January 2024 MBR The Buddhist Studies Shelf

The Buddhist Studies Shelf

Your Heart Was Made for This
Oren Jay Sofer
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
www.shambhala.com
9781645472001, $23.99, HC, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Heart-Made-This-Contemplative/dp/1645472000

Synopsis: With the publication of "Your Heart Was Made for This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love " Buddhist and meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer shares a pragmatic guide to living a life of meaning and purpose in a time of great social, environmental, and spiritual upheaval.

Through touching stories, insightful reflections, and concrete instructions, Sofer offers powerful tools to strengthen our hearts and nourish the qualities that can transform our world. Each individual chapter guides you to cultivate a quality essential to personal and social transformation like mindfulness, resolve, wonder, and empathy.

"Your Heart Was Made for This" reveals how to: Find more choice and freedom in life; Strengthen focus, sustain energy, and accomplish goals; Identify burnout and take steps to renew yourself; Imbue your daily activities with clarity and vitality; Respond more effectively to collective challenges.

Critique: Of particular and very special value to readers with an interest in Buddhism Philosophy & Meditation, and its relevance in achieving a state of personal happiness, as well as with dealing with the inevitable stresses of life in the troubled world of today, "Your Heart Was Made for This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love" is an extraordinary and straightforwardly recommended addition to community and college/university library Buddhism and Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Your Heart Was Made for This" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Oren Jay Sofer (https://www.orenjaysofer.com) teaches Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and communication internationally. He holds a degree in comparative religion from Columbia University and is a Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner for the healing of trauma. Born and raised in New Jersey, he is the author of several books, including the bestselling title Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication. His teachings have reached people around the world through his online communication courses and guided meditations.

Embodying Tara
Chandra Easton
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
www.shambhala.com
9781645471141, $22.95, PB, 352pp

https://www.amazon.com/Embodying-Tara-Twenty-One-Manifestations-Awaken/dp/1645471144

Synopsis: Tara is the Buddhist goddess of compassion. She can manifest within all of us. "Embodying Tara: Twenty-One Manifestations to Awaken Your Innate Wisdom" is an illustrated introduction to Tara's twenty-one forms by respected female Buddhist teacher and practitioner Dorje Lopon Chandra Easton.

"Embodying Tara" shows how to invite Tara's awakened energy to come alive in yourself through: Insights into core Buddhist concepts and teachings; Meditations; Mantra recitations; and journal exercises.

The relatable stories are taken from Buddhist history combined with the author's personal reflections in order to provide you with the tools to live a more compassionate life, befriend your fears, and overcome everyday challenges.

"Embodying Tara" reveals how important women and movements in modern history have achieved this through their own embodiment of Tara's enlightened activities and include the stories of Jane Goodall, Nawal El Saadawi, Oprah Winfrey, Vandana Shiva, Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and others -- which will collectively inspire you to bring these aspects of Tara into the world in creative and socially conscious ways for the benefit of all.

Critique: Eloquent, exceptional, impressively well written, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in style, organization and presentation, "Embodying Tara: Twenty-One Manifestations to Awaken Your Innate Wisdom" is a singularly gifted and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library Buddhism collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and all members of the Buddhist community that "Embodying Tara: Twenty-One Manifestations to Awaken Your Innate Wisdom" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99) from Shambhala Publications.

Editorial Note: Chandra Easton is a Dharma teacher, author, and translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts. In 2015 she was given the title of senior lead teacher, Dorje Lopon (Vajracharya), for Tara Mandala Retreat Center by Lama Tsultrim Allione and H.E. Gochen Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche. Her training is rooted in Tibetan Buddhism (Mahayana and Vajrayana), and the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) in particular, and her primary interest is in finding ways to make these traditional teachings relevant and accessible for our modern experience. She offers meditation courses in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Berkeley Alembic and San Francisco Dharma Collective. She also offers retreats in the US and Europe at venues such as Tibet House US, Esalen, Kripalu, Kamalashila, Center for Mindful Living, Maitreya Institute, and Tara Ling Retreat Center. Her talks, writings, guided meditations, and teaching schedule can be found at www.chandraeaston.com

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