At one time or another, most of us have experienced an all-consuming desire for a material object, a desire so strong that it seems like we couldn't possibly be happy without buying this thing. Yet, when we give in to this impulse, we often find ourselves feeling frustrated and empty. Advertisers, of course, aim to hook us in this way, and, from a global perspective, our tendency to get hooked fuels the rampant over-consumption that is having a devastating impact on the world's stability and on the environment.

According to the contributors to this unique anthology, Buddhism can shed valuable light on our compulsions to consume. Craving and attachment how they arise and how to free ourselves of them are central themes of Buddhist thought. The writings in this volume, most of which have never been previously published, offer fresh perspectives and much-needed correctives to our society's tendency to believe that having more will make us happier.

Hooked! includes a range of writings on how to apply Buddhist thought and ethics to understand and combat the problem of over-consumption as individuals and collectively. Contributors include popular Western teachers, Asian masters, scholars, and practitioners such as:


Pema Chodron what is actually happening at the moment we're "hooked," and how to get beyond that.
Joseph Goldstein how mindfulness training can help us stop "wanting to want."
Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron how consumer mentality influences spiritual practice.
Judith Simmer-Brown on how cultivating spiritually based activism and compassionate action can help us address the negative effects of consumerism.
Rita Gross on how understanding moderation can curb overconsumption.
Santikaro Bhikkhu on practicing generosity in a consumer world.

Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume, Shambhala, Paperback, 2005, 288 pp., $16.95

Stephanie Kaza is an associate professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont, where she teaches environmental ethics, international environmental studies, religion and ecology, radical environmentalism, and nature writing.

Foreword	vii
Introduction	1
Getting Hooked: Desire and Attachment
Desire, Delusion, and DVDs	17
How We Get Hooked, How We Get Unhooked	27
The Inner Pursuit of Happiness	34
Young Buddhists in Shopping Shangri-la	49
Marketing the Dharma	63
You Are What You Download	76
Practicing with Desire: Using Buddhist Tools
Cultivating the Wisdom Gaze	89
No River Bigger than Tanha	104
Taming the "I Want" Mind	122
Penetrating the Tangle	139
Form and Elegance with Just Enough	152
Consuming Time	166
Buddhist Ethics of Consumption
Three Robes Is Enough	183
Practicing Generosity in a Consumer World	198
Wash Your Bowls	214
Green Power in Contemporary Japan	225
Mutual Correction	237
Notes	251
Contributors	269