Four decades ago   aged twenty   the author experienced what he calls a  negative satori," a fundamental and irrefutable realization not of enlightenment, but of himself as a predicament only enlightenment could resolve. This, shaped by the hammer blows of a singular American professor, Richard DeMartino, brought him to Zen, and to Japan. Yet over time, of far greater import than his bungling efforts were the wonderful occupants of the Zen world he encountered: Toyoshima-san, the meditation Prometheus whose superhuman efforts astounded and inspired all while he remained impaled on the cliff's edge; the Thief, chief monastery monk who stole the world from whoever he encountered and whose yawns and the brushing of his teeth shot sparks of Absolute Meaning; Hisamatsu, the great lay Zen Master who at age 16 overheard a doctor tell his mother he'd be dead in six months, only to awaken ten years later and become the most delighted man in Japan; Bunko, the monk kind to others but ferocious with himself, whose daily state of Oneness in meditation left him dissatisfied because despite all exertion he could not crush it to pieces and break beyond it.These are among the sitters for the portraits in Reports From the Zen Wars, Steve Antinoff's attempt to bear witness to what for him has been The Greatest Show on Earth, price of admission one lotus position.

In this practical manual, osho (zen teacher) Kigen Raul Davila offers us a clear and simple step-by-step guide to the practice of Zen Buddhism, which he considers neither a religion nor a philosophical system. It is, rather, a practical teaching which helps us direct our complete attention to our mental processes. This practice centers us, calms our mind, and helps us stop our unending internal dialogue. This lets us take a well-earned vacation from ourselves, our daily problems, and the tyranny of our past and future. When we stop this internal dialogue we transcend our Self and the world of forms. We go beyond Self and Other, Self and things "out there," Self and You, Self and everything else. We then enter a space of great Silence, in which neither the past nor the future disturb us, a space which is all present, with no limitations, nor problems, a space of freedom. We realize that is the true reality, our true nature, and feel great peace and happiness, the joy of freedom."

What if Jesus showed up at your house one night, tapped you on the shoulder, and told you to wake up? Then you find out that he doesn't only want you to wake up from your bed but wake up to your life. Each chapter begins with an encounter with Jesus followed by simple steps to living life awake. In a style similar to "Conversations with God" and the works of Anthony De Mello, David Jones, the author of "The Psychology of Jesus," offers helpful ways to find enlightenment in every day activities.

Dainin Katagiri (1928-1990) was a central figure in the transmission of Zen in America. His first book, "Returning to Silence, " emphasized the need to return to our original, enlightened state of being, and became one of the classics of Zen in America. In "You Have to Say Something, " selections from his talks have been collected to address another key theme of Katagiri's teaching: that of bringing Zen insight to bear on our everyday experience. "To live life fully," Katagiri says, "means to take care of your life day by day, moment to moment, right here, right now." To do this, he teaches, we must plunge into our life completely, bringing to it the same wholeheartedness that is required in Zen meditation. When we approach life in this way, every activity--everything we do, everything we say--becomes an opportunity for manifesting our own innate wisdom. With extraordinary freshness and immediacy, Katagiri shows the reader how this wisdom not only enlivens our spiritual practice but can help make our life a rich, seamless whole.