Rating: 
Summary: Blowing My Mind
Review: This book is a magical thing. Ray Brooks is a wonderful storyteller whose stories are compelling and meaningful. Brooks offers an alternative to the fast-paced life we're constantly being sold by showing us how he found happiness in simplicity. Brooks' life continually takes twists and turns which provide the book with an interesting story, but through it all the author reminds us to seek inner peace and thus succeed. The stories made me laugh and the message made me think.
Rating:
Summary: thumbs up
Review: This book is a truly refreashing account of a person who goes to Japan for a new experience in life. He does not take the typical route of only teaching and cashing the monthly paycheque, all without feeling the true Japan. Brooks does more with his time here, he took what could have been a very flat experience and turns the road into a beautiful wandering account. I have given this book to three of my close friends, they too found the book to be wonderful. I think this is one of those successful "word of mouth" books. It should be translated for the Japanese reader, they would also enjoy the account. Two thumbs up and 5 stars!
Rating: 
Summary: Missing the details of shakuhachi
Review: This is Ray Brooks's personal story of discovering something he could devote himself to and find happiness with. It is good as a personal story, mostly for its many anecdotes of what living in Japan is really like for a gaijin (outsider/foreigner). The idealized notions of politeness, honor, and artistry are held up against the backdrop of traditional ways being taken over by shallowness, laziness, and tackiness. Thankfully, Mr Brooks seemed to have few problems with racism against Europeans when finding shakuhachi teachers, something my preconceptions of the Japanese led me to expect.However, the book lacks all but a few comments on shakuhachi playing, and this is the reason I did not give it a higher score. I was hoping for more description of proper technique, the experience and process of learning, how it relates to Zen, and a bit of the "soul" of the art. These were almost completely lacking -- no more than a total of a few paragraphs in the entire book.
I also found it consistently surprising that Mr Brooks did not learn better Japanese after being in Japan for several years, or, at least, that's the impression his book gives! How much did he miss because he did not give more emphasis to learning his host country's language???
An easy-reading personal story, especially recommended for potential exchange students and others considering extended stays in Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Missing the details of shakuhachi
Review: This is Ray Brooks's personal story of discovering something he could devote himself to and find happiness with. It is good as a personal story, mostly for its many anecdotes of what living in Japan is really like for a gaijin (outsider/foreigner). The idealized notions of politeness, honor, and artistry are held up against the backdrop of traditional ways being taken over by shallowness, laziness, and tackiness. Thankfully, Mr Brooks seemed to have few problems with racism against Europeans when finding shakuhachi teachers, something my preconceptions of the Japanese led me to expect.
However, the book lacks all but a few comments on shakuhachi playing, and this is the reason I did not give it a higher score. I was hoping for more description of proper technique, the experience and process of learning, how it relates to Zen, and a bit of the "soul" of the art. These were almost completely lacking -- no more than a total of a few paragraphs in the entire book.
I also found it consistently surprising that Mr Brooks did not learn better Japanese after being in Japan for several years, or, at least, that's the impression his book gives! How much did he miss because he did not give more emphasis to learning his host country's language???
An easy-reading personal story, especially recommended for potential exchange students and others considering extended stays in Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful, Non-preachy Story Of A Spiritual Journey
Review: This is the friendly and very readable story of an Englishman in Japan who discovers the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) and manages for five years or so to get lessons from some top Japanese masters. The "Blowing Zen" (suizen) of the title is a form of flute playing used as a means to Zen enlightenment particularly by the komuso (wandering monks) of the now defunct Fuke sect. Brooks progressed with great rapidity and now instructs and concertizes professionally. He describes the progress of his interest, lessons and practice, his teachers and a wide cast of memorable characters, his adventures and observations on Japan and its people. He does so with perception, clarity, humor and engrossing writing. You will want to finish this in a sitting. He doesn't go into detail on the philosophy of Zen or how shakuhachi playing is supposed to lead to enlightenment, nor even much on the "finding the authentic life" of the title. More importantly he writes, deliberately or not, in the manner and frame of mind of a person who has come by his practice to some Zen insight, peace, centeredness and authenticity. No sermons are preached, no instructions given, you may imitate his example with the shakuhachi or in your own way or you can just read the book as the enjoyable adventures of a young man in a foreign place.
Rating: 
Summary: "You'll talk about change, make it into a hobby."
Review: This was a neat book, easy to read, very entertaining, and occasionally deep. It doesn't have too much to do with Zen, though. The author talks about suizen, which means "Blowing Zen," and is the link between shakuhachi and Zen. But Brooks doesn't tell much about further meditation or how shakuhachi helped calm his mind. There was a link missing between his desire to change out of a boring, clone-like life and into an authentic one, and how playing shakuhachi helped him do that. It sounds to me that his wife, Diane, probably did more to lift him out of his inauthentic lifestyle.
But there are moments of great beauty. One is on page 225 (of the paperback edition) where he is trying to convince Ozawa-san to do something about his existential angst. Here are the 4 sentences that leapt out at me: "If you are [getting some peculiar pleasure or some reward out of this destructive way you're living], you probably won't stop. You'll talk about change, make it into a hobby. You may even try to find someone to hep you, but deep down you won't change if you're not really serious. Seriousness is its own change."
