Being Zen : Bringing Meditation to Life

Rating:
Summary: Being Zen
Review: As my dad wrote BEING ZEN, he sent me one chapter at a time to proof-read and offer feedback. The information wasn't new to me, as we'd talked about the ideas and experiences mentioned in the book many times. And so I thought that once published, reading BEING ZEN would be like a review for me. However, each time I read a chapter, there was something new and helpful there, not because it was new information, but because my life and my relationship to everything in my life is always changing. I figure I could read this book 100 times and gain something new each time. I could turn to any page and find a reminder there that applies to my life and the issues and difficulties on my plate at any given moment. Most often, it's the last thing I want to do. My dad's "practice" is HARD!!! But I've seen it transform him and his life from one ruled by anger to one filled with love, compassion, and true happiness found in his wilingness to just BE with anything life presents. This book can help anyone who is willing to use it. And to all of you... you can either write-off my opinion as that of the biased daughter, or take it to heart from someone who has watched her father grow and change 180 degrees over the past 26 years and who has become her best friend and greatest teacher.

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful for dealing with the pressures of everyday life
Review: Bayda sucessfully merges a bit of Zen and a bit of Vipassana-style mindfulness into a way of meditation practice and life practice. The book is stripped of almost all Buddhist terminology. There is no mention of karma, reincarnation, codependent origination, and any other Buddhist terms. What you get is a manual for learning to see yourself plainly and non-judgmentally without our usual hidden agendas, strategies, ego clinging, duplicity. Especially helpful are the chapters on Practicing with Fear, Practicing with Distress, Practicing with Anger. I tried the methods outlined in "Practicing with Distress" on a day when a small catastrophe popped up at work. I stayed with my breath and tried to notice the physical reactions going on. When you do that, you can actually begin to non-judgmentally notice the mind churning out thoughts.

The chapter about Bayda's experience working with hospice patients was very moving, but they weren't just an anecdote. He successfully pointed how the experiences deepened his practice.

The chapter on loving kindness meditation was also interesting. It's more commonly used by teachers in the Vipassana tradition, like Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein, so I was suprised to see it here. Bayda uses the method not to create some special mind-state, but to see where he has blocked off his being from experiencing what's going on in the moment.

In summary, this is a good book if you are new to meditation and are looking for a way to approach spiritual practice that is free of Buddhist terms. I think people of any religion find this book useful. It outlines tools for seeing the reactive patterns and habits that narrow our lives and that inhibit meaningful interactions with the world.

Rating:
Summary: extremely useful
Review: Bayda sucessfully merges a bit of Zen and a bit of Vipassana-style mindfulness into a way of meditation practice and life practice. The book is stripped of almost all Buddhist terminology. There is no mention of karma, reincarnation, codependent origination, and any other Buddhist terms. What you get is a manual for learning to see yourself plainly and non-judgmentally without our usual hidden agendas, strategies, ego clinging, duplicity. Especially helpful are the chapters on Practicing with Fear, Practicing with Distress, Practicing with Anger. I tried the methods outlined in "Practicing with Distress" on a day when a small catastrophe popped up at work. I stayed with my breath and tried to notice the physical reactions going on. When you do that, you can actually begin to non-judgmentally notice the mind churning out thoughts.

The chapter about Bayda's experience working with hospice patients was very moving, but they weren't just an anecdote. He successfully pointed how the experiences deepened his practice.

The chapter on loving kindness meditation was also interesting. It's more commonly used by teachers in the Vipassana tradition, like Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein, so I was suprised to see it here. Bayda uses the method not to create some special mind-state, but to see where he has blocked off his being from experiencing what's going on in the moment.

In summary, this is a good book if you are new to meditation and are looking for a way to approach spiritual practice that is free of Buddhist terms. I think people of any religion find this book useful. It outlines tools for seeing the reactive patterns and habits that narrow our lives and that inhibit meaningful interactions with the world.

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful for dealing with the pressures of everyday life
Review: Being Zen contains many helpful techniques that have helped me flesh out and truly understand my belief system. I've also found that in practicing these meditation techniques I have become more aware of the relationship between my thoughts and emotional response to these thoughts. I've learned how to deal more effectively with upsetting emotions. Practical psychology today oftens leads people to feel the need to fight against strong negative emotions. I've found however that its more effective to take this advice in this book: compassionately watch and just be with any negative emotions that arise, and watch how easily they dissapate.

Rating:
Summary: PLAIN, PRACTICAL PRACTICE
Review: Being Zen is one of the clearest books on spiritual practice I have ever read. It uses plain language, and like Pema Chodron, has a heart quality that seems to speak directly to the reader. Perhaps best of all, the book is filled with practical and specific suggestions, seemingly based on the author's direct personal experience. I highly recommend this book. Anna Hughes, Oklahoma

Rating:
Summary: Good but not so ...
Review: Bringing Meditation to Life? More like putting one to sleep. It's hard to tell the difference between this book by Ezra Bayda and any book by Charlotte Joko Beck. If you've read anything from her, you can skip this from him.

Rating:
Summary: Further Adventures in Awareness
Review: From the vivid illustrations taken from life to the carefully described steps to bringing practice into life, "Being Zen" is an easily-absorbed yet eloquent tool for meditation students. I especially like the author's description of healing: "Healing involves clearing the pathway to the open heart-the heart that knows only connectedness." Since reading this book, and using the practical suggestions for bringing meditation practice into daily life, I have experienced "a more spacious container of awareness," and that has brought a greater sense of joy and connection to life.

Rating:
Summary: At Home in the Muddy Water
Review: If you are interested in Zen as a philosiphical belief system to solidify some identity, this book should be considered dangerous. If you are looking to be more open to your life, no matter what may be present, Ezra offers very clear applicable guidance. This book speaks to the heart of what I believe spiritual practice to be about. How do we take these teachings and apply them to our daily life? How does a sitting practice carry over to working with our life when our partner is upset & we are knee deep in our emotional reaction to them? Or when when we are struggling with our relationship to work, illness, financial instability, or whatever ups & downs life presents, how does "Zen" apply to this? This book, filled with insight into Ezra's relationship with practice, offers answers to these difficult questions, and serves as a valuble gem as to how do we apply practice to the "Muddy Water".

Rating:
Summary: A book I will refer back to...
Review: This book makes a fine place for itself in its genre. With depth and intensity, it directs the reader's attention gently to the point under discussion. The author makes careful use of anecdote to share his own response to his world and invites us to come along for a practical, earthy look at what is right here in front of us. He achieves a unique balance of approach that is most refreshing in the much-addressed arena of meditation that he shares directly with the reader. This book has a tremendously accessible, soothing quality that certainly flows from the wisdom of its author's own practice.