"Joan Halifax is a clearheaded and fearless traveler and in this book...she offers us a map of how to travel courageously and fruitfully, for our own benefit and the benefit of all beings." -From the foreword by Rebecca Solnit Standing at the Edge is an evocative examination of how we can respond to suffering, live our fullest lives, and remain open to the full spectrum of our human experience.Joan Halifax has enriched thousands of lives around the world through her work as a humanitarian, a social activist, an anthropologist, and as a Buddhist teacher. Over many decades, she has also collaborated with neuroscientists, clinicians, and psychologists to understand how contemplative practice can be a vehicle for social transformation. Through her unusual background, she developed an understanding of how our greatest challenges can become the most valuable source of our wisdom-and how we can transform our experience of suffering into the power of compassion for the benefit of others.Halifax has identified five psychological territories she calls Edge States-altruism, empathy, integrity, respect, and engagement-that epitomize strength of character. Yet each of these states can also be the cause of personal and social suffering. In this way, these five psychological experiences form edges, and it is only when we stand at these edges that we become open to the full range of our human experience and discover who we really are. Recounting the experiences of caregivers, activists, humanitarians, politicians, parents, and teachers, incorporating the wisdom of Zen traditions and mindfulness practices, and rooted in Halifax's groundbreaking research on compassion, Standing at the Edge is destined to become a contemporary classic. A powerful guide on how to find the freedom we seek for others and ourselves, it is a book that will serve us all.

Foreword by Rebecca SolnitA VIEW FROM THE EDGEEdge StatesVast ViewInterdependenceFutility and Courage1. ALTRUISMI. At the High Edge of AltruismSelf, Selfish, or Selfless?Forgetting the SelfII. Falling over the Edge of Altruism: Pathological AltruismHelp that HarmsHealthy or Not?Fire LotusAltruism BiasIII. Altruism and the Other Edge StatesIV. Practices That Support AltruismPracticing Not-KnowingPracticing Bearing WitnessCompassionate ActionV. Discovery at the Edge of AltruismThe Wooden Puppet and the Wounded HealerLove2. EMPATHYI. At the High Edge of EmpathySomatic EmpathyEmotional EmpathyCognitive EmpathyTake a KneeThroughout the Body, Hands, and EyesII. Falling over the Edge of Empathy: Empathic DistressEmpathy Is Not CompassionEmpathic ArousalEmotional Blunting and BlindnessBetween Gift and InvasionIII. Empathy and the Other Edge StatesIV. Practices that Support EmpathyDeep ListeningStewarding EmpathyThe Practice of RehumanizationV. Discovery at the Edge of Empathy3. INTEGRITYI. Standing at the High Edge of IntegrityMoral Nerve and Radical OptimismLiving by VowII. Falling over the Edge of Integrity: Moral SufferingMoral DistressThe Pain of Moral InjuryMoral Outrage and the Stickiness of Anger and DisgustMoral Apathy and the Death of the HeartIII. Integrity and the Other Edge StatesIV. Practices That Support IntegrityExpanding the Circle of InquiryVows to Live ByPracticing GratefulnessV. Discovery at the Edge of Integrity4. RESPECTI. Standing at the High Edge of RespectRespect for Others, Principles, and OurselvesTwo Hands TogetherWashing the Feet of OthersWater Is LifeII. Falling over the Edge of Respect: DisrespectBullyingHorizontal HostilityInternalized OppressionVertical ViolencePower With and Power OverStripped of DignityAngulimalaCauses and EffectsIII. Respect and the Other Edge StatesIV. Practices that Support RespectThe Drama TriangleThe Five Gatekeepers of SpeechExchanging Self with OtherV. Discovery at the Edge of Respect5. ENGAGEMENTI. At the High Edge of EngagementEnergy, Involvement, EfficacyThe Gift of BusynessII. Falling over the Edge of Engagement: BurnoutWho Burns Out?Addicted to BusynessDrinking the Poison of Work StressIII. Engagement and the Other Edge StatesIV. Practices That Support EngagementWork Practice Practicing Right LivelihoodNo Work PracticeV. Discovery at the Edge of EngagementPlayConnection6. COMPASSION AT THE EDGEI. Survival of the KindestScience and CompassionII. Three Faces of CompassionReferential CompassionInsight-Based CompassionNon-Referential CompassionAsanga and the Red DogIII. The Six PerfectionsIV. Compassion's EnemiesThe Arithmetic of CompassionFalling In and Out of CompassionV. Mapping CompassionCompassion Is Made of Non-Compassion ElementsVI. Compassion PracticePracticing GRACEVII. Compassion in the Charnel GroundHarrowing from HellThe Magic MirrorAcknowledgmentsNotes