MeKoan’s blog

As an unorthodox, unaffiliated Buddhist, I try to live my life according to the Buddha's teachings.  I fail more than I succeed but it's good to know where the path is so that I can return when I find myself wandering around in the forest of thorny ego and prickly desire. 

This path, as we know, has eight basic instructions on what to cultivate:  Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.  (I had to look these up which is rather sad given the number of years I have been studying Buddhism but I once saw the wise and delightful Robert Thurman give a talk in which he confessed to being unable to recall them much of the time so I'm ok with that.  In fact, having anything at all in common with Bob Thurman can only be a good thing.)

Anyway, there I was filling out the book section of my Vox profile and I discovered that the books are located and posted to Vox by Amazon.  Hmmmm.  I don't really want to encourage anyone to shop on Amazon for so many reasons not the least being that I believe getting out, if one can, and going to a little shop is good for everyone concerned from producer to shopper.  I debated not posting books but these are good and honourable books which should not be penalized by the state of modern commerce or my inability to figure out just what constitutes Right Shopping.

I know how to follow the precepts when I buy coffee.  I go to a local, independent coffee shop which serves only Fair Trade coffee.  I know how to follow the precepts when I need to buy a gift for someone.  I go to my local Tibetan shop and buy some incense or a lovely scarf or I could go to a Ten Thousand Villages store or, online, to the Hunger Site where you can find amazing and beautiful objects from all over the world, check out their origins and support their creators.  But, how does one follow the precepts when shopping for books in a world where the small book retailer is disappearing faster than Canadian Salmon?

The books I have just listed now are all related to Buddhism and many are by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  Does the importance of the message cancel out any negative karma Amazon may be generating on my behalf?  Should we even have a paper based book trade in a world of disappearing trees?  If His Holiness writes a book, who am I to say... well, anything at all? 

Should I give my books away once read in order to spare a tree, a little carbon and provide another with something I have found valuable?  I'm not proud to say, I have a terrible fierce attachment to my books.  Ironically, I could more easily give away all but the Buddhist books.  I have a memory like a steel sieve and I can read and reread books again and again... but, this has the ring of rationalization about it, don't you think?  I can also justify what is really just selfishness by saying that writers make very little for their toil and that some I have listed contribute much to the world which is supported by book sales so we should all buy a copy.   Or not.  I'm so confused!

Would "Right" book shopping take all, or any, of the above into account?

Anyone?