a still forest pool ... i like the imagery . it's more than just a title though .

don't expect to find too much guided meditations in this handsomely bound ( and equally handsomely titled ) book . the basics were all there for me to start practicing , but its not a manual on meditation . its much more than that .

i liked the anecdotes , each a gem of wisdom . it verily beckons us to descend off the heady heights of the mountain to start practicing here and now , in the mundane grind of everyday life . this is where it all happens .

mr. kornfield must also be commended for a fine job of putting this book together . each little vignette isn't haphazardly thrown together . this is a book best read slowly , a few pages at a time .

highly recommend it for all those who are really serious about practice .

This book is a collection of short dharma talks given by meditation master Achaan Chah.

Achaan Chah was abbot of one of the largest monastery complexes in the Thai Forest tradition. He welcomed and trained many western seekers who later returned to the west, becoming influential dharma teachers in their own right.

In this book, Achaan Chah largely eschews "theory" in favor of encouraging his students to practice. Don't expect academic discourses on Buddhist psychology or other esoteric topics. These talks are short (rarely more than a couple of pages), direct, and very inspiring.

Take your time reading this book. If you allow yourself a little time to digest the meaning of each piece, you might experience more benefit than attempting to read the book through in one sitting.

Achaan Chah's teachings are like a breath of fresh air floating among some obscure and mystifying old texts. Some of his other books are available on the web at accesstoinsight.org for free, and anyone who is interested in getting a flavor of his teaching should read these.

The measure of any buddhist book meant for people who are practicing buddhists is whether it makes you want to get right back to meditation. This book is very inspiring in that regard. It's message is clear: (and I'm paraphrasing) "Put down this book! There are no answers in it! Go back to meditating!" He says this in a number of different ways, so it's hard to read more than a little bit of it at a time. It's good for when doubts about what you are doing arise. Or when you begin to feel distracted, and perhaps tempted to put your energies into trying to transform the world outside of yourself, or even into trying to transform yourself. Then, it makes you feel like you should stay on your path.

What I find most satisfying about this book is its directness and its deep wisdom about meditation practice. This isn't one of those new-age type buddhist meditation books; it doesn't harp incessantly on becoming one with the universe, and assume that you have already done so. This is buddhism at its finest--a repeated command to find out everything for yourself within yourself, to pay attention, to let it go. His entire teaching is summed up on page five: "Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing." Those of you who still remember the Beatles might see a similarity to their song: "There will be an answer. Let it be."

Achaan Chah was a monk in the Thai forest tradition, and perhaps the most famous one in the West. In case you are not familiar with the Thai Forest Tradition, it is a tradition that began in the late 1800's that combines the physical rigor of the Zen of the olden days, with strict observance of the precepts and some of the traditional "acetic" practices from the very olden days, such as receiving food by going on alms rounds, wandering in the most fearsome forests, and eating one meal a day. The Thai forest tradition emphasizes meditation for the development of calm and wisdom, as opposed to the study of texts, or other practices.

This book was admirably translated, and the selections carefully culled and arranged. It is one of those books that you will want to read very quickly at first, and then very slowly between times when you meditate, and also a book you will want to refer back to frequently. In my opinion, it is the only book you might really want to own if you are serious about "letting it be." Every time you feel like reading a book, it will tell you in a variety of ways, often warmhearted and humorous, that you are looking in the wrong place if you think there are any answers in books; or that if look for answers in a deliberate fashion, you will find any.

Paul Breiter's wonderful and timely translation of the teachings of the late Thai Dharma master Ajahn Cha provides western dharma students access to a straight path toward the gate of Dzogchenpo. Are we westerners culturally pre-disposed to dispense with preliminaries in hopes of vanquishing suffering through rapid apprehension of the ultimate? Living Dzogchen masters have begun reminding students that Samatha concentration is the door to the spaciousness of Vipassana, and that Vipassana is the entryway to unexecelled Dzogchen/ Mahamudra view. Ajahn Cha communicates this in the simplest terms. He provides guidance for students seeking to progress toward the jettison of conceptualization and grasping. Terms such as "accumulation of merit," sometimes difficult for western students to fully comprehend, are de-mystified. Ajahn Cha's instructions enable readers to disentagle from complexity and superstitious beliefs, and to practice Dharma purely, easily and confidently. Great teachers remind us that the Dharma Essence is so simple, it is difficult to apprehend. Luang Paw (Venerable Father) Cha provides down-to-earth advice for how to accomplish the results of merit and wisdom through everyday life/practice. Here in Laos, it seems fair to suggest that Laotian people remain among the "simplest", kindest and most down-to-earth. Suffused with his own Laotian heritage, Ajahn Cha provides lucid, compassionate and accesssible explanations of the mystical Path of Dharma. Western Dharma students are fortunate to have access to many of the great Dharma texts and treatises. "Being Dharma" is among the best now available. Its instructions for how to "live Dharma", ease the mind, and help attenuate further elaboration of confusion in our troubled world. To the translator, could you provide us please with more of Ajahn Cha's Dharma Nectar?

