from: Shambhala
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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 294.3444
EAN num: 9781590301722
ISBN number: 1590301722
Label: Shambhala
Manufacturer: Shambhala
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: February 08, 2005
Publishing house: Shambhala
Release Date: February 08, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 166311
Studio: Shambhala
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Product Description:
At one time or another, most of us have experienced an all-consuming desire for a material object, a desire so strong that it seems like we couldn't possibly be happy without buying this thing. Yet, when we give in to this impulse, we often find ourselves feeling frustrated and empty. Advertisers, of course, aim to hook us in this way, and, from a global perspective, our tendency to get hooked fuels the rampant over-consumption that is having a devastating impact on the world's stability and on the environment. According to the contributors to this unique anthology, Buddhism can shed valuable light on our compulsions to consume. Craving and attachment—how they arise and how to free ourselves of them—are central themes of Buddhist thought. The writings in this volume, most of which have never been previously published, offer fresh perspectives and much-needed correctives to our society's tendency to believe that having more will make us happier. Hooked! includes a range of writings on how to apply Buddhist thought and ethics to understand and combat the problem of over-consumption as individuals and collectively. Contributors include popular Western teachers, Asian masters, scholars, and practitioners such as: Pema Chödrön—on what is actually happening at the moment we're 'hooked,' and how to get beyond that. Joseph Goldstein—on how mindfulness training can help us stop 'wanting to want.' Bhikshuni Thubten Chödrön—on how consumer mentality influences spiritual practice. Judith Simmer-Brown—on how cultivating spiritually based activism and compassionate action can help us address the negative effects of consumerism. Rita Gross—on how understanding moderation can curb overconsumption. Santikaro Bhikkhu—on practicing generosity in a consumer world.
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Rated by buyers 
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Hooked delivers a two very important messages.
First, the cycle of getting more and more does not and will never lead to the satisfaction we are seeking. "And yet, the more we seek to fill this lack by following our craving to have more and more - in short, living in the acquisitive mode - the less we are truly satisfied, and thus continue in a state of unfulfillment and frustration." This theme is repeated throught out the book. It is a lesson very few Americans truly understand. We think the subsequent car, house, accomplishment will give us the inner satisfaction we are seeking. The book does a very good job of dispelling this myth.
Secondly, the book does a good job of showing that the consumer centered world that we have created is not capable of sustainability. We are using up precious resources at an alarming rate. "By 2005 the global colection of used cell phones may top 500 million, most destined for landfills." We have become an extremely wasteful society. We cannot continue on the wasteful path we are currently on.
Hooked is a collection of 17 essays. Some much better than others. One the one hand, it provides a lot of different views on the subject. However, I found the different voices or styles of writing a bit of an obstacle. I would have rather one central theme and thread.
Not being a Buddhist, I found it a bit distracting all the references using Buddhist terms. To me the problems are common to all and the solutions must come from and be accepted by all people.
If you are not Buddhist, or at least have a fairly good knowledge of Buddhism, you will find the reading a bit difficult at times.
While many of the writers suggested that Buddhism held many of the answers, most were very honest in acknowledging that Buddhism has not escaped the problems of the consumersim society.
I found the Middle Path the most logical approach.
The information is timely and important. Because of all the references to Buddhism, it can be a little difficult reading.
Rated by buyers -
As with all collections of essays, some selections are better than others, but the overall quality displayed in this book is superb. While I expected to see essays about the evils of materialism and rampant consumption (and I wasn't disappointed), I was pleasantly surprised that the Middle Path was represented with excellent insights on the perils of righteous self-denial. In a philosophical work, it's pretty easy to preach about the virtues of simplicity, but this book offered something more in its examination of the issues of the real world in which we live. The chapter on the practical aspects of generosity was a gem. This book is worth every penny.
Rated by buyers -
I don't think that anyone would dispute that we are living in a chronically addicted society, in which chronic overload, habits and addictions have become the norm and are even rewarded. Many of us have written about the extraordinary rise in intemperate, narcissistic behaviors that threaten not just ourselves and our families, but the planet as a whole. This book, written by a number of prominent thinkers in the Buddhist traditions is challenging and thought provoking. It is certainly not a book just for Buddhists: the collection of essays deals with the problems of wealth, greed, excess, over-indulgence, and over-consumption.
I think that the book will likely affect anyone who reads it, by challenging us to look at how we live. To really see, feel and understand how our lifestyles affect the earth is in itself a revelation. Most of us have only intellectualized about the link. The other side of the coin is the way in which the material world challenges our spiritual development.
