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Rating: 
Summary: Enlightenment through relationships.
Review: As Geri Larkin's book illustrates, relationship issues are nothing new, and the ancient teachings of the Buddha are rich in wisdom on matters of the heart. Larkin is the author of several spiritual memoirs (FIRST YOU SHAVE YOUR HEAD) and a Zen teacher at the Still Point Buddhist Temple in Detroit. LOVE DHARMA is a relationship guide offering "relationship wisdom from enlightened Buddhist women" who, until now, have been largely unknown outside Buddhist academic circles (p. 5). As such, this is not so much a self-help book, as a collection of Theravadan stories of love, loss, and personal transformation offering us guidance on relationship issues such as "relationship rage" (pp. 53-78), jealousy (pp. 79-101), "the pull of an affair" (pp. 103-127), competition (pp. 129-151), surviving the loss of a lover to death or infidelity (pp. 153-180), the "gift of bone-deep loneliness" (pp. 181-199), and being alone (pp. 201-215). In returning again and again to the Buddha's four noble truths--that life brings with it suffering, that we suffer because we are always wanting something more, that there is a path out of suffering, and that path consists of deep morality mixed with attention to our lives (p. 4)--the simple, "Golden-Rule" teaching of Larkin's LOVE DHARMA is to "treat others as you would like to be treated" (p. 34).G. Merritt
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time and money
Review: I had high hopes for this book based on its great title, but the contents fall short. This is bascially a book about the author's personal view of love and relationships, and there are some irrelevant poems by ancient Buddhist nuns thrown in here and there (just a handful in the entire book.) The advice the author gives is not always the most enlightening, but fairly common-sense attitudes about how to deal with general relationship issues. That's why I give it two starts instead of just one. I highly suggest you save your money (and the paper used to print this book) and look for love advice elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: P'arang's books get better and better
Review: This is an excellent Buddhist companion to Cheri Huber's BE THE PERSON YOU WANT TO FIND for its wisdom on navigating relationships (or recovering from a tough one), sexuality, and being alone. Besides sound observations and two cents' worth of advice here and there, with a lot of valuable personal material, Larkin is providing another gift to western practitioners of Buddhism by bringing out old Buddhist stories about female practitioners. Where there is a real need for female models, Larkin has done her research (as well as her practice) and provided some wonderful material showcasing lesser-known Buddhist women in a tradition that has been decidedly male-centered. The two projects blend together into a distinctive and rich book. Very well done.
Rating:
Summary: P'arang's books get better and better
Review: This is an excellent Buddhist companion to Cheri Huber's BE THE PERSON YOU WANT TO FIND for its wisdom on navigating relationships (or recovering from a tough one), sexuality, and being alone. Besides sound observations and two cents' worth of advice here and there, with a lot of valuable personal material, Larkin is providing another gift to western practitioners of Buddhism by bringing out old Buddhist stories about female practitioners. Where there is a real need for female models, Larkin has done her research (as well as her practice) and provided some wonderful material showcasing lesser-known Buddhist women in a tradition that has been decidedly male-centered. The two projects blend together into a distinctive and rich book. Very well done.
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