Waking up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation with Intelligence and Compassion » (ANN)

Diane Rizzetto is the Abbess and Guiding Teacher of the Bay Zen Center in Oakland, California. A dharma heir of Charlotte Joko Beck, she teaches extensively in Europe, as well as in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the United States.

The practice of the Zen precepts can transform our relationship to the world by leading us to a keen awareness of the motivations behind every aspect of our behavior, allowing us to act from the kindness and insight that is our true nature. The precepts are usually thought of as Buddhist moral guidelines—which they indeed are—but they are also far more than that, as Diane Rizzetto shows. They are a form of Buddhist practice that does not necessarily involve meditation. Anyone can do this practice, and it is rich enough to be worked with for a lifetime.

The precepts are traditionally phrased in short statements such as: "I take up the way of speaking truthfully," or "I take up the way of using sexual energy wisely." But Diane encourages us to rephrase them in ways that have personal meaning for us. She advises us to take them on one at a time, beginning with one that has particular personal resonance. The practice then becomes learning to live with the precept until it naturally arises in situations where it applies. We soon learn that the precepts are just about always impossible to fulfill, and that their true function is to teach mindfulness—particularly of our actions and of our interactions with others.

The precepts are ultimately a practice about choice, Diane teaches, about responsibility and being awake to the motivation and consequences of our actions. We all must engage in events as they unfold in our lives, but we have a choice to do this with either intelligence or ignorance. The Zen precepts as presented in this book are guidelines to help us tap the intelligence within.

Publishers Weekly

Rizzetto, abbess of the Bay Zen Center in Oakland, Calif., offers a compelling and highly accessible set of teachings on the Buddhist precepts, "guidelines" to everyday thoughts and behaviors that "prod us to wake up and see clearly the reality of... every situation." The first part of the book presents a clear overview of how to actually work with the precepts, as well as some fundamental Buddhist teachings on the illusion of the self and the advantages of resting in the "full experience" of life "just as it is." The bulk of the book is then given to discussions of the precepts themselves, which Rizzetto presents as aspirations rather than prohibitions: "I take up the way of speaking truthfully" instead of the traditional "not lying," for example. Other precepts include cultivating a clear mind and letting go of anger. Rizzetto's discussions are intelligent and compassionate, practical and engaging: while giving pragmatic suggestions, she persistently affirms that the precepts are not about following "some outward moral authority," but rather about engaging "the power of awareness so that we can see more clearly what deeply held beliefs are behind our actions"-a liberating invitation for anyone wanting to break open their usual "reactive thinking" and instead "find real freedom to engage life." (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.