This is not a call for us all to become austere non-consumers, but instead a series of suggestions for becoming more conscious consumers who leave less of a footprint on the earth. What is different about this book and what so clearly differentiates it from so many environmentalist works, is that the Buddhist worldview is by its very nature based on awareness, balance and temperance. It does not tell you that you need to live in a tent and eat tofu and lentils. Though if you want to, that's obviously just fine. Instead it points you toward a more healthy and balanced way of living, while avoiding the common trap of replacing one set of addictions - say chocolate and over-consumption - with another: such as Buddhism or some other spiritual path.
The last section is about giving. An essential and sometimes forgotten part of all major ethical, spiritual and religious traditions is the importance of kindness, giving and charity. Whether or not you believe that giving is the best way of receiving, it is very welcome to see the topic given such careful and insightful coverage.
Highly recommended.
Rated by buyers -
First off, I'm not a kid (I'm 40) but this form is easier to submit than signing in and so forth. That said...
This book is outstanding. In fact it is one of the best books I have ever read. (No, I am not the author and I don't own stock in the publisher.) The book deals with the subjects in the subtitle comprehensively and with lots of perspective. The article by Diana Winston is one of the funniest (and best) ones in the whole book and readers will probably relate to it immediately, both Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. I totally recommend this book. James.
Rated by buyers -
When my mother-in-law gave me Hooked!, by Stephanie Kaza, for my birthday, I thought that I might be in for some dreadfully guilt-laden reading. A collection of 17 essays on Buddhist perspectives on greed, desire and the urge to consume, Hooked! was at very first glance intriguing yet potentially upsetting. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face up to my own materialistic views.
I have always considered myself a minimalist. For many of my college years, I had only the bare minimum I needed to get by, with a few perks (a computer always being one of those perks). But the real reason that I was a minimalist, was that I spent so much time moving from place to place, that I didn't want to have to haul all my stuff around, so I kept my possessions light (except for the heavy 286 I lugged around everywhere.)
Now, I live in a house that is crammed full of stuff. Much of that stuff is mine, but it's also a lot of stuff for the kids. Mostly it's stuff that we don't use very often. I get a grand satisfaction in having garage sales and giving away bags of stuff, yet the space that giving stuff away makes is soon filled with more things. I struggle with this issue a lot, because although I don't feel that I need very much, I actually do have more stuff than I think, and that makes me uncomfortable.
So, reading Hooked! was scary for me. Fortunately, Buddhist views are generally less extreme than mainstream environmentalism and anti-consumerism. Most of the essays in Hooked! have a moderate viewpoint, and focus more on being aware, than being guilty. I found the very first section of essays to be the most enlightening (pun intended), as it spoke of what makes humans, and in particular Americans, have an incessant desire to have more stuff. And not only more objects, but more money, more technology, more knowledge and generally amassing as much as we can of whatever we can. The very first step to making changes in our lives, and in our world is to see things clearly, and understand the problem.
The second section I also found very useful as well. This section focused on practical tools we can use, from a Buddhist perspective of the middle way, to find a happy medium between what we want and what we truly need to survive. It also talks about making choices based on things other than status and whether something is a good deal, but rather from the perspective of who had to be hurt, who had to work hard and what had to die in order for me to have this thing. Kind of harsh because it's so "in-your-face". But one the major things it points out, is that we are so far removed from the process of creating the things that we have, that we don't have any connection to the people who did the work to make the things that we have in our possession.
The last section is about giving. From the Buddhist point of view, we get more the more we give. And by giving, we can decrease our desire for stuff. Giving away our excess stuff, time and money to people who have less than they need, or even just to people that we love (and in Buddhism, that's everyone, in theory), gives us the opportunity to appreciate what we have more, and to see that our stuff does not define who we are. This section also talks about the value of money, and how we see money in our Western society.
As much as some of the articles hurt to read (because they were honest, not sensational), I benefited greatly from having hashed it all out in my head. I think that anyone, Buddhist or not, would gain from reading many of these essays, and thinking about how we got to where we are commercially, and how our American push for a stronger market and more consumerism effects the world, including the one that we live in day to day.
Although Hooked! is chalk full of Buddhist quotes and references, the concepts are universal. And, if one has any question as to what Buddhism is all about, and wants to know more, this is a good introduction to it, by exploring something that we can all relate to from a (mostly) middle way Zen perspective.
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