The Best Buddhist Writing 2011

McLeod (editor in chief, Shambhala Sun) and his colleagues deliver their 2010 picks for annual anthology. They present 31 selections addressing issues of everyday life viewed through the lens of Buddhist practice, just over half extracted from books, the remaining articles taken almost exclusively from Tricycle: The Buddhist Review or Shambhala Sun. Contributors, with women making up more than half, reflect a broad spectrum from unknown lay practitioners to emerging Western-born teachers (e.g., Bonnie Myotai Treace and Enkyo Pat O'Hara) as well as the well known and prolific (e.g., the Dalai Lama, Jack Kornfield, and Thich Nhat Hanh). Readers will find their own favorites, discovering new authors and stimulating further reading, and may even experience an epiphany or two. This reviewer found the overall compilation (even his usual favorites, the personal accounts) less inspiring than previous editions. Nevertheless, several favorites did emerge, including Pico Iyer's "Heart of the Dalai Lama," Brian Haycock's "Dharma Road," Susan Moon's "This Is Getting Old," and Rodney Smith's "Undivided Mind."