11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A heartfelt page turner!, Feb 28 2008
By RGNYC "-RG" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Storms Can't Hurt the Sky: The Buddhist Path through Divorce (Paperback)
This book was impossible for me to put down. It reads like an adventure mystery until the very end when you realize it was, perhaps, the delusions who dunnit! It is profoundly personal, heart wrenching, and poignant yet it's also full of humor and inspiring suggestions. Enjoy!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Be Misled By The Title, This Book Is For Everyone: Married/In A Relationship/Divorced/Separated Or Not, April 4 2009
By Rahayu Ratnaningsih - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Storms Can't Hurt the Sky: The Buddhist Path through Divorce (Paperback)
A beautiful book. Deeply compassionate and very helpful. It reminds me again why I'm a Buddhist, something that has been in the back burner the last few years. It highlights the rationality, common-sense, radically mind-boggling insights and practicality and timeless wisdom of Buddhism.
Cohen found Buddhism when his wife of 4.5 years left him without saying a word and never came back. Being a freelance/struggling author living in expensive NY in the middle of mundane life's challenges, his world came crashing down on him. He was torn with anger, resentment, fear, loneliness, confusion, daily mental agitation, sadness, grief...and, last but not least, longing and love of his wife and the haunting memories of the good old days. And the endless whys of how it ended the way it did.
It's recommended reading for anyone in such situation or even those who want a better relationship with their loved ones, or just want a more skillful way of dealing with life and all its issues. He wonders if things would have been different had he found Buddhism while he was still married to his wife. It helps puts things in perspective and try to understand that everyone, whoever he/she is, is in this world for one thing and one thing only: the search of happiness and the avoidance of suffering. Everyone of us responds and behaves at the level of our delusion: desirous attachment, self-cherishing and anger. If every married couple applies this wholesome understanding of their partner, imagine how many marriages can be saved.
The mind is like the sky, every thought and turbulence caused by it is like the clouds. They will all come and pass by, leaving the sky clear once again. Hence storms can't hurt the sky. It offers practical advice on how you could make the clouds and turbulence pass sooner by being aware of how your feelings are very related to your thoughts and of the inevitable process that creates the entanglement.
I am truly thankful of Cohen for this gift for helping ease my own struggle and pain (I've known all the Buddhist theories, but we all need to be reminded from time to time). I will perhaps one day write a book on the subject. This might be the best gift you've ever given to your friends or loved ones.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...and wiser."
May all beings be happy and free from suffering.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Getting beyond the hurt, Aug 14 2008
By HJ - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Storms Can't Hurt the Sky: The Buddhist Path through Divorce (Paperback)
I have read dozens of books since my separation and while many were helpful, this is the one that is profoundly changing how I feel. Gabriel Cohen helped me realize how much I control my feelings about what has happened and how I can react from now on. I read a few pages every day, taking time to digest what were some challenging propositions: understand my ex's pain? fill my heart with compassion so there's no room for anger? This is a great book no matter where you are in the breakup of a long-term relationship; it will give you the insight and tools to create a happier future.