When You Greet Me I Bow
Notes and Reflections from a Life in Zen
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- CHF 12.00
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- CHF 12.00
Beschreibung des Verlags
From beloved Zen teacher Norman Fischer, a collection of essays spanning a life of inquiry into Zen practice, relationship, social engagement, and spiritual creativity.
"Looking backwards at a life lived, walking forward into more life to live built on all that, trying not to be too much influenced by what's already been said and done, not to be held to a point of view or an identity previously expressed, trying to be surprised and undone and maybe even dismayed by what lies ahead."--Norman Fischer
Norman Fischer is a Zen priest, poet, and translator whose writings, teachings, and commitment to interfaith dialogue have supported and inspired Buddhist, Jewish, and other spiritual practitioners for decades. When You Greet Me I Bow spans the entirety of Norman Fischer's career and is the first collection of his writings on Buddhist philosophy and practice. Broken into four sections--the joy and catastrophe of relationship; thinking, writing, and emptiness; cultural encounters; and social engagement--this book allows us to see the fascinating development of the mind and interests of a gifted writer and profoundly committed practitioner.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Zen priest and poet Fischer (What Is Zen?) collects thoughtful personal essays from over three decades of his Buddhist teachings and practice. First, he discusses harmonizing one's relationships with oneself, others, the physical world, the spiritual world, and time. For instance, "Leaving Home, Staying Home" revisits the story of Siddhartha leaving his pregnant wife to achieve enlightenment, each sacrificing so the other can live a fulfilled life. In the section on the relationship between writing and thinking, the essay "Impermanence Is Buddha Nature" explains that impermanence is both loss and change, which can be refreshing and renewing. Regarding cultural encounters, "The Two Worlds" contrasts Japanese and Western interpretations of Buddhism: where "the sacred has been reduced to the ‘inner life,' something private," in the West, in Japan, a Buddhist sensibility includes "a vague and dark (if also beautiful and serene) sense of an alternate order of reality." In the standout "Buddhism, Racism, and Jazz," Fischer describes African American cultural influences in American Buddhism and explains how addressing the "great national wound of racism" requires Buddhists to pursue "political and social activism as a total life project." These moving contemplations showcase the intricate workings of a wise mind.
