Ezra Bayda's gift for taking Zen teaching and relating it to every aspect of life has made his books popular even with people who aren't Buddhists. It's not that he's non-traditional-he's very firmly planted in the Zen tradition - it's just that the teaching is so clear and useful that it transcends religious boundaries. Here Ezra continues in the mode of his books like "Being Zen" to show how spiritual practice works in everyday life. He breaks spiritual practice down into three basic stages: The Me-phase - uncovering our most basic and tightly held beliefs about ourselves, observing our emotional reactions and patterns of behaviour, and becoming intimate with our fears. Being-Awareness - cultivating a larger sense of what life is, going beyond the basic awareness of the sensory world to transform the narrow experience into a more spacious sense of being. Being-Kindness - connecting with the love and kindness that are our true nature, and beginning to live from that joyful and compassionate place. The phases enrich each other to create a practice that works no matter what the complexities of your circumstances.

Many books have been published in recent years on happiness. Ezra Bayda, a remarkably down-to-earth Zen teacher, believes that the happiness "boom" has been largely a bust for readers. Why? Because it's precisely the pursuit of happiness that keeps us trapped in cycles of dissatisfaction and suffering.
In "Beyond Happiness," Bayda draws on Zen teachings to question our conventional notions about what happiness is and where we can find it. Most of us seek happiness in things that are external to us. We imagine that getting more money, a better relationship, or going on a nice vacation will finally make us happy. But Bayda shows us that the deepest and most lasting form of happiness does not rely on external circumstance at all. Bayda offers Zen insights and practices that point readers toward the true sources of lasting happiness: mindfulness, compassion, gratitude, and generosity.