From Library Journal
Recorded live at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, this conversation provides a concise introduction to the meditation practice of tonglen. Chodron is the first American woman to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun and has taught and written about tonglen for nearly two decades. Novelist, poet, and commentator Walker was introduced to the practice and to Chodron several years ago. Simply put, the meditation is performed by breathing in suffering and breathing out relief. Chodron and Walker talk about the effect of this give and take on their lives; they are comfortable with one another, and the dialog flows smoothly. The tape comes with an excerpt from Chodron's book When Things Fall Apart that further explains how to practice this ancient technique.-Nann Blaine Hilyard, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Take a front-row seat as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker and Buddhist nun Pema Chodron reflect on anger, joy, fear, and the union of spirituality and social activism. Hear their personal experiences of tonglen – the "giving and taking" meditation – and how it has helped heal their lives. Let their combined wisdom illuminate the realm, available to us all, where the barriers between self and others dissolve. Audio includes a lively Q & A session available nowhere else. Recorded Live at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts.

About the Author
Pema Chodron is an American Buddhist nun and one of the foremost students of Chogyam Trungpa, the renowned Tibetan meditation master. She is the author of The Places That Scare You, Comfortable with Uncertainty, The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are, and the bestselling When Things Fall Apart. Ani Pema ("Ani" is a Tibetan honorific for a nun) is the resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery in North America established for Westerners.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal