Dharma Rain

February 7, 2000
This book seeks to provide environmentalist themes and ideas for those practicing "engaged Buddhism." With seven sections and 40 contributors, it covers several aspects of what many believe modern Buddhists should be doing to respond correctly to environmental problems such as consumerism, economic development, deforestation, pollution and industrialization. Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama contribute essays, as do composer Philip Glass and writers Joanna Macy and Helen Tworkov (who is also editor of Tricycle). There are lovely sections on being at one with nature and on hiking, but the book rehashes ecological material available elsewhere, and aside from the first section ("Teachings from Buddhist Traditions"), very little here is deeply Buddhist. The Transcendentalists made the same arguments for nature's supremacy in the 19th century (and indeed, several of the writers quote Thoreau). Still, there are some memorable essays: Peter Matthiessen, Patrick McMahon and Kuya Minogue provide a direct experience of the reality of nature to show why nature is worth saving: for the benefit of one's practice. Robert Aitken and William Ophuls reflect on the superiority of simplicity, providing a useful starting place for those who wish to initiate greater restraint in utilizing resources. The volume closes with suggestions for spiritual exercises, meditations and rituals (including the "Smokey the Bear Sutra").

December 1, 1999
Most Americans--Christian, Jewish, or Muslim--see environmentalism primarily as a matter of stewardship: we must care for the world God gave us and made us responsible for. Only secondarily do we note that we are part of the natural world and that it is a part of us. But what is secondary to us is primary to Buddhists. Dharma Rain explicates the Buddhist notion that at root, everything is one. Trees, animals, rocks, air, and water are all, simply, us. As a collection of texts by writers of disparate cultures, professions, and purposes, this book is necessarily uneven in tone and approach. All the same, it contains a wealth of informative material. Contributors include important teachers from various Buddhist traditions--the Dalai Lama, exiled Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Thai peace activists Prayudh Payutto and Sulak Sivarakasa, and American Zen roshis Philip Kapleau, Robert Aitken, and Gary Snyder. Edited by Kaza (religion and ecology, Univ. of Vermont) and Kraft (religious studies, Lehigh Univ.), this book is recommended for both academic and public libraries.--James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.