Unbroken Wholeness: Six Pathways to the Beloved Community

(Paperback)

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Distilling a lifetime's insights on the triangle of healing emotional pain, social justice work, and spiritual growth, veteran activist and educator John Bell shares personal stories and reflective practices to help us on our path of personal and collective transformation Unbroken Wholeness brings an integrated lens of social justice, trauma healing, and spiritual practice to the work we do in the world and the pressing concerns of our times. Collectively, these writings help us access a view of the world as unbroken, even in the face of obvious suffering and disharmony. With searching questions and easy-to-follow practices, Unbroken Wholeness offers a way for activists to apply mindfulness and insight to bring about healing for seemingly intractable social divisions. "Skillfully handling our emotional pain about the world while cultivating a joyful and kind heart helps us navigate the troubled waters of our life," says John Bell. Continuing the peace work of his teacher, the Vietnamese social activist and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, John Bell brings forward the importance of cultivating a practical yet visionary, ennobling view of humankind when engaging in the "mud" of daily difficulties that gives rise to the lotus of an enlightened, compassionate heart.

Reviews

This book will change many lives. It is the result of a life deeply and courageously lived. It offers powerful stories and practices that will help readers move more and more toward healing and unlocking their inherent wholeness and power. These teachings will take us closer to realizing the Beloved Community we all yearn for.
Kaira Jewel Lingo, author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons on Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption

Wow. With a holistic vision breathtaking in scope, John Bell shares his own heart and path. He enables each of us to see ourselves experiencing personal power and healing, all while contributing to transformation of life on Earth. Beautiful and powerful! Soothing yet strong!
Frances Moore Lapp, author of Diet for a Small Planet and (coauthored with Adam Eichen) Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want

We live in urgent times, facing multiple and overlapping crisis of climate change, racial and political polarization, economic inequities, gun violence, and much more. We can lose sight of the beauty and fragility of this human life and the world around us. We can forget the powerful legacies and inspirational voices like Thich Nhat Hanh and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In Unbroken Wholeness, Dharma teacher John Bell illuminates the wisdom of Nhat Hanhs and Kings vision of Beloved Community and his own transformational life, weaving together a rich tapestry and a call to action grounded in the vulnerability of his lived experience and teachings on nonviolent social action, and more. This is a must-read for anyone seeking to do good, protect the planet, and transform racial and social injustice.
Valerie Brown, author of Hope Leans Forward: Braving Your Way toward Simplicity, Awakening, and Peace

True vision is building a bridge across the abyss in order to provide a pathway for others to find safe passage. John Bell is the embodiment of a visionary and a bridge-builder, offering us the courage and the practical ways to come home to ourselves and to life. Paradoxically, by delving deep into his own pain and suffering as well as the pain and suffering of the world, John has discovered profound joy and compassion. From this place, he offers us hope that the Beloved Community has the potential to be a dream come true.
Jo Confino, cohost of the podcast The Way Out Is In

How can we nurture and realize the Beloved Community that Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of We need good guides such as John Bell, and good guidebooks such as this one.
David Loy, author of Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis

John Bells roadmap to the Beloved Community is articulate, eloquent, comprehensive, heartfelt, and grounded in deep experience. Its the best invitation to the Buddhism of the future Ive ever read, weaving together profound insight, trauma-informed practice, and social action. A well-thumbed copy should be in every dharma center library and act as the guide to many Sangha discussion groups.
John Negru, author of Bodhisattva 4.0: A Primer for Engaged Buddhists

Author Bio

John Bell is a Buddhist Dharma teacher in Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village Tradition, and a direct student of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh since 1982. He offers retreats, and meditation courses, and has served on the boards of the climate justice initiative the Earth Holders Community, the racial justice initiative ARISE, and the North American Dharma Teachers Sangha. In his wider life, he has 40 years of experience in the youth field as teacher, counselor, community organizer, leadership trainer, director, and father. He is founding staff member of three youth leadership organizations- Youth Action Program (in 1978) in East Harlem; Children of War (in 1984), an international youth leadership organization; and of YouthBuild USA (in 1988). Until his retirement, John was the Vice President for Leadership Development at YouthBuild USA (www.youthbuild.org), an international nonprofit with 350 programs in 15 countries that works with young people who have dropped out of school and provides them with further education, vocational training building tangible community assets, and leadership skills. He is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant in the areas of youth leadership development, peer counseling and healing, and diversity. He lives near Boston.