Everyday Zen: Love & Work

My manual for Zen meditation and understanding.

The format of Everyday Zen is a series of transcripts of talks that Joko has given to students during intensive meditation retreats or during regular Saturday morning programs at the Zen Center of San Diego, which she heads.

Joko is a rarity in American Zen--American, not Asian; female; mother of 3 children; she had an independent career from which she retired. She started Zen when a mature adult. As a result, she brings a different, practical perspective to Zen, not always found in American zendos; I can speak from personal experience to that.

Beck lives in today's world, not 11th or 13th century Japan. She understands, as the Introduction puts it, that the "chop wood, carry water" idiom show more of medieval Eastern practice has to be translated, for Westerners, into "make love, drive freeway." She can speak to a modern, Western student in a way that those following the monastic model of Japanese Zen can not or find difficult.

Beck is a practical, no nonsense teacher. One of her objectives is to destroy in her students the romantic notions that many people bring to Zen. While psychological change probably will occur, it's not the object of Zen, nor or special "powers". Joko is relentless in refusing to give her students what she calls "cookies"--false hopes or pretenses for starting what is really a way of life. Joko is excellent, as a result, in defining what Zen is NOT, which turns out to be remarkably useful to a student. She understands that Americans, in particular, want to be "fed" enlightenment, preferably by listening to a teacher tell them how to live or by reading it in a book. Joko constantly demolishes these notions.

The book organizes the essays (for that is what they turn out to be) into sections: Beginnings, Practice, Feelings, Relationships, Suffering, Ideals, Boundaries, Choices, Service. Each gives practical advice on meditation and living. While she is insistent that no book can take the place of practice, still this one is invaluable as a manual for those of us who do not have access to a teacher. It really is a "how to" book rather than a series of inspirational messages. I have found it invaluable in my own life.

Too bad there is no rating higher than 5 stars. show less

One of the very best books on zen I´ve ever read.
A clear voice that stems from years of zazen practice desects subjects from the middle of our everyday life. They are presented as the ground for continious awakening in our very lives. The warm "no bullshit" approach to themes as love and relations makes this a good book to demystify and refocus practice to the actual happenings in our lives. It will attract the lover of buddhism and at the same time effectively remove the false hopes of a distant wonderland.

A great book from a fantastic Zen practitioner and author. This is not fluffy, feel-good self-help book Buddhism, this is the uncompromising and demanding Zen approach that asks the reader to really think about what they are doing and why, and Beck is at pains to remind you again and again that practice and sitting is hard work, but you have to do that hard work if you are to achieve something resembling a worthwhile end-state.
This is a fantastic book, but I found it hard going in places, in that I had to re-read sections as I sometimes felt I had not quite grasped what was being asked of me. But it is worth it. And I am sure that I will probably be coming back to this book in the future, again and again.
If you are interested in show more understand what Zen Buddhism is all about, and already have some understanding about Buddhism, this is a book for you. If you are totally new to Buddhism, you might get a bit lost with this one. show less

When I was just starting to read about Zen, it all seemed pretty esoteric, and I had a very hard time understanding how these lofty ideas could pertain to me. I gave up for years after a particularly incomprehensible book. When I read this book, along with her other book "Nothing Special: Living Zen" everything suddenly became much more understandable, described in everyday language with everyday examples. There are more "Zen in everyday life" books out now, but these are the ones that helped me. I certainly don't consider myself a Buddhist, I rarely meditate, never go to temples or gatherings, but what Zen has done for me is to clarify basic life principles such as non-attachment, and "this moment." I don't even think about these show more principles most of the time, but when life gets hard, they are priceless. show less

Beck has an interesting perspective on life, and taught me a lot about Zen. I've found that nearly all my perceptions of the practice were incorrect, and that Zen isn't just about being happy or calm, it's just about being.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit and would recommend it. It said some things that were scary and made me uncomfortable, but made me think about life in a different way, which I appreciate.

This is a good introduction to zen and meditation without many of the religious overtones. While the book advocates major lifestyle changes, the advice is also practical for integrating basic concepts into daily life.

A Zen guide to the problems of daily living, love, relationships, work, fear and suffering. Combining earthly wisdom with spiritual enlightenment, it describes how to live each moment to the full and shows the relevance of Zen to every aspect of life.

This is an outstanding book! It explains the practice of Zen in an easily understood way. This book is remaining in my library, but not put away on the shelf but kept close at hand, to guide me in learning to do zazen.