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Summer Reading
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I found myself mourning just as she described herself to be at the loss of Kitigari Roshi. Somehow, Goldberg had gotten me to be as much in love with Roshi as she, and so the loss was real when she described the events leading up to and then his actual death. But that is exactly what she tries to explain in the Long Quiet Highway, that we have to experience now, and be open to the present fully, unconditionally. The beauty of this book is that it not only explains in mere words the principles she espouses, but it elicits those feelings directly through the very words we are reading.
Easy insight comes also from her teaching experiences. That is not to imply that the lessons learned were easy for Ms. Goldberg, but rather that her word pictures make it easy for the reader to understand and visualize what actually happened, what lights went on with the students, and how she managed to make that happen. I thought that I would perhaps be a bit bored with this, her fourth book for me, but I could not have been more incorrect.
This book has inspired me to go back and re-read some of the Zen texts I've collected. At the same time, it has encouraged me to make time for my own writing practice - no excuses, no postponing, just do it.
I was also sad that the book ended. Then I recognized the sadness and laughed: All things are impermanent. Therefore it is fitting that the story came to an end. However, the lesson which this book embarks upon need not end with the closing of its covers...
Why should one read this book? If one is interested in Zen, read it. If one is interested in New Mexico, read it. If one is interest in writing, read it. If one is interested in the cultural transformation of America, read it. More importantly, if one is interested in life, READ IT.
This little book is big.