Books in Brief
Reviewed by Andrea Miller.
 The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography
By Tetsu Saiwai
Penguin, 2010; 208 pp., $15 (paper)
My Spiritual Journey
By the Dalai Lama, with Sofia Stril-Rever
HarperOne, 2010; 304 pp., $25.99 (cloth)
A
native of Japan with more than twenty years under his belt as a manga
artist, Tetsu Saiwai specializes in creating mangas related to
environmental protection and human rights issues. His manga The 14th Dalai Lama, which tells the story of His Holiness’ childhood and youth, is
especially moving. Indeed, it took me by surprise that what is
essentially a comic strip could make me feel so keenly the sorrows and
pressures that the young Dalai Lama faced, weighted down with political
and spiritual responsibility for a people under attack. My Spiritual Journey
presents the Dalai Lama’s story in his own words. Troubling memories
are found on these pages, but so are delightful ones. This anecdote from
his childhood makes me laugh: traditionally in the Dalai Lama’s
kitchen, no pork, eggs, or fish were cooked. But when visiting his
family, he would sit next to his pork-loving father, “almost like a
little dog waiting for his tidbit… It was a little illegal!”
Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren: Finding Calm in the Chaos of the School Years
By Sarah Napthali
Allen & Unwin, 2010; 258 pp., $15.95 (paper)
According
to author Sarah Napthali, the early school years are, for many people,
“the golden years of parenting, the hard-earned window between demanding
toddlerhood and unpredictable adolescence.” Nonetheless, difficulties
abound for mothers, including stress from deadlines and boredom with
routines, as well as the challenge of managing their fears and
expectations for their children and fitting in with other parents. But Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren
is not a book telling women how to parent. Most of the chapters focus
on helping mothers recognize and address their own needs, so that they
can bring their best to the task of mothering. Napthali, also the author
of the best-seller Buddhism for Mothers,
draws on teachings from all three main traditions: Zen, Tibetan, and
Theravadan. This, she says, will allow mothers new to Buddhism to decide
which school most attracts them.
The Circumference of Home: One Man’s Yearlong Quest for a Radically Local Life
By Kurt Hoelting
Da Capo Press, 2010; 262 pp., $25.00 (cloth)
When
Kurt Hoelting took a carbon footprint survey, he was appalled to learn
that his footprint was twice the national average, despite his hybrid
vehicle and attempts to limit his personal use of energy. “Since the
average North American carbon footprint is ten times the world average,”
he explains, “this was an alarming discovery. For someone who prides
himself on living low on the energy food chain, this was not something I
could take sitting down.” Hoelting, a commercial fisherman, wilderness
guide, and meditation teacher, gave up his car and cancelled his plane
reservations, vowing to travel exclusively under his own steam for one
year. The Circumference of Home chronicles Hoelting’s discoveries as he kayaked, biked, and walked within hundred kilometers of his home in Puget Sound.
I Hotel
By Karen Tei Yamashita
Coffee House Press, 2010; 640 pp., $19.95 (paper)
Falling to Heaven
Jeanne M. Peterson
Thomas Dunne Books, 2010; 336 pp., $24.99 (cloth)
“Novel” is too simplistic a label for the ambitious I Hotel.
More accurately, it is ten linked novellas—one for each year from 1968
to 1977—and it is braided through with playwriting, philosophizing,
graphic art, and a host of colorful, revolutionary characters. The
setting is San Francisco’s Chinatown and the focus is on the Asian
American movement. Keep your eyes peeled for when, in the ninth novella,
one character paraphrases Thich Nhat Hanh’s ideas on love and life. In
the novel Falling to Heaven,
the year is 1954 and an American Quaker couple—Emma and Gerald—take up
residence in the Tibetan city of Shigaste. The couple make friends with
their neighbors and dive into Tibetan culture—brewing yak butter tea and
exploring meditation. But when the Chinese Communists invade, Gerald is
taken prisoner and the pregnant Emma must fight governmental
stonewalling to get her husband released. Jeanne Peterson, the author of
Falling to Heaven, is a psychologist who worked for many years with survivors of torture and Communist reeducation.
Deep Down Things: The Earth in Celebration and Dismay
By Lin Jensen
Wisdom, 2010; 176 pp., $15.95 (paper)
Lin Jensen is a Zen teacher, a frequent contributor to Shambhala Sun, and the author of Together Under One Roof and Bad Dog! In his latest release, Deep Down Things,
he offers a series of personal essays dealing by turns with deep
ecology and our deepest nature. In concrete terms, this means he touches
on everything from earthworms to cooking vegetables to breaking down
the barriers between self and other. Jensen’s writing is heartfelt. When
I finish reading one of his essays, I feel as warm and fuzzy as if I’ve
just watched a simple feel-good movie. But make no mistake—the lessons
Jensen is teaching are profound.
Essentials of Tibetan Traditional Medicine
Thinley Gyatso and Chris Hakim
North Atlantic Books, 2010; 395 pp., $24.95 (cloth)
The Four Tantras
is considered the fundamental treatise on Tibetan medicine, yet more
than half of the chapters have never been translated into English.
Fortunately, Essentials of Tibetan Traditional Medicine
now offers a distillation of the text, in English, using non-academic
language. The book starts by unpacking the basics of Tibetan medical
theory and methods of diagnosis, then addresses the humors, their
corresponding illnesses, and the possible treatments. Lastly, the book
dives into therapeutics, such as diet and lifestyle, bloodletting, and materia medica—mostly
herbs but also ingredients of animal and mineral origin. Each
ingredient has its own page, which includes its Tibetan, common, and
botanical names; clinical uses; known pharmacological properties; and a
drawing. I appreciate that while many of the ingredients are—to my
mind—exotic, others are things I have in my own kitchen: cumin and
garlic, ginger and pomegranate.
Indivisible
An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry
Edited by Neelanjana Banerjee, Summi Kaipa, and Pireeni Sundaralingam
University of Arkansas Press, 2010; 257 pp., $24.95 (paper)
Decomposition
An Anthology of Fungi Inspired Poems
Edited by Renée Roehl and Kelly Chadwick
Lost Horse Press, 2010; 128 pp., $18 (paper)
Indivisible
features the works of American poets with roots in India, Nepal,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. “Both South Asian and South Asian
American fiction are currently enjoying great popularity in the United
States,” say the editors, “yet commercial success may come at a price: a
closer look reveals that few of these best-sellers stray beyond the
borders of magical realism and extended family narrative.” In contrast,
poetry, a less commercial venture, allows “Desi” writers to explore an
infinite and surprising range of styles and themes. One of my favorite
poems in Indivisible is Minal Hajratwala’s “Angerfish,” which borrows from the Dhammapada. Decomposition
offers a smorgasbord of mushroom poems by such luminaries as Mary
Oliver, Robert Hass, and Gary Snyder. Why mushrooms? According to the
editors, “In a world obsessed with sterility, false appearances, and a
religious avoidance of death, decomposers can be seen as villainous,
though in truth, all life depends on them.” The forward is by poet and
Zen practitioner Jane Hirshfield.
As seen in the January 2011 issue of the Shambhala Sun.
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