Ayya Khema explores twelve short extracts from the vast collection of Buddhist teachings, encouraging us to take an honest look at ourselves. If we can take this step, we may find we suffer from anger, fear, and greed, but we may also discover the seeds of contentment and inner peace. Ayya Khema, author of Being Nobody, Going Nowhere, exhorts us to use awareness, reflection, and meditation, the simple tools for change prescribed by the Buddha 2,500 years ago. Training our mind in this way, we can release ourselves from the grip of negative emotions and enjoy the benefits of greater joy and confidence.

Come and See for Yourself: The Buddhist Path to Happiness , Ayya Khema, Windhorse Publications, 2001, 197 pages, Paperback, $15.95

 Ven. Ayya Khema was born into a Jewish family in Berlin in 1923. After leading an active life in the world--including marriage and children in America and adventure in South America, Asia and Australia--she turned seriously to spiritual practice in her forties. In 1979, she was ordained a Theravadin Buddhist nun, receiving the name khema, meaning "safety and security" (ayya means "sister"). Ayya Khema established a forest monastery near Sidney, Australia; a training center for nuns in Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Buddha-Haus, a meditation center in the Allgäu, Germany. Among her books are When the Iron Eagle Flies; Being Nobody, Going Nowhere; and Who is My Self?; and an autobiography, I Give You My Life. She passed away in 1997.