If nothing else, the gems that were laid on the ground before him are made available to lead you in a new direction-or perhaps to a new road altogether that you never knew existed.' -Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, author of The Shamanic Bones of Zen The encounters along the way of Senauke Roshi’s walk with teachers, family, and friends are intimately shared here.

Turning Words honors those curves that stop us, if only for a moment, to take another look at how we are living this life. 'In most of our lives there are bends in the road. Alan Senauke tells us of many encounters with many people, from those he has known intimately-his father, his main Buddhist teacher-to people he has encountered only indirectly, such as the seventh-century Chinese sage Huineng and the character The Dude from The Big Lebowski (but you have to read the book to figure that one out).' -Rebecca Solnit, author of Orwell's Roses 'When you’re a true student, everyone and everything is a teacher-this is the underlying lesson of this beautiful, engrossing book that invites us all, in turn, to become students in this way. Sheng Yen, Sulak Sivaraksa, and many more-with a special section devoted to the teachings of Senauke’s primary teacher, Sojun Mel Weitsman. The book’s stories feature many of the great Zen teachers, engaged Buddhists, and global Buddhist leaders of our day, including Robert Aitken, Bernie Glassman, Shodo Harada, Dainin Katagiri, Jarvis Masters, Ven. Touching on meditation, insight, social action, race, family, community, and more, these vignettes build like a chorus and convey lessons such as taking one’s work seriously without taking oneself seriously, letting things fall apart, and using oneself up on behalf of others. Here are stories of moments in which someone’s words, actions, or presence opened his mind and heart.

A poignant portrait of spiritual relationships evoked through the remarkable words of Buddhist teachers, leaders, and trailblazers.Īcross nearly forty years of practice in Zen and socially engaged Buddhism, Hozan Alan Senauke has had a range of remarkable encounters with Buddhist teachers and spiritual friends.

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