What if joy isn't a destination—but your default?
A Buddhist Path to Joy, an expanded edition of The New Middle Way, is a warm, practical guide to living Buddhism in real life—without gatekeeping, perfectionism, or getting lost in jargon. Mel Pine offers a fresh middle way between over-secularized mindfulness and ossified tradition, so regular folks can actually wake up.
Inside you'll find:
- Simple practices you'll actually do: 2-10 minute meditations, metta, awareness of mind
- Grown-up ethics: skillful, flexible precepts that reduce harm (no moral grandstanding)
- Clear guidance on teachers and sanghas—with real-world red-flag radar
- A Rime (nonsectarian) spirit: go deep in one path, stay open to others
- A friendly take on Pure Land, chanting, and deity practice—no litmus tests
- Science-meets-spirit curiosity (quantum strangeness, mind-first models, even AI)
- Lived wisdom: trauma, loss, aging, and returning to joy—again and again
You'll learn to:
- "Pull out the arrows" of needless suffering—here and now
- Rest in awareness and make friends with your mind
- Act from compassion with confidence ("vajra pride")—not self-importance
- Be "enlightened enough for where you are"
If you've ever thought, "There has to be a saner way," this book hands you the compass. One breath. One kinder choice. One moment of awareness. And then another.
For seekers, skeptics, and seasoned practitioners ready for a grounded, open, human path to joy.