The Dharma teachings in this book are taken from recordings of the Thai Forest Monk Ajahn Chah. As such they are folksy and often humorous. But, they represent one of the clearest representations of the Theravada path of Buhhism you are likely to find. The Theravada path is, at least until recently in the West, the lesser known of the two major divisions of Buddhism. In recent years the interest in this path, which places emphasis on the Monastic life and strict meditation, has grown. But, for the most part, those interested have not had the wealth of printed material that is available on Zen or Tibetan paths.

Ajahn Chah often uses examples from Zen and other Buddhist paths. While at one time the Theravada path was most common path, it has, over the centuries, had less influence in the West. This book, along with the works of Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, gives us a powerful view into that approach to Buddhism and its relevance to the development of spirituality in the West.

... but this book may be the next-best thing. A wonderful, charming, finger-wagging introduction to a man who I think was a living Buddha. No-nonsense, to say the least. And who doesn't love Jack Kornfeld with his wise and down-to-Earth understanding of the dhamma? Buy this book, then buy another and give it to a friend. You won't regret it.

Wendy Palmer has captured what it feels like in your body to be off center and to get re-centered. She has transformed Aikido into much more than a maritial art - a way of being in relationship to others without losing yourself. This is a great book for couples as well as those who too often find themselves thrown by strong emotions and reactions. It will give you a physical sense, rather than just intellectual or analytic, of what it means to hold your own space in the world and in relation to others

Most of us get involved in the repeating "stories" of our interactions and our lives, and stop noticing our deeper connections to ourselves and to the universe.

To me, Wendy Palmer's book offers a doorway to that deeper experience -- through the Aikido practices she teaches, and the ways she describes our interactions.

Surprisingly revealing, the book tells about Wendy Palmer's own life experiences, and suggests ways to touch-in to the more universal connections we often ignore.

One way to seek balance, she suggests, is to focus attention on our vertical connection with earth (grounding) and sky (spirit) so that it becomes as strong as our horizontal connection to our "life stories."

I am prompted to drop you a note thanking you for your new book, "The Practice of Freedom"; it struck a strong, resonant chord in me. I, too, attempt to follow the Tao (for many years)
and practice aikido (for four years). Many of your thoughtful insights are ones I have felt but have been unable to articulate to friends and family regarding the value of aikido to my life.

Recently, I was challenged by the deaths of my parents; my father's 15 year long decline from heart disease and Altsheimer's and my mother's 1 year battle with a horrific brain disease, both dying within 3 months of each other. The aikido principles of entering and blending helped me not only summon up the courage to engage death but also to "dance" with it, to make peace with it, thus enabling my latent compassion and deep love for my parents and, hopefully, giving them a measure of comfort and peace as their lives wound down. I then felt I was able to be the loving caregiver my father never had (which made me rethink Wordworth's line, "The child is father to the man").

By "surrendering" to what was being offered (as you note in your book), I feel my true self, my soul if you will, benefited greatly; I was able to be emotionally and spiritually engaged with my parents during that ultimate transition. Paradoxically, through this engaged experience with death, I now better appreciate my life and my close relationships and have attained a level of serenity.

As you elegantly mention in your book, I see us all as fellow travelers; each a separate universe, yet united in a larger continuum. You acknowledge Mitsugi Saotome in your book and I must mention that when I was researching aikido, before I started practicing, I was fortunate to read "The Principles of Aikido" and "Aikido and the Harmony of Nature" as my theoretical introduction to aikido. Both books, like yours, struck a deep chord. Some day I hope to attend one of his seminars when he comes into my area (Los Angeles).

Thank you again for articulating and validating important themes of spiritual growth that can mean so much to so many people.

This book records the teachings of 12 Theravada Buddhists, mostly famous ones in their own societies: Achaan Chaa, Mahasi Sayadaw, Sunlun Sayadaw (via a disciple), Achaan Buddhadasa, Achaan Naeb, Achaan Maha Boowa, Taungpulu Sayadaw, Mohnyin Sayadaw, Mogok Sayadaw (via a disciple), U Ba Khin, Achaan Dhammadaro, and Achaan Jumnien. These are basically the most famous meditation instructors in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Laos. If you want to learn about Theravada meditation, either for scholarly reasons or to practice, you can't do better than this book without learning their languages.

