Toni Packer (1927–2013)

I was first attracted to Toni Packer in 1992 because of her connection with Philip Kapleau Roshi and the Rochester Zen Center. She lead me to Krishnamurti, who I started reading then, and recently came back to. Reading Krishnamurti now has brought me back to Toni Packer.

Toni's combination of her Zen background and training together with Krishnamurti's insistence on examining everything in one's life through the lens of "choiceless awareness" resonates strongly for me. Toni is able to make show more K's message intimate and personal.

Both Toni and Krishnamurti are demanding of themselves and of their readers. What they demand is an uncompromising attack on life, and on the "self". Be prepared to be under attack, but understand that the self is ultimately indefensible and defenseless. It is a battle won by losing. show less

In this compelling collection of talks, essays, interviews, and letters, the author presents a radically simple and original approach to spiritual growth free from religious authority, doctrine, symbolism, and ceremony. A former Zen teacher and a student of Krishnamurti's work, Toni Packer goes beyond traditional religion and explores with the reader the root of human attachments and the source of suffering, opening the way to compassion.

With choice questions Toni manages to go beyond doctrine, traditions and concepts to the root of anger, fear, attachment. After reading this illuminating book, Zen Buddhist rituals and koans seem antithetical to liberation of the mind, or at least a hindrance.

So glad I found this book.

In this compelling collection of talks, essays, interviews, and letters, Toni Packer presents a radically simple and original approach to spiritual growth free from religious authority, doctrine, symbolism, and ceremony. A former Zen teacher and student of Krishnamurti's work, Toni Packer goes beyond traditional religion and explores with the reader the root of human attachments and the source of suffering, opening the way to compassion.