Zooburbia

Meditations on the Wild Animals Among Us

Tai Moses

 

A light, pleasing meditation on the joy of mindfully observing nature.—Kirkus Reviews

A lively blend of memoir, natural history, and mindfulness practices, Zooburbia makes the case for being mindful and compassionate stewards—and students—of the wildlife with whom we coexist. With lessons on industriousness, perseverance, presence, exuberance, gratitude, aging, how to let go, and much more, each chapter shares the happy fact that none of us is alone—our teachers are right in front of us.

To be alienated from animals is to live a life that is not quite whole, contends nature writer Tai Moses. Urban and suburban residents share our environments with many types of wildlife: squirrels, birds, spiders, and increasingly lizards, deer, and coyote. Many of us crave more contact with wild creatures, and recognize the ways animals enrich our lives, yet don’t notice the animals already around us.

ISBN: 978-1-937006-67-9, Paperback, 128 pages. 

 

REVIEWS

This is a poetics of suburbia—of animals flying above us, sharing our houses, gardens and streets. Zooburbia will delight readers who love language and stay with them long after they’ve finished reading. —Thaisa Frank, Enchantment

Zooburbia has the power to quietly change the way you see the world. On every page, Tai Moses offers readers a way to reinterpret the ordinary, revealing that the world we humans have built is an even stranger place than we imagined, yet she reminds us of the beauty that lies beneath our human bumbling. This is a strange and beautiful book—a book about animals that is really a book about being a person. —Robert Jensen, Arguing for Our Lives

Wise, witty, compelling, and true, each of these closely-observed essays is a perfect gem! Thank you, Tai Moses, for showing us the blessings our animal teachers give us in wild abundance, right in our own backyards. —Sy Montgomery, The Good Good Pig

 

How to Sit

Mindfulness Essentials

Thich Nhat Hanh

To sit is to restore ourselves, to become fully present and fully alive in the here and now.—Thich Nhat Hanh

How to Sit provides simple directions on the mechanics of posture and breathing, along with instructions for how best to achieve the awakened, relaxed, state of clarity to cultivate concentration and compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh shares a series of guided meditations that help us return to our breath, spend some time in the present moment, and come home to ourselves.

This pocket-sized book is perfect for those brand new to sitting meditation as well as for those looking to deepen their spiritual practice.

With pen-and-ink drawings by Jason DeAntonis.

ISBN: 978-1-937006-58-7, Pocket Paperback, 120 pages.

Is Nothing Something?

Kids’ Questions and Zen Answers About Life, Death, Friendship, and Everything in Between

Thich Nhat Hanh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Is Nothing Something? Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh answers heartfelt, difficult, and funny questions from children of all ages.

Beginning with the most basic questions, “What is important in life?” and “Why is my brother mean to me?” and progressing through issues that we all wrestle with, such as “How do I know if I really love somebody?,” “How long am I going to live?,” and “What does God look like?,” each page presents a question with a short answer from Thich Nhat Hanh. Both humorous and profound, Is Nothing Something? is the perfect resource for kids with questions, and adults wondering how to answer them.

Illustrated with original color artwork by Jessica McClure.

ISBN:978-1-937006-65-5, Hardcover, 40 pages.

 

ISBN: 978-1-937006-65-5
Hardcover, 40 pages
Trim size: 8.5″ x 11″ – See more at: http://parallax.org/is-nothing-something/#sthash.PNW42Dld.dpuf

In Is Nothing Something? Zen Master Thich Nhat answers heartfelt, difficult, and funny questions from children of all ages.  Beginning with the most basic questions, “What is important in life?” and “Why is my brother mean to me?” and progressing through issues that we all wrestle with, such as “How do I know if I really love somebody?”, “How long am I going to live?” and “What does God look like?”, each page presents a question with a short answer from Thich Nhat Hanh and full color illustrations by Jessica McClure.

