These are Zen meditations for modern times -- cold comfort, maybe, for some of us who might want platitudes and the promise of peacefulness being handed to us on a silver platter. Because, as Shaw points out, conflict is a part of life. Zen Buddhism was even founded in conflict. No one can give anyone else peace. Peace comes to those who seek it -- in the moment and for the moment only. The pace of lives continues to accelerate, though, with more and more demands being placed on us by both others and ourselves. This collection, aimed at gaining inner peace, is wonderfully suited to the breakneck pace of our lives today. The future is too full of work, laundry, family, and other commitments -- not to mention the unknown. The past is gone. There's no time like the present to make like the eye of the hurricane and choose to be at peace with ourselves. The 108 meditations in this book offer a very contemporary respite from internal and external conflict. Their number and their form, however, is steeped in tradition. One-hundred-and-eight is a sacred number in Buddhism, where there is also the tradition of meditating with malas -- strung beads, which come in multiples of nine -- 27, 56, or 108. Their form follows Buddhist tradition as well -- they're modern koans, or riddles to ponder, and dharma stories.
Scott Shaw, Ph.D. is a prolific author, composer, and filmmaker. He was born and spent his formative years in Hollywood, California. Since his late teens, Shaw has traveled the globe. His particular focus has been on Asia, where he continually returns, documenting obscure aspects of Asian culture in words and on film.
During his youth, Shaw was drawn to two factors that have come to define much of his life; namely: Eastern Meditative Thought and the Martial Arts. These inclinations led him to study in both the West and Asia. Shaw is an initiate of Buddhist, Hindu, and Sufi sects. He has been a certified instructor of both Yoga and Meditation since the age of eighteen.
Shaw began studying the martial arts at six years old. He has emerged as one of the leading modern proponents of integrating spirituality into the martial arts. He was the first non-Korean ever to be awarded the seventh degree black belt by the prestigious Korea Hapkido Federation and has since been promoted to eighth degree black belt in both Hapkido and Taekwondo. He also has been certified seventh degree black belt in Aikijutsu and Kumdo.
As an author, Scott Shaw's writings were initially published by literary journals in the 1970s. He continued forward to have several works of poetry and literature published in book form. By the 1980s, Shaw's writings came to be embraced in Spiritual and Martial Art circles. From this, he has authored numerous articles and a number of books on Zen Buddhism, Yoga, Ki Science, and the Martial Arts.
In addition to writing, Shaw has an active career as an actor and filmmaker. In 1991, he developed a new style of filmmaking that he titled, Zen Filmmaking. The primary premise behind Zen Filmmaking is that no screenplay should be used in the creation of a film. According to Shaw, "In Zen Filmmaking there are no rules and no definitions. Instead, the spontaneous creative energy of the filmmaker is the only defining factor. This allows for a spiritually pure source of immediate inspiration to be the only guide in the filmmaking process."
As a university professor, Shaw has taught seminars and courses on Asian Studies and Filmmaking at such institutions as the University of California, Los Angeles, California State University, Los Angeles, the University of Oxford, Silpakorn University, and the Korea National University of the Arts.
