Practical Zen: A Brief Guide to Living In the Present Moment

Excerpt from Practical Zen...

"By age 30, I had grown dissatisfied with my narrow worldview. I began reading a broader collection of spiritual literature to challenge my belief system—to know and, more importantly, experience truth as I experienced it. As I learned about various Buddhist traditions, I found their rituals, ceremonies, and other trappings somewhat excessive. While they might hold value for others, they felt unnecessary to me.

"My frustrations with organized religion centered around what I saw as passive control. Buddhist ceremonies initially affected me the same way other religious traditions did—as methods to control followers by urging conformity to certain behaviors. Though I understand how ritual can keep one on a spiritual path during apathy, they sometimes feel controlling.

"Through daily practice, I kept returning to three foundational elements for anyone wishing to establish a meaningful Buddhist practice separate from organized communities: meditation, mindfulness, and compassionate kindness. "Practical Zen" emerged as an appropriate description of this minimalist, more accessible triad of Buddhist practices.

A spiritual memoir enriched with Zen philosophy and wisdom, Practical Zen elaborates on its core practices: meditation, mindfulness, and compassionate kindness.