Product Description

The teachings of Zen are presented to Westerners in this book, which is comprised of many short sections accompanied by illustrations on subjects ranging from compassion and meditation to death. The concepts of "subpersonalities" (the many aspects of the personality) and "projection" (the notion that the entire world is a mirror of who we are) are introduced. Readers are encouraged to consider that they see the world the way they do not because the world is inherently that way, but because of who's looking. Seeing ourselves as having many different parts helps us make sense the the whirling mass of contradictions we sometimes experience within ourselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75907 in Books
• Published on: 1990-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 134 pages

About the Author
Cheri Huber is the author of 19 books, including There Is Nothing Wrong with You, When You're Falling, Dive,and Time-Out for Parents. She founded the Mountain View Zen Center in Mountain View, California, and the Zen Monastery Practice Center in Murphys, California, and teaches in both communities. She travels widely and often, leading workshops and retreats around the United States and abroad, most recently in Costa Rica and Italy. She founded Living Compassion in 2003, a nonprofit group comprised of There Is Nothing Wrong With You Retreats (based on the book); Global Community for Peace: The Assisi Peace Project; The Africa Vulnerable Children Project; and Open Air Talk Radio, her weekly call-in radio show originating from Stanford University. She lives in Murphys, California.

Customer Reviews

I sought and found
Huber admits that her book "isn't organized in any particular order, but then life isn't organized in any particular order." This is so on both counts. Yet, her book flows as it should, Zen-like, in the present, and it is not at all disconcerting this way...it just is. For a beginning reader of Zen thoughts and processes, I found Huber's book thoughtful "letting go is opening the hand," humorous (re: meditation practice.."One begins to sit. In the beginning One enjoys sitting. 'This is great. This is interesting.This feels right.' However before long, ego...says, 'This is too much! I hate this! I is not having a good. I doesn't want to sit still.'" And I found the depth of most of anything she said, each worthy of a night's discussion over a good merlot: "What if you could be as happy as you can be and not be getting what you want?" "How is letting go different than giving up?' The book is fairly therapuetic for those with anger issues, those invested in materialism, those seeking other than what they are in the midst of and sinking. The book is an easy read written in a format I am comfortable with: a font that mimics casual printing by hand, lots of space between paragraphs, simple drawings for illustration of deeper thoughts. Don't be fooled by the easy-read format, for the wisdom and depth therein will give one pause to consider...be still....and pay attention

"Sit down, be still, and pay attention."
At the heart of this book is the search for a meaningful life, a search that prompted the Buddha to leave his wife, son, wealth and privilege, "because intuitively he knew that there must be something that would make sense out of what appears to be the senseless, useless suffering that life brings." Like a traveller describing a worthwhile journey, a friend recently encouraged me to read Cheri Huber's books. Simple in format, but deep with insights, this 130-page book consists of equal parts zen, inspiration, and spirituality. It would appeal to any reader interested in those subjects. In it, Huber tells us that "when we're present we're equal to life" (p. 35); "when we pay attention, everything enlightens us" (p. 44). "We need only stop, sit down, be still, and pay attention."

Also included in this book is a 14-page essay, "One Less Act of Violence," which raises the question, when we are present with our eyes and hearts open, engaged in a spiritual practice to end suffering, do we really want to eat the flesh of another creature (p. 5)? We have been conditioned, Huber writes, "not to think about what it was, who it was, that it lived, breathed, slept, ate, had babies, was afraid, sought to live . . . I can't think about that, it's dinner" (p. 5). She encourages us to avoid practicing violence on any level, and to take care of one another . . . "All us living creatures" (p. 14).

I liked this book so much I read it twice in a single day, and I'm eager now to read other Cheri Huber books.

G. Merritt

A few worthwhile sections
This book is basically a collection of thoughts on seeking enlightenment presented in a stream of consciousness manner. The thoughts and observances have a distinctly Buddhist orientation. Nevertheless, it is written for general audiences even though it falls just short of a pro-Buddhism pamphlet in a few places. Because it is published using a handwriting-like font, there is not as much actual content as the number of pages might lead one to believe. Wading through all of this, it has some excellent insights and shows some fun creativity. Seekers of all sorts, Buddhist of not, should find the book sufficiently worthwhile if attracted to the theme in the first place.

"One Less Act of Violence" is a short work at the back of the book. It is basically a well-written and thought out case for animal rights and vegetarianism.