I got very excited and sent him a picture of it. Oddly enough I found an unusual pet name that through a series of unexplainable inside jokes has become part of my normal lexicon used to refer to my boyfriend within the pages of this book. I would say that The Surreal Adventures of Anthony Zen does have a discernable humor to it. I enjoy surrealist art and paintings but it’s quite a different situation to try and partake in surrealism for more than a few minutes at a time. I would imagine that the whole genre is best consumed in smaller portions. I don’t think I’ve ever read much true surrealist literature. Everything in Anthony Zen can start to blend together after a short while. I found it best to read a chapter or two and then pick up something more substantial for the rest of my reading time. However, since this book really lives up to the surrealist genre it’s not exactly the best for binge reading. It’s best to just sit back and let Anthony do whatever it is he’s going to do. If nothing else it is unexpected and unpredictable. It’s entertaining to get a view of pure imagination with no rules or boundaries. In fact, it seems like everything in the book happens between the times of 08. The world of Anthony Zen is a surreal alternate present that doesn’t necessarily adhere to the rules of physics or time. And he has almost always, if not always, forgotten his pants. Mostly, the reader just attempts to follow as Anthony journeys to work, meets with his parents, and goes on other mundane trips that become wacky misadventures. There isn’t exactly a central plot or conflict to follow. The book is closer to a series of related short stories than a novella. His unusual but immensely creative sense of humor is on full display in The Surreal Adventures of Anthony Zen. Straughan states at the beginning of this book as well as in his correspondence with me that he is an autistic author with an unusual sense of humor that not everyone gets. Thank you to author Straughan for providing me with a copy of The Surreal Adventures of Anthony Zen in exchange for this honest review.Īuthor Cameron A. "This book is a spring of nectar for new and seasoned practitioners alike.The Surreal Adventures of Anthony Zen by author Cameron A. A major contribution for all schools of meditation." -Larry Rosenberg, author of Breath by Breath and Living in the Light of Death These liberating teachings by Katagiri Roshi are unique and precious in their ability to help us learn to use time skillfully-and not to be used by it. "These are brilliant and lucid reflections on the immense significance of the present moment. I recommend this book to all Zen practitioners and to anyone who wishes to enrich and ripen their life." -Shohaku Okumura Roshi, Director, Soto Zen Buddhism International Center "In this book, Katagiri Roshi presents Dogen Zenji's teachings on 'being-time' and teaches how the blossom of our life force can flourish amidst the flow of change. "Katagiri conveys a zest for Zen understanding that differs from the calm inscrutability of other Zen Buddhists." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) And these ideas are by no means metaphysical abstractions: they can be directly perceived by any of us through meditation. He discusses time as part of our inner being, made manifest through constant change in ourselves and our surroundings. He guides us in contemplating impermanence, the present moment, and the ungraspable nature of past and future. Katagiri bases his teaching on Being Time, a text by the most famous of all Zen masters, Eihei Dogen (1200–1253), to show that time is a creative, dynamic process that continuously produces the universe and everything in it-and that to understand this is to discover a gateway to freedom from the dissatisfactions of everyday life. Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, whose books on mindfulness have sold in their millions, has returned to Vietnam to await the end of his life. Understand this, says Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and you can live fully and freely right where you are in each moment. The Zen view of time is radically different than that: time is not something separate from our life rather, our life is time. We often regard it as an enemy, when we feel it slipping away before we’re ready for time to be up. It's easy to regard time as a commodity-we even speak of “saving” or “spending” it. This book is also included in our Reader's Guide on Dogen where you will find other important Zen classics.
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