The Mindfulness Survial Kit

Five Essential Practices

Thich Nhat Hanh

In this new commentary on the Five Precepts—not to kill, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, or take intoxicants—Thich Nhat Hanh offers a contemporary and secular guide to applying mindfulness practices in our daily lives.  The Mindfulness Survival Kit shows how we can live a happy, fulfilled, and ethical life with continued practice and commitment. The Five Mindfulness Trainings illuminate how ancient Buddhist teachings can be reinterpreted as a practical and relevant roadmap for our times.

“Nhat Hanh’s meditations illuminate the connection between spirituality and social action and point us to the value of mindfulness in everyday life.”—Publishers Weekly

ISBN: 978-1-937006-34-1, Pocket-Paperback, 206 pages.

Zen Battles

Modern Commentary on the Teachings of Master Linji

Thich Nhat Hanh

ISBN: 978-1-937006-53-2

“The Buddha is you!  That is a very revolutionary sentence.”

Master Linji implored his students not to “become lost in the concepts of the teaching.” He emphasized that people must wake up to the direct experience of our true nature inherent within.  Powerful, direct, and uncompromising, Thich Nhat Hanh’s reflections on the teachings of Master Linji are a must for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of Buddhist practices.

The humorous and profound teaching of ninth century Chinese Zen Master Linji (revered founder of the Rinzai school) are of great significance in the transmission of Buddhist teachings from the early Ch’an and Zen lineages.  In Zen Battles, Thich Nhat Hanh’s commentary on the ancient recorded Buddhist teachings elaborate on the key tenets and simple truths to give readers tools that can help awaken them to their true inner nature.

Previously published as Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go.

Those who like robust Zen will enjoy both Linji’s bluntness and Thich Nhat Hanh’s candor in commenting on the master’s work.—Shambhala Sun

Moments of Mindfulness

Daily Inspiration

Thich Nhat Hanh

We have the ability to work wonders. If we live mindfully in everyday life, walk mindfully, are full of love and caring, then we create a miracle and transform the world into a wonderful place. —Thich Nhat Hanh

This beautifully designed gift book contains many of the best-loved inspirational quotations and passages from Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Basic meditation instructions and messages of peace, love, insight, understanding, and compassion accompany detailed line drawings, with blank pages for writing.

Moments of Mindfulness is a perfect journal for spiritual exploration and can be read for everyday inspiration, to help bring mindful practices and reflection to daily life. With illustrations by Jenifer Kent. 

 

ISBN: 978-1-937006-46-4, Hardcover, 160 pages, Parallax Press. 

Peace of Mind, Becoming Fully Present

In Peace of Mind, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that integrating body and mind is the only way to fee truly alive in each moment. Combining ancient Buddhist wisdom and current scientific thinking, he offers concrete practices for how to relieve stress and cultivate joy. Peace of Mind provides a foundation for understanding the principles of mind-body awareness and introduces critical tools for sustaining authentic well-being.

Reviews

“Like all the great teachers, Thich Nhat Hanh transmits profound insights through simple heart-opening words. His voice is so intimate and open, reading this book is like sitting with him, in his transforming presence. Offering powerful experiential practices and an inspiring vision of what a human life can be, this book shows you how to bring mind and body together to illuminate and heal each one.” Rick Hanson, PhD, Buddha’s Brain

“Practice the gentle exercises in this graceful book to achieve the peace and happiness that mindful awareness of the fundamental union of body and mind can bring to oneself and to other.” Richard Shusterman, Body Consciousness

Thich Nhat Hanh

ISBN: 978-1-937006-44-0, Paperback, 156 pages, Parallax Press.

Love Letter to the Earth

Thich Nhat Hanh

ISBN: 978-1-937006-38-9, Paperback, 144 pages.

Love Letter to the Earth is a hopeful book that points to the vital need to respond to the stress we are putting on the planet and offers humanity a path to follow to protect nature and limit climate change. Thich Nhat Hanh identifies one key issue as having the potential to create a tipping point. We must move beyond the concept of the “environment,” as it leads people to experience themselves and our Mother Earth as two separate entities. If we harness our compassion, mindfulness, and concentration Nhat Hanh believes in a collective awakening that will bring transformation to ourselves and the world abound us.

