APN18 - Goodness Gardens

The book tells the story of Julian Mantle, a successful but stressed lawyer who suffers a heart attack and decides to leave his luxurious life behind to find meaning and balance in the Himalayan Mountains. There, he learns seven virtues from the Sages of Sivana, which he later shares with his former colleague, John. The book provides a grounding in core concepts of spirituality and self-improvement, drawing on Buddhist beliefs and practices like meditation and accepting each moment as it comes, but is written for secular readers. It emphasizes the importance of inner peace, the interconnectedness of all life, and living a peaceful, healthy, and fulfilling life.

In this book, Pema Chödrön provides essential tools for dealing with life's difficulties, teaching how to awaken basic human goodness and connect deeply with others. She emphasizes the importance of staying present, accepting ourselves and others with faults and imperfections, and overcoming the strategies of the ego that resist life as it is. The book advocates for mindfulness and meditation practices, such as metta and tonglen, to transform fear and pain into joy and compassion.