The Wooden Bowl: Simple Meditations for Everyday Life (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There is an old Zen story: when a monk was asked why he went to a monastery when he claims to have never lacked anything in the first place, the monk replies that if he hadn't gone, he would never have known that he never lacked anything. Reading The Wooden Bowl, you get the same feeling. It is a meditation manual that teaches you that you basically have nothing to learn, but you must read every page actually to learn it. If you have aspirations for astral travel or of becoming a renowned Zen master, this book isn't for you. Clark Strand is himself a former monk who seems to turn from institutional Zen to its roots in ancient Taoism, without actually saying so. He emphasizes simplicity, humility, and letting things happen, traits that he picked up from an old Chinese monk before he studied Zen formally. Still, in the great Zen tradition, Strand is an iconoclast. His message is what meditation is not. It is not becoming an expert, achieving different states of mind, reliving the life of the Buddha, daily sitting, or even concentration. Strand reflects on the silent lessons taught him by the Chinese monk and realizes that meditation is the natural condition of our minds. It "doesn't make us better or worse or different than we are, it only wakes us up." A haiku poet, Strand writes in short sections with a polished ease that reflects his view of what meditation should be. Like a hobby, he says, mediation should be a time of doing something for its own sake, absent other preoccupations. Don't worry about doing it right or doing it better or different from others. Meditation is empty yet substantial, plain but useful, the reality behind grand ambitions--a wooden bowl. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Former Buddhist monk Strand (Seeds from a Birch Tree) opens this engaging book with a personal anecdote about how despair led to his early embracr of Zen Buddhism and how disillusionment led to his eventual resignation from his position as director of the New York Zendo, a Renzai Zen Buddhist training center in Manhattan. Strand's disillusionment stemmed from his sudden realization that meditation was too often considered by professional religious teachers to be little more than a technique to be mastered by their students. In this book, Strand argues that meditation should be a "hobby" whose practice can be enjoyed by novices seeking to enfold meditation into their everyday lives. Strand combines lively stories drawn from his personal experience as a teacher and Zen practitioner with short meditation exercises as he guides readers to use meditation to "be present to nature, to oneself, and to other people." The book is divided into three sections. In "Getting Started," Strand offers simple instructions for beginning meditation. "Getting Settled" provides insights into establishing a regular meditation practice. And, "Getting Together" offers recommendations on starting and maintaining a meditation group. Rather than giving readers a set of rules to follow to get meditation right the first and every time, Strand, with good humor, helps readers gain a sense of their inner presence through a sharing of his own faltering steps to make meditation a hobby rather than a professional life.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; Reprint edition (May 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786884150
• ISBN-13: 978-0786884155
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #483,482 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beatifully simple book -- highly recommended, December 6, 2000

By	Abra Carroll Nardo (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My Dad bought me this book as a gift. And what a great gift it was! I have what I call a "busy brain." There is rarely a time when thoughts aren't racing through my head: what I need to do, planning a vacation I may or may not take, grocery lists, what I will teach in class the next day, etc. Recently, I have become very interested in Buddhism and meditation. I think I'm drawn to it because it involves practicing my weakest skill: mindfulness. My mind gets away from me before I know it. Of all the books I've read on these topics, The Wooden Bowl is by far the best. There is no dogma, no guidelines, no processes... These are the details I get caught up in. Before when I've decided to meditate, I've been online looking at meditation benches, looking up books on the topic, planning how I will start. But Clark Strand's point in this book is that these actions miss the point. Meditation is not something you put in your date book, it's not something you feel guilty about not doing, nor is it something you near to clear out the room for. It just is, if that makes any sense. Before reading this book, I had decided that I was not ready to meditate, and the closest I could get was watching my cat take a bath for a few minutes at a time. Well, if I understand Strand correctly, then that is enough. That is a moment when I am present; I am not DOING anything except taking in the now. Even this practice of taking short breaks in my day to sit in the moment and just BE has helped me out tremendously. I'm starting to feel that I have some control over my "busy brain." Perhaps these short breaks will get longer. Perhaps they won't. I am now willing to let them take their course. I highly recommend this book. I'm grateful Clark Strand decided to write his thoughts down for all of us.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Subtle Observations, March 17, 2000

By	Peter Rasmussen (Garden City, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wooden Bowl: Simple Meditation for Everyday Life (Hardcover)

Of all the books I've read on the subject of Zen/ Meditation this one is the best. It is a collection of short chapters on the many facets of meditation, how to approach it, what you can and can't expect from it, and handle what you discover through it. Written in plain spoken english, Mr. Strand has managed to convey the essence of something difficult to put into words, that is, being able to live in the present moment. Very well done and worth owning.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Simple, Clear and Unpretentious Approach to Meditation, July 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wooden Bowl: Simple Meditation for Everyday Life (Hardcover)

This book provides a simple, non-denominational approach to meditation, that is free of gurus and affectation. Strand, a former Zen Buddhist monk, left monastery life behind for this simple approach to meditation. It's as simple and unaffected as a plain" wooden bowl". Just sit and be present, where we always are anyway. There is no fancy instruction aside from counting the breath from one to four. He advocates the formation of non-hierarchical "present moment groups" to support the practice. This is a perfect and easy to follow primer who those interested in getting started meditating.