Praise for Love Letter to the Earth:

“Understanding our unbreakable connection to the abstraction we call ‘the environment’ really is the first step to sensible action. In that sense, this is a very practical book!”—Bill McKibben, Eaarth and The End of Nature

“Thich Nhat Hanh makes an eloquent, uplifting, and urgent call to recognize that our health and happiness are inextricably tied to Mother Earth and to all of our kin. We need this great wisdom if we are to move from our destructive path”—David Suzuki, The Sacred Balance

“John Muir wrote that ‘When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.’ In this clear-eyed, loving paean, Thich Nhat Hanh illuminates both our connection and our responsibility to the beautiful planet we call home.”—Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, author of Coming Clean

“Thich Nhat Hanh addresses the root cause of the environmental crisis and, in doing so, offers a roadmap to an entirely new dream of the Earth.” —Wade Davis, Explorer in Residence, National Geographic Society, author of The Serpent and the Rainbow

 

Ten Breaths to Happiness, Touching Life in its Fullness

There are people who say that mindfulness is just one thing -breathing in and breathing out. They are right. With mindful breathing, we’re more present for ourselves and for the world and we can live deeply every moment of our daily life.”

-Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, from the Foreword

Glen Schneider has developed a series of simple practices to help us cultivate happiness and fulfillment in the course of our daily lives. Happiness is far more than a positive feeling that comes and goes, happiness is wired into the physiology of our brains. It is a skill we can all develop through cultivating mindfulness and concentration. In Ten Breaths to Happiness the author presents a series of simple practices and guided meditations that help rewire your neural pathways to experience deeper fulfillment and peace.

Glen Schneider is a Dharma teacher ordained by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and founder of the Buckeye Sangha. He lives in Berkeley, California, where he is a naturalist and gardener.

ISBN:978-1-937006-39-6, Paperback, 96 pages.

Reviews

“Glen Schneider has created a truly simple set of practices you can actually do anywhere, anytime. They really work!” -MJ Ryan, author of Attitudes of Gratitude

“Schneider show how, in training our mindfulness on beauty for the span of ten breaths (30 seconds), we are actually opening new pathways to happiness, which can–with practice–replace habitual negativity, pain, and even trauma. What a gift.” -Louise Dunlap, author of Undoing the Silence

Scattered Memories

Mind Seal

“Stepping on the land of reality,

Beautiful flowers bloom everywhere.

Only deep mindfulness shines through

And the three realms have been surpassed.

In this land,

Where the moon shines brilliantly

On the glorious Dharma Body Ocean,

The world of Heaven disappears

And the world of Hell dusts off.

Why let birth and death bind us?

We can freely and joyfully travel,

Praising the melody of peace

And playing the music of non-birth

On a holeless flute,

Heading home on the buffalo’s back,

The golden moon arising at the gate top.”

1997

Thich Giac Thanh

This collection of poems by Thay Giac Thanh the much loved senior disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh, explore his journey from young boy in Vietnam to Buddhist monk, to immigrant,  and monastic abbot of Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California. While the early poems are full of romantic and poetic imagery, the subsequent ones convey a profound wisdom and spaciousness of heart. As both disciple and Zen master, he was committed to cultivating great compassion and liberation through inner discovery. Light in spirit, loving and wise, sometimes strict, often humorous — his poetry perfectly capture Thay Giac Thanh’s clarity, wisdom, and heart. With beautiful original ink drawings by Orlin Mantchev.

Thay Giac Thanh was born in 1947 in Vietnam and passed away October 2001 at Deer Park monastery in Escondido, CA. Ordained as a monk at age 20, he received the Dharma name Giac Thanh (Awakening Sound). In 1971 he went to Van Hanh University to further his studies in Buddhism. He left Vietnam as a boat person in 1981 and came to the US in 1982. In 1999 he became the first abbot of Deer Park Monastery, and continued writing under his pen name Da Hac.

ISBN:978-1-937006-31-0, Paperback, 144 pages.