Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution

By David R. Loy

• What's Wrong with Sex?
• How to Drive Your Karma
• Consciousness Commodified
• The Karma of Food
• The Three Poisons, Institutionalized
• Why We Love War

These are just some of the chapters in this brilliant book from David R. Loy.

In little time, Loy has become one of the most powerful advocates of the Buddhist worldview, explaining like no one else its ability to transform the sociopolitical landscape of the modern world.

In this, his most accessible work to date, he offers sharp and even shockingly clear presentations of oft-misunderstood Buddhist staples-the working of karma, the nature of self, the causes of trouble on both the individual and societal levels-and the real reasons behind our collective sense of "never enough," whether it's time, money, sex, security... even war.

Loy's "Buddhist Revolution" is nothing less than a radical change in the ways we can approach our lives, our planet, the collective delusions that pervade our language, culture, and even our spirituality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Release date: Mar 10, 2008
• ISBN: 9780861719655

Reviews for Money, Sex, War, Karma

[onthequest · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was more impressed by the early chapters of this book than its conclusion. I had a couple of moments of clarity brought about by Loy's description of some of the more difficult concepts/non-concepts in Buddhism, particularly regarding non-self, arising, and emptiness. I think that Loy points to a number of essential pieces in our understanding of the ways in which people interact around issues of power and control. But like many cases with a primarily structural analysis of the institutions of power, he deftly highlights the flaws, and calls our attention to the need to create new structures, but in the end provides us with few tools to bring about change outside of ourselves and our fellow meditators. I also found his treatment of sex to be superficial, although this reflects a still troubled relationship with body that is not new to me in Buddhist teachings. I will suggest to the author that West-meets-East really needs to take a better look at feminism-meets-patriarchy to better address our ambivalence at the fact of being consciouness embodied.I would recommend this book regardless as a component of cultural awakening and an exceptional example of both structural anlysis of power and Buddhism-meets-western philosophy.