I thought this book was interesting and it was a nice introduction to Buddhism. Honestly though I had a hard time getting through it because I already knew so much of the information. Not through Buddhism but through living a good life and reading by the barge-load. It turned into something like this: wow another philosophy I've held for two years is actually a Buddhist philosophy. And so on to the point that I started to skim sections. For a person brand new to good life philosophies this would be an excellent place to start. For me it was kind of bland. I took away one very useful and memorable piece of advice and some smaller side pieces of lifestyle development but not enough to really justify the time I spent on the book. Finally I thought it was rather author centered, especially the last third of the book. It was personal stories and I thought it was shallow and paltry. Not what I look for in my reading. These two stars may reflect my mental state more than the book.I was not prepared for exercises and meditation practice and suggestions.I don't believe I've ever read anything about Buddhism before, but I can imagine that this was more accessible than some texts. Rinzler tried to connect the ideas to modern life. A lot of what he said made sense. I'm just now sure I was ready for it.
Enlightening. This book is chock full of useful information to help people live a mindful life.
—Sara9
Great for beginning Buddhists of Western society.
—Amanda
Great information well written
—Maeleene
Eh, it's all right.
—alleyneangel
Loved it.
—steph
