This book combines the psychological concept of acceptance with ancient Buddhist teachings about the chain of interdependent origination, which provides immediately usable tools for looking at how suffering happens and how to let that go. Stressing the theme of accepting what life brings, it reveals what acceptance is and what stands in the way of being able to accept life's ups and downs. Four steps for combating resistance are also provided.

Suffering Is Optional: Three Keys to Freedom and Joy centers around three basic aspects of Zen practice: pay attention, believe nothing, and don't take anything personally. As ending suffering requires that one sees how suffering happens, the book urges readers to be willing to be quiet and pay attention to the process of suffering in effort to see each moment as an opportunity to step beyond illusion into freedom. It also argues that examining beliefs, abandoning them, and returning attention to the present is essential to ending suffering, as is living in the awareness that nothing in the universe is personal.

These insights from many years of Zen meditation practice appeal to a wide range of spiritual traditions and explore topics such as the difference between process and content, notions of right and wrong, ending self-punishment, and taking responsibility for one's experiences. Perfect for beginning Zen students and for those interested in Buddhism in general or eastern religion, it features deep spiritual insights and playful illustrations that add warmth and approachability to the topic.

Chosen for impact, clarity, and humour, these one-per-day quotations come from a wide variety of sources: Zen masters; Christian and Sufi mystics; Eastern and Western philosophers; poets ancient and modern; and living artists, writers, and comedians. Each entry also contains a question to prompt self-examination, making the calendar a year-long course in fending off destructive thoughts and finding inner certainty.

This book provides a process for dealing with the dull pain of depression. It employs a custom hand-lettered font and many lighthearted illustrations. A self-guided retreat has been added to assist readers to explore how to be compassionate with themselves when depressed.