Older and Wiser: Classical Buddhist Teachings on Aging, Sickness, and Death
by Mu Soeng, Gloria Ambrosia, and Andrew Olendzki
★★★★★
This book is offered as a support for all of us dealing with one very real question: How do we continue seeking and finding happiness, inner tranquility, and wisdom in our elder years?
Through both scholarly examination and thoughtful reflection, these selected discourses guide us in how to apply the teachings of the Buddha to our daily life and practice.
Embodying the teachings in this way, we find that even in our elder years it is still very much possible to find ease and joy, even while dealing with the inevitabilities of aging, sickness, and death.
The three teachers—a Theravada scholar well-versed in the early teachings of Buddhism; a Zen scholar and practitioner from the Korean Zen tradition; and a lay Buddhist minister and Dhamma teacher rooted in the Thai Forest Tradition—offer a range of perspectives speaking to a wide range of interests, points of view, and levels of experience with meditation and Buddhism.
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Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in that Order)
by Shozan Jack Haubner
★★★★
Think the life of a Zen monk is all serenity, peace, and austerity? Think again. Here, Shozan Jack Haubner gives an often-hilarious, always-candid account of what it’s really like behind those monastery walls. Haubner’s adventures include memories of his dysfunctional Midwestern family that drove him ultimately to declare, “I think I should be a monk!” to a madcap account of the night he got stoned and snuck out of the monastery, alongside more sobering accounts such as his life-threatening brush with illness, the profound impact of a dear friend’s death, and reflections on the controversy that rocked his Zen community. That he finds timeless wisdom in both the tragic and the absurd is a tribute to Haubner's gifts as a writer and humorist, and to his clear insights into the nature of self and what the practice of Zen is all about.
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Mindfully Facing Disease and Death
by Analayo
★★★★ 1/2
"Serious meditation students will benefit tremendously from the clarity of understanding that Venerable Analayo's efforts have achieved."
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness
This book provides a practical guide for those facing disease and death by helping them to access the ageless wisdom of the Buddha's teaching.
Disease and death are undeniably integral parts of human life. Yet when they manifest we are easily caught unprepared. To prepare for these, we need to learn how to skillfully face illness and passing away. A source of practical wisdom can be found in the early discourses that record the teachings given by the Buddha and his disciples.
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“Many of us live like dead people because we live without awareness. We carry our dead bodies with us and circulate throughout the world. We are pulled into the past or we are pulled forward into the future or we are caught by our projects or our despair and anger. We are not truly alive; we are not inhabited by awareness of the miracle of being alive.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear
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