reading Inner Revolution (Shambala, I think (book not handy) 1998) by Robert Thurman. when I started this blog, I found that buddhism was my main topic. because buddhism itself was growing more important for me. a good long streak in which all I wanted to read was buddhist texts. that was, I realize, preparation for practice. and when I say practice, I mean meditating but not well and trying to take the lessons out of the books and into my life. sorry if this sounds like hokum. anyway, Thurman's book is a consideration of buddhism as an active answer to the world around. pointing to how buddhism can be political. buddhism's pretty simple, in that it sums up well with the 4 Noble Truths (I suppose most religions and philosophical systems can likewise be made simple). all the surrounding literature tries to get those 4 Truths across, likewise the practice of buddhism. I don't want to talk about it, I just want to see buddhism working. Thurman's book seeks to enliven buddhism to the political world we know. which is powerful. I can only say that reading the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (Thurman's translation) at the burial of Beth's father, meant something to us.