Nothing Special: Living Zen (Paperback)

by Charlotte J. Beck (Author), Steve Smith (Author) "We are rather like whirlpools in the river of life..." (more)
Key Phrases: labeling our thoughts, selfcentered thoughts, other ice cubes, Middle East, Garden of Eden, Master Ichu (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Deep Wisdom; strong, clear, practical advice--wonderful common sense Zen." -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

"Joko Beck speaks from the timeless and the perennial, so her metaphors of ordinary things and everyday incidents illumine my mundane life. Nothing Special is Zen alive and how to live it." -- Robert Aitken, author of Taking the Path of Zen

Product Description
A Zen Center weekend in a book! The delightfully contemporary teacher and bestselling author of Everyday Zen shows how to make living itself a spiritual practice and how to discover that the extraordinary is really "nothing special."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1st edition (September 3, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062511173
• ISBN-13: 978-0062511171
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #26,270 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get back to Reality Zen, March 30, 2004

By	Beaumont Vance "Risk Manager at Large" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a buddhist.I have read a single talk out of this book every night for over a year. These are concise dharma talks. Zen is pretty new to the US, and many of the traditional Zen stories have to do with monks having exotic experiences. It is easy to get caught in these dreams of 13th century Japan. Joko brings us back from our dreams of a far away practice to doing our dishes while the kids yell in our house in Denver. She offers a sober message of being just here. You wont find a heartwarming Hallmark message here. Joko is as direct and harsh as reality. It is no fun to follow the teachings back to our drab old smelly life, so don't look for the book to be a fun escape. It is the opposite -- which is why it is so good.
The book is comprised of a series of talks from Joko and some questions from her students. Joko is an American and so the message couched in the familiar language of our culture. IT is not like reading Dogen, and is more accessible. I would recommend this work to anyone who is serious about---well words escape me. It is not quie accurate to say that it is for those who are serious about taking the Zen path. But for anyone who wants to learn to be present with their real life, this offers solid guidance as much as words can.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Helpful Teaching, March 2, 2006

By	Mike in the Middle (Midwest) - See all my reviews

For years I was obsessed with Zen books. However, it wasn't until I came across Joko's books that I encountered the radical suggestion: OUR LIFE IS OUR PRACTICE!!! It was a real eye opener. I reread "Everyday Zen" three or four time in a row. My teachers in Rochester were pretty unimpressed; they thought that Joko was for people "who weren't ready for Zen." (One of them really did say that!) I thought otherwise; her work addressed the disconnect between a practice created for those in monasteries and the "self-centered dream" of our lives. It baffled me that people would be having "openings" in the Zendo and then treat their family like dirt after a retreat. She taught that working with our family "issues" (noticing our thoughts and resting in our physical experience) was not something separate from our practice on the cushions in the meditation hall. No duality.

I ended up working with Joko for about five years. She was (and is) every bit as remarkable in real life as she was in her book. There isn't a lot of drama in this practice. Our life becomes less of a soap opera and becomes more mundane. From that ordinariness emerge joy, compassion, love and all of the other aspects of our true nature. You might have fewer of the kind of lightening bolts of a traditional practice. Instead, you will have a grounded life that brings peace rather than pain into this world.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is amazing!, May 7, 1999

By A Customer

This is the best book on zen practice that I have ever read . . . and I've read many books on this subject! Beck demystifies the process of living a compassionate life. Other books on this subject have left me feeling baffled and inadequate. Beck's approach helped me find some clarity. I HIGHLY recommend it.