Not Turning Away

The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh coined the term engaged Buddhism during the Vietnam War to demonstrate that Buddhism should not be passive or otherworldly, but on the contrary, that Buddhists should be deeply, compassionately involved in every aspect of society where suffering arises. The movement has grown in popularity, particularly in the United States, due to the huge growth in Buddhist practice in recent years. NOT TURNING AWAY is a treasury of writings from the magazine that is the primary forum for engaged Buddhism in America and elsewhere: TURNING WHEEL: THE JOURNAL OF THE BUDDHIST PEACE FELLOWSHIP. For twenty- five years, the thought- provoking articles in TURNING WHEEL have provided a virtual history of the engaged Buddhism movement, characterized by an emphasis on practical activism, theory, and on reports written "from the trenches" of social change work. In bringing together the best of these articles, NOT TURNING AWAY provides a history of the movement, an analysis of its underlying principles, and inspiring practical examples of real people's experiences in putting spiritual practice to the test on the personal, national, and global levels. The breathtaking range of topics- from political oppression, to animal rights, prison work, disability, racism, gay issues, poverty, class, nonviolence, forgiveness, sexual abuse, the student- teacher relationship, homelessness- demonstrates the applicability of Buddhist teaching to every concern of life.