Zen Heart: Simple Advice for Living with Mindfulness and Compassion

Description

Ezra Bayda's gift for taking Zen teaching and relating it to every aspect of life has made his books popular even with people who aren't Buddhists. It's not that he's non-traditional-he's very firmly planted in the Zen tradition - it's just that the teaching is so clear and useful that it transcends religious boundaries. Here Ezra continues in the mode of his books like "Being Zen" to show how spiritual practice works in everyday life. He breaks spiritual practice down into three basic stages: The Me-phase - uncovering our most basic and tightly held beliefs about ourselves, observing our emotional reactions and patterns of behaviour, and becoming intimate with our fears. Being-Awareness - cultivating a larger sense of what life is, going beyond the basic awareness of the sensory world to transform the narrow experience into a more spacious sense of being. Being-Kindness - connecting with the love and kindness that are our true nature, and beginning to live from that joyful and compassionate place. The phases enrich each other to create a practice that works no matter what the complexities of your circumstances.

Ezra Bayda teaches at Zen Center San Diego. He is also the author of Being Zen, At Home in the Muddy Water, Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts), and Zen Heart. For more information, visit www.zencentersandiego.org.

"Bayda writes with exceptional clarity and simplicity about the awakened life. His style is as plain spoken as Pema Choedroen's."-Publishers Weekly "This book is like a personal retreat. I'd like to read it once a year. It has the best of the Zen spirit-not indulging but experiencing every ounce of life, good and bad. You will have to read closely, because the lessons are more difficult than they appear. At the same time it is a beautifully simple reflection on what it means to be, rather than to try to be. I'm certain of its wisdom because it is not there to be grasped and celebrated. The wisdom is all in the spaces, the pauses, and the wonderment."-Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and A Life at Work "A clear and comprehensive guide to life transformation. Readers will find down-to-earth advice and effective practices for going beyond basic fears and conditioning to live a more awakened and openhearted life."-Dennis Genpo Merzel, Roshi, author of Big Mind, Big Heart: Finding Your Way