- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Harperone; Reprint edition (Dec 16 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060750529
- ISBN-13: 978-0060750527
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.7 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#16,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #68 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Buddhism
- #77 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Happiness
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
As the president of the Guhyasamaja Buddhist Center in Virginia, Ladner is a strong proponent of the Buddhist practice of compassion, which develops positive emotions through mental exercises. "Cultivating compassion is the single most effective way to make oneself psychologically healthy, happy and joyful," Ladner writes. "It is a direct antidote to prejudice and aggression." The author, who also works as a clinical psychologist, bemoans the lack of attention compassion receives in the West, and argues that most psychotherapists do little to help their patients increase their feelings of happiness. Nonetheless, Ladner does draw upon both Eastern and Western examples in this book, referring to sources as diverse as Jesus, T.S. Eliot, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the Dalai Lama, as well as including numerous anecdotes from his clinical practice. Though the exercises that Ladner recommends are sometime quite elaborate-one them involves identifying your "narcissistic patterns," personifying them as enemies and battling against them-he carefully walks readers through them one chapter at a time and then organizes them into a helpful "Summary of Compassion Practices" at the end of the book. To inspire readers, Landner cites the many recent studies showing that aspects of practicing compassion can significantly improve people's stress levels and their communication and relationships with others. Readers eager to test those findings for themselves should appreciate this book's realistic, manageable approach to dispelling bitterness and anger and replacing it with empathy and patience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
According to Buddhism, cultivating compassion is the most effective means to living a happy and healthy life. Clinical psychologist Ladner agrees and here attempts to bring Western psychology into cross-cultural dialogue with Tibetan Buddhist traditions to help readers nurture compassion, love, affection, and joy. In Buddhist psychology, compassion refers to the mental state of wanting to relieve others' suffering. In the West, however, psychology and emotion typically have been kept at arm's length. Medical schools and other Western institutions are notorious for actively discouraging compassion in professional training, and Ladner believes Western science is the lesser for it. Citing anecdotes and meditation techniques that actively engage the intellect and the imagination, he offers practical approaches to transforming the heart and cultivating compassion personally and, in effect, generally, by overcoming emotional obstacles, changing how one communicates so that messages are true and beneficial, and developing empathy even with the bitterest enemies--in essence, breaking down unhealthy and destructive patterns. The suggested methods aren't unique to Buddhism, nor need one be Buddhist to use them. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Buddhist masters always have emphasized that each moment of life is precious. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Buddhist masters always have emphasized that each moment of life is precious. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read,
By
This review is from: The Lost Art of Compassion: Discovering the Practice of Happiness in the Meeting of Buddhism and Psychology (Hardcover)
An excellent guide to applying compassion in Western Culture. An excellent balance between theory and practical applications with a bias towards the latter. A heartwarming book that helps give us faith in ourselves and in others.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Lost Art of Compassion,
By Donna L. Wood (Tacoma, Washington) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lost Art of Compassion: Discovering the Practice of Happiness in the Meeting of Buddhism and Psychology (Hardcover)
A brilliant intellectually fertile discovery. Dr. Ladner has gotten it right!! If I had the funds I would forward this magnificent book to all religious and political world leaders as well as those versed in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, and any other field requiring human interaction. What am I saying? - that would mean all of us should read this book and we definitely all should.Anyone reading this wonderful book would come away with hope, a hope that compassion for one's self and for all beings would lead to less suffering for ourselves and others. This book defines how this can come about and a path to inner peace as well as outward peacefulness towards our fellow worldly companions. Imagine the "butterfly theory" if we all read Dr. Ladner's masterpiece.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant - read it once and then read it again!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Lost Art of Compassion: Discovering the Practice of Happiness in the Meeting of Buddhism and Psychology (Hardcover)
This book is truly brilliant! It is an excellent resource for anyone interested in living a happier, more meaningful, and more compassionate life. It offers much insight into how the mind works and why ordinary ego-driven attempts to find happiness often backfire. In combining Buddhist concepts and techniques with explanations from Western psychology, this book shows a clear path to transcend the limiting confines of the ego through the power of love and compassion. Read it once and then read it again!
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