The way is nearer than you think.
The old Zen masters answered questions with a shout, a riddle, or a remark about the weather. Behind the drama lies a teaching of startling simplicity: the way is not far off, and it is found in sitting, in breathing, and in washing the bowl.
Drawing on the classic records of Chinese Zen, from the Platform Sutra to the Gateless Gate and the Blue Cliff Record, these twelve short chapters carry the old masters' wisdom into an ordinary day. Each ends with a practice: ten minutes of sitting, one breath at a time, a single word held as a question.
Inside this book:
• How to sit, and what to do with your mind
• Working with Mu, the most famous koan
• Great doubt and the question "What is this?"
• Letting go of the habit of bracing
• Chopping wood, carrying water: Zen in the chores
Volume 6 of The Quiet Wisdom Series. Also in the series: Buddhism for Inner Peace, Christian Mysticism for Inner Stillness, Sufism for the Heart, Taoism for Inner Balance, Yoga for Inner Strength, Kabbalah for the Soul.
