Appreciate Your Life: The Essence of Zen Practice (Shambhala Classics)

Do a roll call of the major foreign Zen priests who lived in America to transmit Zen, and you have a pretty short list: Shunryu Suzuki, Seung Sahn, and Taizan Maezumi. Of these, Maezumi is the least well-known, though he transmitted to 12 successors and established 35 Zen centers. In the great Zen tradition of recording a master's words, Maezumi's students have brought together a number of his teisho, presentations to the disciples of a master's realization. Rather than general lectures or public talks, these short pieces were meant to be heard at times of intense practice, during breaks in meditation, when the student's mind is piqued for sparks of enlightenment. Maezumi touches on subjects relevant to the serious practitioner--the bodhi mind, life as a koan, practicing the paramitas, copying sutras, etc. Though not technically difficult, these pieces assume a background in the fundamentals of Buddhism, perfect for the increasing number of readers who have progressed beyond the introductory level and seek more sophisticated guidance. --Brian Bruya