You Don't Have to Sit on the Floor: Making Buddhism Part of Your Everyday Life

by Jim Pym

Book Overview

This is a Buddhism book for the rest of us. Jim Pym explains how to make Buddhism part of daily life while being true to one s own customs and beliefs. He points out that Buddha never asked people to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569753040
• ISBN13: 9781569753040
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Ulysses Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

You can sit on the floor if you like

I have been in correspondence with Jim Pym off and on for the past several years. I can't say I know the man but I sense a seemlessness to his writings, whether they are on Quakerism or Buddhism. Jim brings his Catholic background and his Quaker formation to his appreciation and practice of Buddhism. No doubt his is a heterodox Buddhism that will not appeal to those whose imperatives dictate that they color solely within the lines. Nor should anyone mistake this book for an essay on Shin or Zen Buddhism no matter that Jim mines both schools for their workable insights. Jim Pym is a Pure Land Buddhist in the broadest sense of the term, meaning he takes refuge in the buddhaverse [Robert Thurman] of Infinite Life and Light. That Jim speaks of God and prayer and the archangelic females Tara and Kuan-yin only serves to source his Buddhism in a wider field of of spiritual insight. I recommend this book particularly to Buddhists who find something missing in their spirituality, something that perhaps they once had but felt they had to abandon when they took refuge in the Dharma.

Wonderful introduction to Buddhism

I reviewed this book for "Sacred Journey" and was amazed at the simplicty of Pym's explanations.I always Buddhism was an extremely complicated religion and found that most books about it were difficult to understand. This book breaks everythign down into the most simple terms. Pym utilizes fantastic parallels to common everyday things and provides a sound, yet easy to understand introduction to Buddhism. His writing style is lively and entertaining, keeping you turning pages and moving forward through the book.

A PRECIOUS GIFT FOR A SUFFERING PLANET!

I had never heard of Jim Pym (nor he of me, I'm sure), but when I found this book while browsing, I couldn't believe it. I had FINALLY found an introductory book on Buddhism that covered all the bases while accenting the aspects of this wonderful Way that I most believe in--practice, compassion (including vegetarianism, although he touches on this very lightly, so don't be put off), and self-discovery. Just an amazing book, and one of which I will buy many copies. I wish I could buy one for every person in the world; it would go a long way toward helping alleviate the hatred and suffering that has gripped our planet. Thank you, Jim Pym!