Though he grew up Jewish in Pennsylvania, Mel Pine has practiced Buddhism for the last four decades. In that time, he’s read plenty of books, worked with plenty of teachers, and accrued the life experience necessary to contextualize that wisdom. In A BUDDHIST PATH TO JOY: The New Middle Way Expanded Edition, written in the wake of a brush with mortality, Pine synthesizes what he’s learned, with a particular focus on how to bring this ancient wisdom into the modern world.

Plenty of books have been written about Buddhism, especially for a “Western” audience. As strangers from a different cultural tradition, how do we not only understand it but incorporate it into a largely fast-paced, competitive, teleological modern life? A BUDDHIST PATH TO JOY bridges the gap by synthesizing teachings and texts with a pragmatic attitude, resulting in a “guide for ethical, kind, compassionate, thoughtful, and contemplative living.” This Buddhism includes mindfulness, meditation, chanting, and more; but at its core, it is about living. The text returns more than once to the parable of the arrow: if a man is pierced by an arrow, he should worry about getting the arrow out, rather than asking ineffable questions about its nature. This book provides a primer on Buddhist thought and practice, but ideas like suffering, for instance, appear in more recognizable forms: weigh choices based on whether they produce or reduce harm in the world.

These ideas make tangible, visceral sense, and they’re presented in clear, plain language (don’t sweat memorizing too many Sanskrit terms). Even big, meaning-of-life questions, such as the relationship of samsara to the practice of Buddhism, are readily rendered in plain English: “The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to end suffering for oneself and all beings.” However, they do break down at times when trying to encompass both Buddhism’s contemplative individualism and its generous communalism. The idea of being kind to others, or of minimizing harm, breaks down at the systemic level (at least as it’s portrayed here). The text becomes oddly defensive about driving Teslas, for instance, rather than boycotting Musk-owned companies—seemingly forgetting that boycotts are collective actions, not individual ones.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the text also veers into a discussion about AI, including asking whether AI can achieve enlightenment. This is almost a complete reversal of the “pulling out the arrow” fable referenced above: AI technologies are already causing real, tangible damage to human lives and the planet, and the text is blithely asking chatbots whether they can become sentient or not. Moments like these, at best, remind the reader that the path to enlightenment is a daily practice, and not a linear one. Even after decades of that practice, one can still be humbled by lacunae in one’s wisdom.

Written with humility, openness, and humanity, A BUDDHIST PATH TO JOY nevertheless provides a welcome starting-point for readers who want to go past the superficial layers of pop-culture meditation and yoga through understanding.

Mel Pine’s A BUDDHIST PATH TO JOY: The New Middle Way Expanded Edition is an excellent overall primer to a living practice of modern Buddhism.

~ Dan Accardi for IndieReader