Preceding quote aside, I really liked this. Good discussion of the climate emergency, but in the context of the other environmental crises, especially extinctions. Also does a good job of tying in the intersection with social justice concerns. Somewhat critical of capitalism, if not as much as I'd like :) Particularly good on the failures of mainstream Western Buddhism to deal with wider issues, commenting that it can be overly concerned with individual transformation, not structural, and quotes Loyal Rue talking of "cosmological dualism" and "individual salvation". Comments that socially-engaged Buddhism of all sorts really struggles to get support, both people and money. Reminded me a little of reading "McMindfulness". While there's lots to like here, I was disappointed to see no footnotes and no bibliography, which feels weird in a book that leans on, and even cites liberally, the work of others. Also not bowled over by some of the quotes. Maybe I'm overly judgemental, but I think we can write a book about Buddhism and just skip over Chogham Trungpa, and seeing a Paul Kingsnorth quote is always particularly jarring.
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17% complete! pdotb has read 9 of 52 books.
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pdotb finished reading Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis by David Loye
Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis by David Loye
How can we respond urgently and effectively to the ecological crisis—and stay sane doing it?
This landmark work is …
How can we respond urgently and effectively to the ecological crisis—and stay sane doing it?
…Lots to like, but with reservations
4 stars
Content warning climate crisis
How can we respond urgently and effectively to the ecological crisis—and stay sane doing it?
…Content warning ableism
When we realize that the world is a mutual, interdependent, cooperative enterprise, that human beings are all mutual friends in the process of birth, old age, suffering, and death, then we can build a noble, even a heavenly environment. If our lives are not based on this truth then we'll all perish. Our species has never been separate, just (as Thomas Berry puts it) "autistic".
— Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis by David Loye (Page 115)
Ugh. Beautiful quote from Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, and then... that.
pdotb finished reading If We Burn by Vincent Bevins
If We Burn by Vincent Bevins
The story of the recent uprisings that sought to change the world — and what comes next
From 2010 …
pdotb reviewed If We Burn by Vincent Bevins
The story of the recent uprisings that sought to change the world — and what …
Interesting account of the last decade's protests
4 stars
Really good as a journalistic account of the major protests of the 2010s, combining historical background with chronologies of the protests and lots of interviews with those involved. Significantly skewed towards Brazil, where the author lived for a number of years. Somewhat weaker on analysis, besides the impression that leaderless horizontalism can lead to a protest 'succeeding', but then just opening up space for someone more organized (and, often, more right-wing and/or authoritarian) to sweep in. Apparently I need to read Rodrigo Nunes next :)
Really good as a journalistic account of the major protests of the 2010s, combining historical background with chronologies of the protests and lots of interviews with those involved. Significantly skewed towards Brazil, where the author lived for a number of years. Somewhat weaker on analysis, besides the impression that leaderless horizontalism can lead to a protest 'succeeding', but then just opening up space for someone more organized (and, often, more right-wing and/or authoritarian) to sweep in. Apparently I need to read Rodrigo Nunes next :)
pdotb started reading Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories by Haruki Murakami
Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories by Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin
"This fantastically varied and exciting collection celebrates the great Japanese short story, from its modern origins in the nineteenth century …
pdotb started reading Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis by David Loye
Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis by David Loye
How can we respond urgently and effectively to the ecological crisis—and stay sane doing it?
This landmark work is …
pdotb finished reading Real world by Natsuo Kirino
pdotb replied to Flauschbuch's status
@Flauschbuch@bookrastinating.com I loved the book, but agree about the grim parts. I'm reading it for a second time and just skipping over those, and it makes for a very different experience.
@Flauschbuch@bookrastinating.com I loved the book, but agree about the grim parts. I'm reading it for a second time and just skipping over those, and it makes for a very different experience.
pdotb started reading If We Burn by Vincent Bevins
If We Burn by Vincent Bevins
The story of the recent uprisings that sought to change the world — and what comes next
From 2010 …
pdotb started reading Real world by Natsuo Kirino
pdotb finished reading The Gate by Natsume Sōseki
The Gate by Natsume Sōseki
A humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins of Tokyo. Resigned, following years …
pdotb reviewed The Gate by Natsume Sōseki
A humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins …
Nothing really happens, and that's... alright
5 stars
Slow, gentle, and, ultimately, quite beautiful examination of how a couple have adjusted to the restrictions of their lives/life, some of outside origin but most seemingly self-imposed.
pdotb quoted The Gate by Natsume Sōseki
A humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins …
It appeared to Sōsuke that from the moment of his birth it was his fate to remain standing indefinitely outside the gate. This was an indisputable fact. Yet if it were true that, no matter what, he was never meant to pass through this gate, there was something quite absurd about his having approached it in the first place. He looked back. He saw that he lacked the courage to retrace his steps. He looked ahead. The way was forever blocked by firmly closed portals. He was someone destined neither to pass through the gate nor to be satisfied with never having passed through it. He was one of those unfortunate souls fated to stand in the gate's shadow, frozen in his tracks, until the day was done.
— The Gate by Natsume Sōseki (Page 247)