Trying to Be Human: Zen Talks [Paperback]

Cheri Huber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995

This funny, engaging guide to the basics of Buddhist meditation presents the idea that people are not human beings trying to be spiritual, but spiritual beings trying to be human. That is, instead of striving toward an ideal image of ourselves, people might aim simply to see more clearly what being human is all about, including what impels striving.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Cheri Huber tells it like it is. I count her among the Zen teachers whose writing I recommend.
Dai-En Bennage
Resident Senior Priest, Mt. Equity Zendo
Translator of Abbess Aoyama Roshi's Zen Seeds
"

From the Back Cover

Spiritual/Psychology/Zen Buddhism

Trying To Be Human is about discovering that we already are everything we yearn for.

Cheri Huber tells it like it is. I count her among the Zen teachers whose writing I recommend. --Dai-En Bennage, Resident Senior Priest, Mt. Equity Zendo, Translator of Abbess Aoyama Roshi's Zen Seeds

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Keep It Simple Books (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963078410
• ISBN-13: 978-0963078414
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight talk about practice for the non-specialist, June 20, 2001

By 

Algernon D'Ammassa (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trying to Be Human: Zen Talks (Paperback)

It might seem easy, putting together a collection of short pieces (many from extemporaneous talks) on dharma practice in terms applicable to modern non-Buddhists who don't know "satori" from Toyota.

But it isn't easy at all. Cheri Huber has a talent for concise, clear demonstrations of practicing in ordinary life and how to make room for daily meditation practice. Instead of ancient Buddhist teachings, she is more likely to reach to common sense and a warm, keen feeling for psychology. Her style as a Zen teacher is refreshingly ordinary, modest, and worldly. She is loath to offer prescriptions, and has a sharp eye for how spiritual practice may be co-opted by egotistical concerns.

Editor Sara Jenkins has bravely allowed these talks to stand without explanation or qualification, respecting the power of a short paragraph over a lengthy discourse. The book is organized into categories that almost seem irrelevant as one is tempted to simply dip into the book!, opening at random and letting one talk at a time be enough for the day.