Zen in Ten: Easy Lessons for Spiritual Growth

I have read a few books on Zen, mostly by Suzuki. I had always found them to be confusing however. I had begun studying Bushido and decided to try Zen again and picked up this book. I was amazed at how simplified and easy to understand it was. I did not understand how simple Zen really was until I read this book. It states all of the "common knowledge" that most people need to start with but authors forget to write! It does not offer a lot of "first-hand" Zen records but it does offer a great foundation to continue your studies for yourself. So do not look for the koans and sutras and essays in this book. They do not have them. If you are looking for the very basics of Zen than this will be an excellent start.

As a long-time practitioner of Zen I am always interested in new Zen books. This one does an excellent job of communicating the deeper essence of Zen. This is always a challenge for writers because Zen is beyond words, something to be experienced. This book points readers in the right direction. It also offers a great deal of information about the topic so that readers will come to have a sense of the variety of experiences and areas where Zen makes itself known. The authors teach in the traditional way with Zen stories to lead the reader toward an inner experience. They also provide exercises, meditations, arts, and other ways for people to find an iroad that speaks personally to them. For anyone interested in learning Zen or in deepening their experience, I highly recommend this book.

Zen in 10 gives ten lessons to help a reader find a clear path into Zen. I found each lesson was straightforward and showed me how to begin practicing. From the very first lesson, Meditation: Tapping Mind's Potential, I was able to start meditating. Subsequent lesons helped me deepen my understandings. For example, the second lesson on sutras stayed true to the Zen way to approach sutras as a boat to carry you to the other shore, not an end in itself. The lesson on koans was very deep and evocative, helping me to expand. Through the whole book the authors give exercises to try and I found them very useful for inner exploration. Anyone who is interested in Zen will learn a great deal from this pretty little book filled with stories, artwork, and inspiration!