Every aspect of our daily activities can be a part of spiritual practice if done with compassion--and this compact guide offers wisdom from the Buddhist tradition on how eating mindfully can nourish the mind as well as the body.

Thubten Chodron, abbess of Sravasti Abbey in Washington state, shows us that eating and activities related to it--preparation of food, offering and consuming it, and cleaning up afterward--can contribute to awakening and to increased kindness and care toward others. Chodron offers traditional Buddhist teachings and specific practices used at the Abbey, along with advice for taking the principles into our own home in order to make the sharing of food a spiritual intention for anyone. By eating consciously and mindfully--and by including certain rituals--we find ourselves less obsessive about food and can enjoy our meals more.
Compassionate Kitchen: Buddhist Practices for Eating with Mindfulness and Gratitude, Thubten Chodron, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 160 pp, $14.95

Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, one of the first Tibetan Buddhist training monasteries for Western nuns and monks in the US. She graduated from UCLA, and did graduate work in education at USC. Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977, she has studied extensively with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, and Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche. She received full ordination as a bhikshuni in 1986.

Ven. Chodron teaches worldwide and is known for her practical (and humorous!) explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and is currently co-authoring with His Holiness the Dalai Lama a multi-volume series of teachings on the Buddhist path, The Library of Wisdom and Compassion. The first volume, Approaching the Buddhist Path, was published August 2017. Visit thubtenchodron.org for a media library of her teachings, and sravasti.org to learn more about Sravasti Abbey.

Preface	vii
1. Eating as Spiritual practice: An Introduction to Food at Sravasti Abbey	1
2. The Taste of Altruism: Our Motivation for Eating	13
3. The Main Course: The Actual Offering	27
4. Dinner Table Dharma: Family Meals	55
5. Mindful Eating	61
6. Eating without Harm	69
7. After-Dinner Mints: Dedications and Reflections	73
8. Eating in Moderation with Self-kAcceptance	103
9. Buddhist Precepts and Customs regarding Food	107
10. Healing Our Dis-ease about Food	115
Notes	129
Glossary	133
About the Author and Sravasti Abbey	137