"Engaged Buddhism" is a western term, but the ideal of serving others and the earth has been part of Buddhist life for 2,500 years. Just as one seeks Enlightenment so they can help all sentient beings, one must grow engaged Buddhism within themselves to make a happier and healthier world. You can volunteer at your local hospice, but if you are still driving a gas-guzzling SUV, wearing clothes from manufacturers that utilize child labor, or eating meat, you are no closer to emancipation from samsara than if you were doing nothing. And that's what Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism is really about - using the ethics of Buddhism to guide every facet of your life to be a better person, which in turn creates a better world.

Mindfulness in the Marketplace is a truly well-done and fascinating work. Its wide-ranging topics include Buddhist economics, globalization, manhood and material possession, social transformation, Buddhism and poverty, Zen and money, modern-day slavery and the chocolate industry, domination and overconsumption, the spiritual basis of consumption - in fact, consumption is covered from all angles - and much more. There is a wonderful chapter by Bo Lozoff of the Human Kindness Foundation on the imbalance of career over family, and two perfectly suited companion chapters on "Voluntary Simplicity" by Duane Elgin and "Toward Dematerialization" by Rolf Jucker. Even the oft-taboo topic of "turning [Western] Buddhism into a commodity" is discussed.

For the purposes of this VeggieDharma.Org review (the site this review was originally written for), I was interested in the topic of vegetarianism. There are a few vague references to vegetarianism throughout the book, and a compassionate heart will find vegetarianism/veganism to be one of the end effects of many of these essays, but it isn't until Thich Nhat Hanh's chapter, "Looking Deeply at the Nutriments," that the topic is discussed. In Nhat Hanh's usual, clear style, his compassionate plea is undeniable. Later in the book, the devastation of meat-eating and the benefits of vegetarianism are brought to bear by Kate Lawrence, assistant director of the Colorado Community of Mindful Living, in her chapter "Nourishing Ourselves, Nourishing Others: How Mindful Food Choices Reduce Suffering." In these pages, Ms. Lawrence delves into vegetarianism based on the First, Second and Fifth Precepts, the ideal of Right Livelihood, and dispels the confusion over the "killed especially for you" guise that many meat-eaters use as a defense. No compassionate, engaged Buddhist can continue to eat the flesh of animals after reading this chapter.

There are a few lists in this book, questions to consider before you buy something, do something, or make a decision - "will this benefit my family or community," "will this harm the environment," things like that - and the book's editor, Allan Hunt Badiner, along with John Seed and Ruth Rosenhek, close out Mindfulness in the Marketplace with just such a list. Entitled "Personal Planetary Practices," this eight-point manifesto is not only an excellent wrap-up of the book, but it provides an excellent jumping off point for one's own engaged Buddhist - personal and worldly - practice. And point number two? "Aware of the damage to the natural systems of the Earth and the suffering inflicted on animal species from a meat-based diet, we are committed to avoid the purchase and consumption of animal products." Wonderful!

There are a couple of weak chapters in this book (you'll know `em when you read `em), but a few pages out of 300+ shouldn't deter you from making Mindfulness in the Marketplace the first book you read in your quest for engaged Buddhism.

This book was different than I expected it to be, but definitely better. I thought it was going to be full of tips on how to avoid consumerism and over consumption, but it's more than that. The book is a compilation of writers who are writing on the same topic, but all stories are unique. So instead of getting one opinion on how to change, you are given a story or set of facts and then from there you decipher what is the right way for you to react.
The book is interesting, thought provoking, and clarifying. Its for those who want to learn more about consious consumption, and for those who arent satisfied with the Capitalistic society we live in today. This book is for anyone who is interested in the topic. Its definitely not race, class, religious exclusive.
What good I have to say about this book will never do it justice, but it is truly amazing.