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Rating: 
Summary: Life is painful. Suffering is optional.
Review: "It takes courage to look deeply into oneself," Cheri Huber writes in the Introduction to this book. She has been practicing Zen meditation for nearly thirty years. This book is the insightful culmination of both her own experience on the cushion, and the results of a 12-week course she taught on suffering. As children we experienced life by living in each moment. As adults we have been conditioned to suffer: "we want what we don't get, aren't satisfied with what we do get, are separated from those or that which we love, and are forced to endure those and that which we do not love," Huber writes. "We suffer when we resist life. We suffer when we believe life should be different. We suffer when we think there is something wrong with life that needs to be changed or fixed." The "clamor of modern life and the endless chatter in our heads" (p. 83) restrict our ability to see beyond our conditioned suffering and return to our childlike sense of wonder in everything we experience. "It took us a while to get trained in these faulty belief systems," Huber writes, "and it will take us a while to unhook ourselves. We sit still, we see the conditioning and the sabotage for what it is, and we find the courage not to go back to old, familiar, hurtful ways" (p. 16). These "automatic, conditioned, karmic patterns" steal our time, our joy, our good feeling toward ourselves. They steal our life (p. 21). The "three keys" to ending our suffering involve paying attention to everything (pp. 3-54), believing nothing (pp. 57-92), and not taking anything personally (pp. 95-131). For anyone interested in looking deeply into the nature of suffering and learning how to return to the present moment, Huber's recommended book offers "helpful awareness, helpful insight, helpful friend" (p. 101). G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Life is painful. Suffering is optional.
Review: "It takes courage to look deeply into oneself," Cheri Huber writes in the Introduction to this book. She has been practicing Zen meditation for nearly thirty years. This book is the insightful culmination of both her own experience on the cushion, and the results of a 12-week course she taught on suffering. As children we experienced life by living in each moment. As adults we have been conditioned to suffer: "we want what we don't get, aren't satisfied with what we do get, are separated from those or that which we love, and are forced to endure those and that which we do not love," Huber writes. "We suffer when we resist life. We suffer when we believe life should be different. We suffer when we think there is something wrong with life that needs to be changed or fixed." The "clamor of modern life and the endless chatter in our heads" (p. 83) restrict our ability to see beyond our conditioned suffering and return to our childlike sense of wonder in everything we experience. "It took us a while to get trained in these faulty belief systems," Huber writes, "and it will take us a while to unhook ourselves. We sit still, we see the conditioning and the sabotage for what it is, and we find the courage not to go back to old, familiar, hurtful ways" (p. 16). These "automatic, conditioned, karmic patterns" steal our time, our joy, our good feeling toward ourselves. They steal our life (p. 21). The "three keys" to ending our suffering involve paying attention to everything (pp. 3-54), believing nothing (pp. 57-92), and not taking anything personally (pp. 95-131). For anyone interested in looking deeply into the nature of suffering and learning how to return to the present moment, Huber's recommended book offers "helpful awareness, helpful insight, helpful friend" (p. 101). G. Merritt
Rating: 
Summary: Zen for every day life!
Review: Hi, I love Cheri's books. I find them to be WONDERFULLY enlightening, interesting, deep and profound, yet fun and funny. A FANTASTIC way to understand deep Zen teachings and apply them to every day life. The books "There is Nothing Wrong With You" and "Suffering is Optional" especially spoke to me. I REALLY like the handwritten look text. It is both easy to read, and seems more "fun" somehow than regular book type. Her approach is very conversational and fun, and at times, humorous. She draws me in, and I don't want to stop reading (except to do the exercises). I previously tried to read some of the Zen classics, by both oriental and western writers, but their writings just seemed to philosophical, too dry, too hard to understand and apply, not to mention too small type to read comfortably. I just happened on Cheri's books at my local bookstore. Once I read one, I was hooked! I've read 5 and counting! Thank you Cheri!
Rating:
Summary: Zen for every day life!
Review: Hi, I love Cheri's books. I find them to be WONDERFULLY enlightening, interesting, deep and profound, yet fun and funny. A FANTASTIC way to understand deep Zen teachings and apply them to every day life. The books "There is Nothing Wrong With You" and "Suffering is Optional" especially spoke to me. I REALLY like the handwritten look text. It is both easy to read, and seems more "fun" somehow than regular book type. Her approach is very conversational and fun, and at times, humorous. She draws me in, and I don't want to stop reading (except to do the exercises). I previously tried to read some of the Zen classics, by both oriental and western writers, but their writings just seemed to philosophical, too dry, too hard to understand and apply, not to mention too small type to read comfortably. I just happened on Cheri's books at my local bookstore. Once I read one, I was hooked! I've read 5 and counting! Thank you Cheri!
Rating:
Summary: A Very Clear Explanation of the Path
Review: It is apparent reading Huber's books that she is has truly traveled the path. This particular book is particularly outstanding for two reasons. One, it clearly sets out three fundamental tenets through which the seeker may finally find her/himself. Two, the responses of many of her students are included. These are helpful because the issues they raise are often the same one that I experience. Huber shows us clearly how we produce our own suffering. It is a choice we make out of egocentricity - basically believing our own conditioned projections about the world and "our" individual experience. Believe Nothing seems to me to be the most powerful element of her teaching. I strong recommend this book.
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