Naked in the Zendo

You're not sitting on your cushion, says Grace Schireson, to get good at meditation, but to transform your life. And not necessarily through the dramatic moments of realization we usually associate with Zen, but with the flowering of awareness into those seemingly little everyday acts of kindness and responsiveness. When I was just starting out in my own practice, I might not have had the sense to recognize and appreciate such undramatic wisdom. I hope Naked in the Zendo will inspire this awareness for both new and seasoned practitioners. --Barry Magid, author of Ending the Pursuit of Happiness In these clear-headed, clear-hearted stories of American Zen (serious Zen framed by an American sensibility), Grace Schireson will grab your attention and open your awareness. Awareness is the hero of these stories and Schireson is your guide as she tells you what to hold onto and what to let go of when you engage your deepest intention to wake up to reality. Schireson is a wise, funny, and uniquely feminist American Zen teacher whose approach to practice will enrich everyone. --Polly Young-Eisendrath, author of Love Between Equals This is a book about the heart of Zen practice, how to awaken to vast awareness and then engage that awareness in transforming distress into freedom and contentment in everyday life. Naked in the Zendo combines pithy Zen koans with illuminating stories both from the author's personal life as a wife and mother, and from her adventures in Zen training in the US and as a woman practicing in an all-male monastery in Japan. --Jan Chozen Bays, author of Mindfulness on the Go