Questions from the City, Answers from the Forest

"Simple Lessons You Can Use from a Buddhist Monk Why are we here? What is goodness? Is there any value in goodness that an ordinary person – the sort who can be lured into foolish behavior – can make use of in this world? Is there a God, and if so, can we depend upon Him or Her? These are the questions that plague the wakeful moments of a common man. A penetrating mind won’t find satisfaction in looking at these questions conventionally. These questions have to be seen from the bottom up, so to speak. In Questions from the City, Answers from the Forest, Buddhist monk and author Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu explores the human mind and the causes behind humankind’s suffering. Written on a well-traveled, battery-powered laptop in a meditation cave in Thailand, this distillation of Buddhist wisdom answers the questions of “city” people who sought out the Buddhist in his forest retreat to obtain his answers to life’s most basic questions. Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu is ordained in the Buddhist tradition of Ajahn Chah. Since 1998, he has been traveling throughout the world, leading retreats and spreading his dream of establishing a spiritual park outside of Bangkok that would bring together all the world’s religions in the spirit of unity and peace. He has written many books, including The Brightened Mind and Meeting the Monkey Halfway."