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Book Club Discussion | Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Each month, the Shambhala employees gather to discuss a new book as part of our Shambhala Publications Book Club. After each meeting, we will be sharing the notes from our discussion with you to spark your own thoughts and conversations. Our October pick was Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice by -
Talking with Jan Chozen Bays About Mindful Eating
Food: A Way to Contentedness and Connection An interview on the publication of the expanded edition of her book Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food By Dave O'Neal Shambhala: What, in a nutshell, is “mindful eating”? Jan Chozen Bays: Mindful eating is deliberately paying full attention to what you are eating -
A Walk with Dogen into Our Time
In 1954 poet Allen Ginsberg wrote a poem called “Song” that acknowledges the weight of our human circumstance and suffering in a particular and somewhat unusual way. I believe it may also provide a gateway to the following writings by Zen master Eihei Dogen, who addressed the nature of reality as he came to understand the world of people and things through his lifetime practice of Zen.
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Haiku: A Reader’s Guide
Also see our Reader's Guide to Buddhist Poetry. Many know haiku as a three-line poem, the first and last lines five syllables long, and the second line, seven. But there is much more to what defines haiku, elements more subtle than prescribed syllable counts or line breaks. In fact, Japanese haiku are typically written in -
Samurai and Japanese Culture Reader’s Guide: The Works of Master Translator and Author William Scott Wilson
One of the greatest joys for me as an editor at Shambhala Publications is when I work on books by people I have long admired. This was most definitely the case when Shambhala had the good fortune to become William Scott Wilson’s publisher several years ago. I first encountered his work when I was a -
Samurai Wisdom Stories: The Archery Contest
With the introduction of firearms, the art of bow shooting was in danger of disappearing. However, this art was one of the principal disciplines of bushido, the Way of the Samurai. As a means of keeping this tradition alive, the annual Toshiya archery contest was instituted. The site of the contest was a temple in -
Mad Monk: An Excerpt from Zen Confidential
A lot of pissed-off people wind up at our monastery. This place has a tractor beam like the Death Star's in Star Wars that pulls in anyone within a thousand-mile radius with a four-letter word on the tip of his or her tongue. Her marriage tanked; he's got an itch in his brain he just -
Hidden Treasure - The Poetry of Zen
The Poetry of Zen Edited by Sam Hamill and J P Seaton This exquisite little book is a delight to hold and look at. It's even more delightful when you start to read the poetic articulations of enlightenment it contains. So, although it looks great in your hand, don't neglect opening it up! For more -
Hidden Treasure - Waking Up to What You Do
Waking Up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation with Intelligence and Compassion By Diane Eshin Rizzetto If you think of the Precepts as a sort of Buddhist Ten Commandments, Diane Rizzetto may change your view. She sees the precepts as, above all, a practice. Rather than keeping your behavior in -
Hidden Treasure - Mountain Record of Zen Talks
Mountain Record of Zen Talks By John Daido Loori This book, now more than a quarter-century old, is one of the best ways to get acquainted with the late esteemed Zen master John Daido Loori (1931-2009). He was a lineage holder in both Soto (a dharma heir of Taizan Maezumi) and Rinzai schools, and