However, I think it represents a sort of elite perspective on Theravada Buddhism. Many practitioners don't share exactly the spiritualities expressed by these teachers, and I think their practices and beliefs (some would say superstitions) are an important and valuable part of Theravada Buddhism, not to be neglected by either scholars or practioners.

This book although now a little dated, is still brilliant.Here in one book are the many diverse strands of Theravada Meditation, the Thai Forest Ajahns & the Burmese Vipassana Sayadaws are present. The material covers a very broad spectrum of Teachings & approaches. I am loving reading this book.

I loved this book. It gave the paths and teachings of different Buddhist teachers. It was interesting to see how they all used different methods to acheive similiar results. It's a must read for anyone interested in Buddhism.

The book is very profound, informative and interesting. Probably the best book on insight meditation, clearly understandable and readable. The quality of the information in the book is excellent and the scope is wide, which makes you want to re-read the chapters again and again. Whether you are or are not a practitioner, or whether you want or do not want to become one, the book is very interesting from the viewpoint of psychology because it opens new realities and widens your mind.

If you have always imagined Buddhism as some mystified religion, or if you have only been educated psychology from the western viewpoint and have felt sometimes that "something is missing", try reading this book. Perhaps, you will be surprised at finding out what Buddhism actually is, and perhaps you will find in the book that "missing part".

"Our life has been spent in sleep and sleepwalking," Jack Kornfield writes in this guide to insight meditation; "meditation means waking up" (p. 52). Coauthors Kornfield and Goldstein are also the cofounders of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. This book is based on "talks given at several intensive meditation retreats" there, and focuses "on the deepening of the inner meditative process, the hindrances one encounters, skillful means of mastering them, and the understanding and wisdom that can arise while in meditative silence" (p. 215). "To understand ourselves and our life is the point of insight meditation: to understand and be free" (p. 7), Kornfield writes. Goldstein tells us that "we practice to open, to balance, and to explore" (p. 18).

Practicing insight meditation is about "clearing or emptying" the mind and heart so that we can listen in a deep and new way" (p. 57). This introductory guide not only contains valuable exercises, but also offers trusted advice about working through the "difficulties and hindrances" that may arise while practicing--desire, aversion, torpor, restlessness, and doubt. "Through practice," we're told, "it is possible to train the heart and mind, to make them concentrated, to make them steady and luminous and free" (p. 39).

The book concludes with a discussion of "the seven factors of enlightenment," mindfulness, effort and energy, investigation, rapture, concentration, tranquility, and equanimity, also offering advice for integrating meditation practice into "our everday lives" (p. 215) so that we may live "a mindful life in the world" (p. 228). Like a finger pointing at "a bright, round moon" from this "floating world" (pp. 129-30), this book is sure to become a trusted resource for anyone interested in living a deeper, more meaningful life through the practice of insight meditation. For those interested in venturing further down "the path of insight meditation," I also highly recommend Goldstein and Salzburg's 12-cassette INSIGHT MEDITATION course.

G. Merritt

I picked up the pocket version of this book one day and happened to open to the page which talks about the accumulation of material items and the transitory happiness it brings -- how once the novelty of the item has worn off we go about buying more things-- all in the hopes of stimulating that "happiness" response. Boy did that hit the nail on the head!! I had to get the full length version and it has been very enlightening. A definte must for anyone who is at a point in their life where they are questioning their purpose, their "path" and want to know what to do to effect change. I loved it!!!

"Soul Survivors" brought the horror of the Cambodian genocide to me in a way that the modern media never has. In a world where the news numbs society to mass murder and political unrest, "Soul Survivors" left me unable to remain numb to these atrocities. The book focuses on personal stories from a wide range of survivors of the genocide - stories that are essential to gaining a true understanding of how genocide affects a nation and culture. When I closed the book, I was filled with the kind of restless compassion that only comes from truly learning about the pain of another people and culture. "Soul Survivors" was an inspirational book and really made me want to change the world - something that every great book should do.

The stories are very inspiring, the photos are great, and the book itself is well done from the cover on.

