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Summary: So simple, yet so profound and powerful .
Review: This book has changed my life. Suffering deconstructed effectively. No riddles, no koans. Incisive, tough, human, compassionate. It works. Also recommended: "Thoughts without a Thinker" by Mark Epstein, not as simple, but explains the link between Zen and therapy
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Summary: Great if you know a little of Zen and Buddhism beforehand.
Review: Back in the early 80's I read a few very scholarly volumes about Zen. They were great at giving a total novice some idea of the formation and history of Zen. They were full of very strict admonishments, you must live very austere existence, live off almost nothing, and be almost perfect before you even begin. Twenty years on and I am interested again in Zen. This book is such a contrast to those early volumes. It teaches you that none of us are perfect, and each of us needs to move at a suitable pace for where we are now. It might be helpful if before reading this book you have some theoretical knowledge of how Zen came to be and what it's about, but I don't feel that is essential. If you are like me you will have decided you want to know about Zen or wish to begin practicing and you will find someone (a teacher) to help start you on the path, and they will recommend this book to you. The writer seems to know EXACTLY how I'm feeling and writes in a style that speaks to the inner me, rather than talking to all the perfect people I envisaged would be the only ones to take up Zen practice...i.e. she de-esoteric-orises the subject. She also sounds like she must have experienced the doubts, the hopes, and all the other up's and downs that we all go through. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Read it NOW
Review: breaks down every thought and emotion we have. It will help you realize the wrongs and that all the wrongs aren't bad as long as we do see them for what they are.
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Summary: I have found the right book on zen
Review: Dear readers, if you were drawn to this book as I was then you must also seek insight and a better quality of life. I have many books on Zen and books related to self-inquiry in general. Everything ranging from Thomas Cleary's translated classics to Allan Watts, D.T. Suzuki, Krishnamurti, to the mammoth book, Zen and the Brain. Not one of them spoke to me as intimately as this book did. This is wisdom for the people of our age. In some of the passages within this book, I found myself thinking "of course!! that makes so much sense!!" In summmarizing the book, its primary message is to just "live your life and do not seek the truth anywhere else." I especially admire Joko Beck's groundedness. She is not an egomaniac guru who puts herself upon a pedestal and challenges the words of other teachers. Her attitude is something like "Nothing to gain, nothing to lose. If you want to hear a little about the insight that I have then listen, if not, continue on to the next book. It's up to you." So if you have been searching as I have then please consider reading this book before spending another dollar on any Zen self-help book. I promise you that you will not be able to turn away from the priceless wisdom that are within these pages.
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Summary: excellent reading for all!
Review: great text for students of zen practice but also an amazing read for anyone NOT at all familiar with zen practice - sans the 'religious' spiritual overtones. this is an easy, flowing read with a lot of insightful observations and reminders that give the reader much to think about and consider on their journey! definitely a wonderful book for anyone :)
Rating:
Summary: excellent reading for all!
Review: great text for students of zen practice but also an amazing read for anyone NOT at all familiar with zen practice - sans the 'religious' spiritual overtones. this is an easy, flowing read with a lot of insightful observations and reminders that give the reader much to think about and consider on their journey! definitely a wonderful book for anyone :)
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Summary: THIS is the one you must read when you begin....
Review: Having read a few of the negative reviews of Beck's original introduction to the Ordinary Mind philosophy and practice, I have to say that I was one who had no previous exposure to zen nor do I have a zen teacher. The clarity of the subjects covered through lecture and teacher-student interaction at the zen hall made it quite understandable to me. Of course I am talking clearly about the text and its absorbility. Now understanding the way of life through zen, THAT is the challenge - not the author's teachablity through this work. Outstanding work by the author.
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Summary: highly reccomended
Review: I bought this book 7 years ago in 1993 and have dipped into it every few months ever since. It's a great roadmap for the difficult job of letting go of your self amongst the traffic of daily life. If you have some will to serve others in addition to serving your self, then this book may help you to increase that in your daily routine. It's written in a way that transcends Zen Buddhism enough to be very useful to people practicing other religions too, and even quotes parallel teachings from Christianity and Sufism(Islam). Direct, Simple, Honest.
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Summary: for serious practitioners
Review: I find the title of this book to be a bit misleading - it implies a sort of general applicability characteristic of perhaps the large majority of books on "zen" and "Buddhism" which have overwhelmed the market in recent years. Love and work, who wouldn't want to resolve these two koans. Joko Beck, in this book, gives us much more than a series of little chickensoup feel-good stories about love and work. In what is essentially a compilation of her talks for sesshin students, she tries to goad us into what really cannot be expressed, cannot be talked about - into the awareness of the moment. This book therefore cannot be *read*, it has to be *felt* with that mixture of gratitude, abandon, sensitivity and faith that one works on during the sesshin. One therefore cannot use it to "learn" something about zen. As a tool for zen practice, however, i have found it over the years to be invaluable. i come to this book again and again for inspiration and support - i 'd rank it, together with S. Suzuki's Beginner's Mind as the best book on zen practice available to us today. What (arguably) makes it even more valuable to us are its syncretic elements: Everyday Zen is written by a Westerner who sees her life from a perspective of an American, yet it also possesses the sensitivity to the workings of one's mind, the ferocity needed to face the mind's endless evasive maneouvers and a dedication to cultivation of awareness that matches that of any Japanese zen master, indeed, that of any spiritual master anywhere. In short, if you want to practice zen as opposed to "studying" it, this is a book for you.
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Summary: A Beacon
Review: I have read many books on Zen and eastern philosophy. Each page of this book can provide a bit of truth to reflect upon for the day. It is not intended to be so, there is just such a density of wisdom that it is. Ms. Beck is an American with a background that I share, and she does not "speak in riddles."
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