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Appreciate Your Life: The Essence of Zen Practice (Shambhala Classics) Paperback – June 11, 2002

by Taizan Maezumi (Author), Wendy Egyoku Nakao (Editor), Eve Myonen Marko (Editor),
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
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A collection of short, inspiring teachings on Zen koans, the Buddha, and more—from a leader in introducing Zen Buddhism to the West
 
Here is the first major collection of the teachings of Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931-1995), one of the first Japanese Zen masters to bring Zen to the West and founding abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles and Zen Mountain Center in Idyllwild, California. These short, inspiring readings illuminate Zen practice in simple, eloquent language. Topics include zazen and Zen koans, how to appreciate your life as the life of the Buddha, and the essential matter of life and death.

Appreciate Your Life conveys Maezumi Roshi's unique spirit and teaching style, as well as his timeless insights into the practice of Zen. Never satisfied with merely conveying ideas, his teisho, the Zen talks he gave weekly and during retreats, evoked personal questions from his students. Maezumi Roshi insisted that his students address these questions in their own lives. As he often said, "Be intimate with your life."

The readings are not teachings or instructions in the traditional sense. They are transcriptions of the master's teisho, living presentations of his direct experience of Zen realization. These teisho are crystalline offerings of Zen insight intended to reach beyond the student's intellect to her or his deepest essence.
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  1. Print length
    160 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Shambhala
  4. Publication date
    June 11, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1570629161
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1570629167
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A brilliant, simple, infinitely subtle appreciation of this precious life."—Peter Matthiessen, author of The Snow Leopard

"With a loving heart, Maezumi Roshi carried these teachings in his two hands across the ocean to offer to the West. Now you hold them in your hands, the subtle, profound, enigmatic Zen that awakens trust in your own true nature. Enjoy."—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart and After the Ecstasy, the Laundry

"We are fortunate, with Appreciate Your Life , to finally have a volume that evokes the voice and broad-minded teaching that have meant so much to all of us in Western Zen."—Zoketsu Norman Fischer, Zen priest and poet, founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation, senior dharma teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center

"Maezumi Roshi's dharma is gentle, generous, accessible, humorous, and above all encouraging."—Robert Aitken, author of Taking the Path of Zen and Original Dwelling Place

About the Author

Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931–1995) was a seminal figure in the transmission of Zen Buddhism to the West. He was founding abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles (ZCLA) from 1967 to 1995 and of Zen Mountain Center from 1978 to 1995. He and his successors also founded Zen centers throughout the United States, Europe, and Mexico. Maezumi Roshi established The Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values, which promotes Buddhist scholarship and publishes, with the University of Hawaii Press, translations of East Asian Buddhist classics. He coauthored On Zen Practice: Foundation of Practice, On Zen Practice II: Body, Breath and Mind, and The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment. He also provided the commentary for The Way of Everyday Life: Zen Master Dogen's Genjokoan.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Shambhala (June 11, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1570629161
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1570629167
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 84 ratings

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Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi

Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
84 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

gnostic student
5.0 out of 5 stars A heart-opening experience
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
I first read this book in 2003, fifteen years ago at the time of this writing. I was a conservative Christian at the time. It was the first time in my life reading about Buddhism. I had heard in church that Buddhism was a heresy, but I was curious so I tentatively opened it and selected a page at random. I consider that the defining moment of my life. For the next four months my free time consisted of nothing but reading and re-reading this book. I re-read some chapters so many times that I memorized them.

My Christian faith was already failing before that time. I still went to church but I was so desperate to know God personally and what I felt at church seemed like an imitation, a facade. I was trying really hard to be a Christian: I gave away my material possessions and I left my home country to live and work in an economically impoverished part of the world where I thought the sacrifice would wake me up spiritually, but I still felt confused and empty inside.

The experience I had when I began practicing the meditation method explained in this book is personal. I will not share it here. I say only that it transformed my life and it has been the guiding influence in my life for the last fifteen years.

I do not practice the Zen methods in this book anymore. Not because they are wrong or incomplete but because some years later on I felt strongly attracted to methods taught by other schools of Buddhism and some non-Buddhist teachers. Nevertheless, I would like to express my gratitude to Taizan Maezumi Roshi for contributing to my life in a way that no other teacher since then has done. I do not know what spiritual level of attainment Maezumi Roshi reached in his lifetime, but I pray that the clear light of the Dharmakaya may shine through his consciousness, wherever he is.
13 people found this helpful
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Antoniio Gaudii
5.0 out of 5 stars Its quite a while ago i bought this book and ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2015
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Its quite a while ago i bought this book and i recall enjoying it so much, i even attempted a second reading which for me is rare. I have passed through my Buddhist phase and now and this was a book i read fairly early on. I've recently given it away and already regret doing so.
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Craig D. Hansen
5.0 out of 5 stars Straight forward!
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2019
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Single handedly the best book on spirituality I’ve read. And, I’ve read a lot of books.
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C
5.0 out of 5 stars To be read over and over
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2014
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Without a doubt, one of the best teachings of Zen available. It is not enough to read it one time. So much wisdom, so much grace. Perfect for any level of Zen practitioner.
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M
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Clear and Simple In A Zen Sense - maybe even 5 stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
I really like this book. I'm almost done with it. It's got a clarity similar to Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. There's a lightness and spaciousness to the writing, and what makes this quality particular effective is that it accomplishes this while addressing very substantive ideas. To find that kind of clarity and light touch combined with real substance feels artful. I might even say it's a five star book.
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Waterfall2
3.0 out of 5 stars Other Maezumi books are better
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2017
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This book is okay but the ideas and concepts are scattered and not as clear as in other books from this wonderful zen teacher. This book compiles his teishos, or informal experiential talks. They are okay but I am sure they would have been better orally spoken and with more context. The book On Zen Practice is much much better.
3 people found this helpful
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JSimon
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic!
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
It's a classic. If you're at all interested in Zen study, this is a great read.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019
Verified Purchase
a classic
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Top reviews from other countries

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customer_012
5.0 out of 5 stars Unglaubliches Buch
Reviewed in Germany on November 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
Das Buch ist eine Sammlung von Dharma-Talks, die Maezumi Roshi gehalten hat. Jeder einzelne so beeindruckend, dass ich nie mehr als einen am Stück lesen konnte, der mich dann jeweils tagelang beschäftigt und bewegt hat.
Absolut empfehlenswert!
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michele biotti
4.0 out of 5 stars Perle di zen
Reviewed in Italy on August 16, 2015
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Le parole dell'autore fanno trasparire il profumo e l'essenza stessi dello Zen. Un libro da rileggere, ma, soprattutto, un invito alla pratica
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Kevin Hutchinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2015
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A tremendous book, both accessible and brilliantly insightful. Taizan was a special man indeed.
2 people found this helpful
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R. A. Bittleston
3.0 out of 5 stars Does it commute?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
Worth a read, but I wonder if this has rather fallen into the trap of trying to westernise something. I'd recommend Charlotte Beck 'Everyday Zen' as a place to go.
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