Zen and the Art of Anything - Softcover

French, Hal W.; Wu, Kwang-ming

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1887714456 ISBN 13: 9781887714457

Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Pr, 1999

Synopsis

In Zen and the Art of Anything, Hal W. French invites readers to embrace a broad definition of Zen as mindfulness--extracting the most from a given moment--and opportunity to incorporate greater appreciation and fulfillment in everyday activities. Written, designed, and illustrated to enable Zen, this book encourages opportunities for mindfulness in commonplace human actions like breathing, speaking, waking, sleeping, moving, staying, eating, drinking, working, playing, caring, loving, thriving, and surviving. French holds that, if we are mindful in our daily living and thereby practice Zen, we can elevate the most fundamental activity to an art form and find a key to a more authentic and meaningful life.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"If shelf and cerebral space allowed for only one book on personal spirituality, self-knowledge, or improvement, it could easily be Dr. Hal French's Zen and the Art of Anything."
¯The Star Reporter, Columbia, S.C.

THIS IS NOT JUST A BOOK ABOUT ZEN. THIS IS ZEN!
Simply put, Zen is mindfulness¯extracting the most from a given moment.
You are invited, through this book, to understand Zen
As something that is not exotic or difficult to attain.
Rather, Zen is basic and available to anyone wishing to have a more fulfilling life.
Think of everyday activities: breathing and speaking, waking and sleeping,
Moving and staying, eating and drinking, working and playing, caring and loving.
If we are truly mindful in our daily living, thereby practicing Zen,
We can elevate the most fundamental activity to an art form.
Through Dr. Hal French's charming, mindful writing,
You can actually find the key to a more authentic and meaningful life.
The simple act of reading his thoughts and works,
Filled with so many elegant and artful insights, enables Zen.
AN ENABLING BOOK MUST ALSO ENOBLE. AND SO THIS DOES.

"[Zen and the Art of Anything] teaches¯in just the way [Hal French] speaks, kindly, lovingly, humorously¯chapter by chapter, how to breathe and speak, wake and sleep, move and stay, eat and drink, play and work, care and love, thrive and survive... There is a charmingly homey and homely feel to the way Dr. French does this."
¯The State, Columbia, SC

From the Back Cover

"It looks like poetry but is actually bits and pieces of prose, set to flow on the page with the jerky rhythms and the unexpected pleasures of life. It speaks in riddles and, in the great Zen tradition, answers a question with a question. Richly charming while delightfully slim, it guides us ever so gently over life's uncertain terrain, helping us avert the minefields. Basing the book's lessons on Zen fundamentals, French proves a wise and witty observer of the simplest aspects of human existence. . . . Both beginners and more advanced students of Zen will find much to enjoy."--Booklist

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1887714456
• ISBN 13: 9781887714457
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 175
• Illustrator: Rankin Marianne