Lessons from the Monk I Married
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Lessons from the Monk I Married offers up ten of the most powerful lessons about life, love, and spirituality that Katherine Jenkins has gathered during her marriage to former Buddhist monk Seong Yoon Lee.
A seeker in the truest sense of the word, Jenkins went to Korea on a whim, hoping to find the answers to her deepest, most pressing questions about how to find peace and her purpose in life. During her first months there, she sought out a remote temple, where she unknowingly crossed paths with an unassuming Buddhist monk. Months later, they met again by chance—and fell in love. Though their courtship was long, mostly secretive, and fraught with logistical and spiritual considerations, Jenkins and Lee were ultimately married in Korea in 2003. Through their relationship, Jenkins discovered the most important lesson of all: No one holds the keys to peace and happiness—you have walk your own path and find your own wisdom through your own experiences.
More than the improbable story of a girl from Seattle who found peace of mind (and love) with a Buddhist monk, Lessons from the Monk I Married is an approachable guide to the most elemental spiritual questions of our day.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Both spiritual journey and romantic memoir, this book, named after the author's popular blog, recounts Jenkins's love affair with and eventual marriage to a Korean Buddhist monk. Traveling to South Korea on a whim to teach English, the author explored Buddhist meditation with the help of a young monk with whom her relationship deepened. Jenkins describes in detail her willingness to endure grueling living conditions, separations, and much travel in search of happiness based on her own knowledge: "I have to walk my own path and find my own wisdom through my own experiences," she writes. Each chapter is couched as a life "lesson," such as "trust your inner voice" and "you are more than the roles you play." Jenkins's writing is graceful and direct, and she isn't afraid to reveal her initial na vet . Her observations tend toward the superficial and clich d ("I still didn't fully trust the universe"), and the author is reticent about her reactions to the complexities of Asian cultures. Overall, romance overshadows spiritual wisdom in this gentle, earnest book.
