Why do things happen the way they do in our lives? How do we create the causes for a happy life? The Buddhist practice of mind training gives us the answer to these questions: it involves overcoming our self-centered attitude and replacing it with an attitude that cherishes others. This, in turn, leads us to act in ways that naturally lead away from suffering and toward happiness—in short, to create good karma. Thubten Chodron offers a commentary on one of the great Tibetan Buddhist poems, The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, which shows, clearly and practically, how to eliminate the causes of anxiety, fear, and depression and to create the causes of joyful liberation for oneself and all others.

Good Karma, Thubten Chodron, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 253 pages, 2016, $16.95

Venerable THUBTEN CHODRON taught in Los Angeles city schools before she became a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977. She has studied closely under the Dalai Lama and many other illustrious teachers in India and Nepal. She is founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey in Newport, Washington, one of the few Buddhist monasteries in the United States. Active in interfaith dialogue and prison work, she is the author of numerous books.

Contents: Good Karma: How to Create the Causes of Happiness and Avoid the Causes of Suffering
Preface	ix
1. Sick as a Dog: Generating Our Motivation	1
2. The World We Swim In: The Buddhist Worldview	7
3. Brave Peacocks and Cowardly Crows: Assessing Our Worldview	23
4. The Wheel of Destructive Karma: Understanding and Transforming Difficulties	43
5. Woe Is Me: Dealing with Sickness, Laziness, and Distraction	69
6. Don't Create Problems for Yourself: Overcoming Spiritual Obstacles	83
7. Seize the Enemy: Identifying Self-Grasping Ignorance and the Self-Centered Attitude	111
8. Dance and Trample: Overcoming the Internal Enemies	119
9. Integrity and Responsibility: Banishing - Self-Centeredness	143
10. Pain in the Neck: Overcoming Attachment to Praise and Reputation	165
11. Safe at Last: Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels and Cultivating Strong Resolve	185
12. Compassionate Action: Becoming the Person We Want to Be	197
13. Growing Our Wisdom: Emptiness and Dependent Arising	217
14. Colophon and Conclusion: Expressing Our Gratitude	251
Recommended Reading	255