This is a small book that discusses the importance of having manners and being civil with others.

I like the topic of the three poisons and the six perfections.

There is a lot of comparisons between George Washington’s book on civility and the words of the Buddha.

Even though I am very interested in the subject matter, I had a hard time getting into this book.

I had to start it several times before I was able to finish it.

I am not sure what the author could have done to make it more interesting for me.

Thank you to Netflix and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book.
It contains the ancient writings of a buddha and how these teachings impacted a very wise man who wanted to stay a student: President George Washington.
It seems that many great men look backwards and try to be guided by tried and true paths of integrity and morality. President Washington chose the Buddha, Sakyamuni.

Robert Sachs guides us through both the teachings of the ancient wise teacher and our first President. This is not an easy read even for those of us familiar with Buddhism but it is a fascinating read. It gave me new admiration for George Washington and his humility.

This is a nice companion for anyone interested in how our leaders use whatever "counsel" they can in order to be a good leader and a good person. It can help us to aspire to be better person.

The Path of Civility by Robert Sachs

9781789044386

128 Pages
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing / O-Books
Release Date: August 28, 2020

Nonfiction, Mind & Body, Politics, Buddhism, George Washington, Manners

The book has the following chapters.

Introduction – The Hurdy Gurdy Man; The Age of Enlightenment; Civility as a Path and the Layout of this Book

Chapter One: Civility, Passion, and Compassion – Basic Goodness; The Three Poisons; Beings of Passion; A Survival State of Mind; Digital Communication; The Speed of Life; Passion, Love, and Compassion

Chapter Two: Wisdom, Compassion, and Civil Action – Prescence and the Six Perfections; Time and Timing; Tone, Morality, and the Four Levels of Compassion; Skillful Means and Wisdom; The Five Steps to Wise Action; The Four Levels of Compassion Expounded; Civil Disobedience

Chapter Three: Proper Speech and Civil Dialogue

Chapter Four: Mind Training and Civility – Tong Len Meditation: The Practice of Taking and Sending

Chapter Five: The Rules of Civility

Appendix: Mind Training Slogans

This is a small book that discusses the importance of having manners and being civil with others. I like the topic of the three poisons and the six perfections. There is a lot of comparisons between George Washington’s book on civility and the words of the Buddha. Even though I am very interested in the subject matter, I had a hard time getting into this book. I had to start it several times before I was able to finish it. I am not sure what the author could have done to make it more interesting for me.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I admit in my joy at joining NetGalley I may have been overzealous in my requesting numbers. As this book has already been published, I am choosing to work on the current upcoming publish date books in my que. As I complete those I will work on my backlogged request and will provide a review at that time. I again send my sincere thanks and apologies.

The book's got good ideas, but felt like they could've been expounded way more, the author cramming a lot of information and thus seeming to just skim an idea rather than go in depth with the explanations. This then made for a rather heavy and cumbersome read - it's a relatively short book, but it took me a long time to wade through as the language isn't really the flowing kind and feels very stilted and strongly classical overall.

This is an interesting book but I’m not convinced it holds together as a single thesis. The author believes we are living in a time predicted by the Buddha that humans will be at their worst. And if we take on board the ethics and enlightened thinking of George Washington, then we would all be better off. I think the timing of the book is excellent as the world spirals in a cauldron of fake news and nastiness on social media.

Mr Sachs says:-
Three poisons of our mind and emotions: namely Ignorance, Attachment and Aggression. Basically, we do not understand fully the world around us. We get attached to a limited and limiting point of view. And we get aggressive or defensive in holding to that view. If we reflect on our experience and are honest with ourselves, each one of us can identify and see these poisons at work in our lives.

The book is about how to transform those poisons within our lives to adapt to an awakened state. I learned from this book and I will try to be more self aware even though I already try not to become entrenched in my own views. But I think my problem with the book is that the people I feel should read it - naming no names within the world political spectrum - won’t, because they would never see a connection between politics and Buddhism, and the people who do pick it up - like me - might be already aware of the danger of defensiveness in a discussion. I think I am confused as to its audience. The book is well written and does have some fascinating insights.

I was given a copy of the book by Netgalley in return for an honest review

I received this through Netgalley.


There are some good tidbits in this book but it seems too forced. The idea of civility and etiquette is a noble and needed one, especially in today's climate, but there are better books on that.

How are your manners?

Apparently George Washington, who founded an independent United States, believed that civility was one of the cornerstones for creating a fair and democratic society. He was a Freemason, which was infused with a spiritual idealism for a better society that may have Bern influenced by the ideas of Buddhism.

The Buddhist reformer Atisha also did, apparently he wrote extensively on how to be civil in all situations where negotiating with others - also on how to present yourself and what to do and not do at table.

In other words, Atisha wrote extensively on the dos and donts of etiquette. This book provides a commentary on many of his ideas.

However, this book tries to look beyond the need for most of us to modify our natural individual expression to become socially scrubbed and acceptable, to why it may matter.

The Buddha apparently predicted a period in time where humanity would be at their worst. In view of what is happening in the States and elsewhere, it seems the writer sees us as having arrived at this time right now, ocial media and technology creating more problems exponentially.

A better understanding of civility may help with all kinds of social interaction and perhaps at the end of the day, all of this is no more than sheer common sense.

Unnecessary conflict and hostilities can be avoided, better relationships at work and at home may also be possible, where others are more present, less distracted.

No doubt improving negotiating skills, teamwork skills, using discrete language, learning how to discuss neutral topics, are the 21st Century way of recognising that social skills really can and do make a difference.

So this is about something recognised then and now - these are skills and they can be learnt and applied.

This weird mash up of George Washington and the Buddha doesn't really hold up in the age of Black Lives Matter. The tie ins seem forced and there are better books out there about ethics and self help.