User Profile

Sasu

Sasu@bookrastinating.com

Joined 2 years, 4 months ago

For years after having been exposed to Mortimer Adler's wonderful (but perhaps a bit oppressive) How to Read a Book, I thought I had to read all of the classics before I could reasonably read anything else and was (hopefully understandably) a bit paralyzed. After having tried for a while to approach this ideal, I have realized that life is short and I now read according to my interests and needs.

English is my native language and the language in which I do most of my reading, but I also read German, Mandarin, and literary Chinese (quite rusty in the latter two). I'm currently also working on learning Pāḷi.

On Mastodon: @sasu@ieji.de

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Sasu's books

Currently Reading (View all 12)

Reference

Annalee Newitz (duplicate): Automatic Noodle (AudiobookFormat, 2025, Macmillan Audio)

A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle …

Adorable People Taking Care of Each Other

On the surface, this is a story about a diverse group of adorable people (most of whom happen to be robots) taking care of each other while starting a hand-pulled #noodle shop. Slightly below the surface, and done with a lot of #kindness, Annalee Newitz does a wonderful job of putting the reader in a perspective to see how various kinds of #discrimination and #unskillful action make things unpleasant for everyone while at the same time showing that #handicraft, #compassion, and community-building have lovely results across the board.

#𰻞𰻞麵 #𰻝𰻝面 #biangbiangmian #handpulled #community

Thích Nhất Hạnh: Living Buddha, Living Christ (AudiobookFormat, 2010, Simon & Schuster Audio)

World-renowned thinker and scholar Thích Nhất Hạnh, considered by many to be a "Living Buddha", …

Beautiful and insightful. Listened to the abridged version because it was what I had easy access to. I'll reserve writing a review for if and when I read the full version, but even this short version has value for anyone wishing to look more deeply into Thích Nhất Hạnh's advice for everyone to be deeply rooted in their own tradition(s).

#ThichNhatHanh #Thay #Buddhism #Christianity #Interfaith

Sharon Salzberg: Lovingkindness (AudiobookFormat, 2024, Shambhala Publications)

Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and find a greater sense …

A Good Manual of IMS-Style Brahmavihārā Practice

It's a really good manual of brahmavihārā practice as it is taught in the tradition of the Insight Meditation Society. It covers everything one would want to start a practice and it's plenty deep enough for experience practitioners looking for a refresher. The four sublime abidings are complemented well by two chapters on #generosity (#dāna) and #morality (#sīla), so in a sense it's a bit like going backwards through the ten #pāramī

#brahmavihārā #IMS #meditation #lovingkindness #mettā #compassion #karuṇā #sympatheticjoy #muditā #equanimity #upekkhā

replied to Sasu's status

I've been working through this one again gradually as a complement to the MMTCP Training I'm doing and in which the practice of #RAIN features quite prominently. Now that I have more practice under my belt, I'm struck by how versatile the practice truly is and how it not only is connected to other practices (such as #tonglen, and, less explicitly, Nonviolent Communication #NVC), but also complements and is complemented by these same practices.

#MMTCP #TaraBrach #NonviolentCommunication #mindfulness #compassion

Sebene Selassie: You Belong (AudiobookFormat, 2020, HarperAudio)

From much-admired meditation expert Sebene Selassie, You Belong is a call to action, exploring our …

Surprising & Rewarding Reflection on Interbeing

I was quite surprised while reading this to realize that Sebene Selassie uses belonging as a translation of suññatā or interbeing. Or perhaps belonging is less of a translation and more of a lens. Either way, I found the reflections to be extremely useful. And I was impressed by the erudition of the work—it's quite rare for teachers to draw on such a breadth of sources from different disciplines. She also manages very well to convey what practices can be helpful for awareness of and engagement with belonging while also not giving the sense of yet another list of to-dos to add to the pile.

reviewed Introduction to the Learning Packets by Miki Kashtan (NGL Learning Packets, #0)

Miki Kashtan: Introduction to the Learning Packets (EBook, 2024, The Fearless Heart) No rating

This packet includes an explanation of the thinking behind the learning packets project, an orientation …

Inspiring Introduction

No rating

This is an inspiring introduction which gives a clear idea of the magnitude of the project which Miki and others in the NGL community have been working on and leaves me with the desire to know more & dig deeper. I really appreciate that this context is being offered by default when any of the packets are accessed.

I'm going to leave this one unrated for now since it's so clear that it's still a work in progress. Looking forward to reading the next packet!