Book Review: The Compassionate Instinct

The Compassionate Instinct
Edited by Dacher Keltner, Jason Marsh and Jeremy Adam Smith
Published by W.W. Norton

“The Compassionate Instinct” is a compilation of articles written and published in the magazine titled “Greater Good”, it breaks down the idea that scientists had held of humans as selfish, cold beings. Scientists today believe this not to be true and that underneath all the selfishness is a primal urge to live our lives in a compassionate manner.

There are articles written by such notables as Desmond Tutu, Paul Ekman interviewing His Holiness the Dalai Lama and more. This compilation of essays is broken down into three sections “The Science Roots of Human Kindness”, “How To Cultivate Goodness in Relationships with Friends, Family, Coworkers and Neighbors” and “How To Cultivate Goodness in Society and Politics”.

Book Review: Complete Idiot’s Guide To Buddhism

“Complete Idiot’s Guide To Buddhism, Third Edition”
by Gary Gach
Published by Alpha

I’ve searched around a bit in my years of following the Buddhist path for a book that explains a little about alot. Meaning, The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Buddhism is a vast wealth of knowledge, from Zen to Tibetan Buddhism, Pureland to Nichiren there’s something for everyone.

While it may not be the most literary book written, it’s written in a way any of us “idiot’s” can understand. This being the third edition of “Complete Idiot’s Guide To Buddhism”, it obviously has had some revisions. Not only did it have a different author, but Gary Gach revisited and edited nearly a third of the book updating quite a bit of it.