Every aspect of our daily activities can be a part of spiritual practice if done with compassion--and this compact guide offers wisdom from the Buddhist tradition on how eating mindfully can nourish the mind as well as the body.

Thubten Chodron, abbess of Sravasti Abbey in Washington state, shows us that eating and activities related to it--preparation of food, offering and consuming it, and cleaning up afterward--can contribute to awakening and to increased kindness and care toward others. Chodron offers traditional Buddhist teachings and specific practices used at the Abbey, along with advice for taking the principles into our own home in order to make the sharing of food a spiritual intention for anyone. By eating consciously and mindfully--and by including certain rituals--we find ourselves less obsessive about food and can enjoy our meals more.

Compassionate Kitchen: Buddhist Practices for Eating with Mindfulness and Gratitude, Thubten Chodron, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 160 pp, $14.95

Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977, Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey. Sravasti Abbey is the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Westerners in the US and holds gender equality, social engagement, and care for the environment amongst its core values. Ven. Chodron teaches worldwide and is known for her practical (and humorous!) explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also actively involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and has coauthored a book�Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions�with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with whom she has studied for nearly forty years.

Preface	vii
1. Eating as Spiritual practice: An Introduction to Food at Sravasti Abbey	1
2. The Taste of Altruism: Our Motivation for Eating	13
3. The Main Course: The Actual Offering	27
4. Dinner Table Dharma: Family Meals	55
5. Mindful Eating	61
6. Eating without Harm	69
7. After-Dinner Mints: Dedications and Reflections	73
8. Eating in Moderation with Self-kAcceptance	103
9. Buddhist Precepts and Customs regarding Food	107
10. Healing Our Dis-ease about Food	115
Notes	129
Glossary	133
About the Author and Sravasti Abbey	137