RESOURCES

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life  by Karen Armstrong

This book outlines how to put compassion into practice in daily life. Karen Armstrong draws on wisdom from many religious traditions as well as some of the latest research from neuroscience. Armstrong’s organization, The Charter for Compassion, provides resources for putting the 12 steps into practice, whether on a personal, or organizational scale.

 

 

 

The Road to Character by David Brooks

David Brooks explains the central role that values play in the formation of character. While our “resume virtues” play an important role in our work lives, it is our “eulogy virtues” that have enduring value. Brooks uses the gritty life stories of a wide range of people to illustrate how a character is formed, often in response to difficult personal circumstances. Rather than defining ourselves according to external success, Brooks explores how internal struggle and personal hardship forge a strong sense of right and wrong, and a deep commitment to the common good. This book is a mixture of spirituality, history, biography, psychology, and current events, and encourages us to reconsider our priorities in order to cultivate lives of deeper moral depth and meaning.

 

The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das

Daily living is filled with dilemmas about right and wrong, and we often we find ourselves unsure about the best path forward. Using the great epic, The Mahabharata, Gurcharan Das finds many parallels between our world and that of ancient India, as the characters confront life’s messy choices. In their struggles with deceit, envy, hatred, and despair, the reader recognizes the common human threads that bind us across time and space. Dharma is a fundamental concept in the Hindu tradition. Defined as ‘duty,’ ‘virtue’ or ‘morality,’ it is highly individual. Each of us must discover our own, personal dharma. Filled with memorable characters and insightful psychological observations about the human condition, this book is both comforting and helpful for anyone trying to live an ethical life.

The Opposite of Hate by Sally Kohn

Sally Kohn makes a compelling case for how we can use our values and our commitment to peace to live more harmoniously with the other 7 billion members of the human race. She explores the origins of hate, and visits parts of the world where inter-religious and cultural conflicts have deep-seated roots. Kohn offers concrete suggestions for how we can avoid conflict while still being true to our own beliefs. Of particular value is a specific method she describes for talking about controversial topics with those of different opinions. This is an excellent book for discussion with a group or around the dinner table. If you think you know what Kohn proposes as the opposite of hate, you’re probably not right. Read to the end!

 

The Path by Michael Puett & Christine Gross-Loh

Professor Puett teaches the third most popular class at Harvard:  a discussion of ancient Eastern philosophy and its application to modern life. This book, co-authored by Christine Gross-Loh, a journalist with a PhD in East Asian History, gives the reader the opportunity to audit his class and learn from Asian philosophical and religious traditions.