, treat me how you'd want to be treated. Thanks, again--James.

~Peace to all beings~

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