This book offered me a chance to face a devastating period of human history with courage, compassion, and determination to make the world a better place. It tells the story of women and children who endured the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s and managed to rebuild their lives afterward. It includes the stories of two refugees who came to the United States as orphans, returning as young adults to help their country. In a series of personal narratives, the author lets these survivors tell their own stories in their own words, and there are accompanying photographs that give a wonderful added glimpse at their lives. Wagner also provides some brief but helpful political context for the suffering in Cambodia. Living as we are in a time of so much hatred and conflict and fear, Soul Survivors reaffirms the futility of violence and helped remind me of the possibility of redemption and reconciliation.

Don't be intimidated by six audio tapes. Jack is excellent - the tapes are rich with examples, stories, and jokes. They are great company in the car or wherever, as we travel the path.

In Your Buddha Nature is a nine hour audiobook presentation in which meditation instructor Jack Kornfield explores Buddhism's most basic foundation for mindful living called "The Ten Perfections". These perfections (which include the universal virtues of truthfulness, simplicity, and living kindness) are presented with uncommon clarity within a Buddhist perspective. These "Ten Perfections" are no viewed a remote possibilities, but as providing immediate, practical answers to the problems and challenges faced by men and women every day of their lives. In twelve absorbing sessions, Kornfield introduces the listener to the ten "paramitas" or inner perfections and how they can bring a sublime new dimension to any spiritual practice. Kornfield offers mediations and mindfulness techniques to open the perfections humans are born with. This nine-hour audio retreat invites the student to experience the the truth of life through awakening his or her Buddha Nature. Highly recommended.

I have a number of tape sets on Buddhism and none of them are any better then this set. I've listened to it several times and have loaned it to 2 friends (one tape at a time) who hand me back the finished tape and demand "Next!". You will not be disappointed with these fine tapes!

I wrote a review of this book in April of 2001. Here it is January 2002 and I'm writing a second review for this book.

I haven't re-read or revisited it, but it's wisdom stays with me. I'm concerned with my thinning hair, have troubled relations with friends, am pulled into politics at work. My apartment is a mess, my finances aren't in much better shape, I don't go out as much as I would like, I'm not making art as much as I would like. I get angry, tired, frustrated, upset, bored, all within the course of a day.

There's a book out there "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A book that changes lives." I read it despite it's silly name and silly cover. It didn't do much to change my life.

Then there's "After the Ectacy the Laundry." Has it changed my life? No, it hasn't either.

I can almost see you, the reader of this review saying "It didn't change your life? And you're still giving it 5 stars?" and in that, I see myself a just a year ago.

Our society makes too much of escaping the every day: The Laundry, the chores, work, commuting, cooking, cleaning, strained relationships with parents, family, and friends, guilt, anger, frustration, fear, and worry. We seek to escape these things into the magical world of unlimited money and advanced spirituality.

Advertising is based almost entirely on this aspect of our lives. "Buy my product and your life will change" each commercial seems to say. Buy a book by Dan Millman to become a Peaceful Warrior. Buy a sneaker by Nike and escape into a world of physical perfection and love of challenge. Buy some real estate (or a book on buying real estate by Robert Kiyosaki) and become financially independant. Everyone, every single one of us wants to escape.

The book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn states that the hippies of the 60s were trying to escape, but they couldn't because they couldn't identify the bars of the prison. So then what are the bars of the prison?

I have a phrase that I like to use lately. "Salvation tends to be in the opposite direction of where you're looking." Most people get angry when I say that to them. What do I mean by that? What is the opposite direction of the one they're looking in?

I had a friend named Liza who was very into the spiritual journey. She wanted to escape this world. She thought LSD "showed you the other side, but never let you through" and read books by Carlos Casteneda. She believed that there was an escape, but it required a shift too subtle to grasp.

I agree, the shift is too subtle for most people to grasp. Most seekers never find it because it lies in the opposite direction of seeking. What is the opposite of seeking? Being present. Seeking splits you in two, and that split makes you vulnerable to many, many things. Seeking means that half of you is looking for something. I can almost see it, a neurotic half of you running around the attic of your brain trying to find something you misplaced that, if found, will make you whole again.

Being present, ah, now that's entirely different.

Will being present end anxiety? I doubt it. Will being present pay for your new Jetta? No. Then what does being present do for you?

My girlfriend is seeing a therapist. I barely talk to someone who was at one point my closest friend. I no longer call things "mistakes" I call it "being human." We are all human. The belief that you are somehow flawed is wrong because it implies that there is an "opposite of flawed" that you can be. You are not flawed, you are human.

Many of our problems stem from thinking we are different from other people and that other people are different from us. My girlfriend sees a therapist because she believes she is different from other people, that she is flawed. My ex-best friend and I rarely talk because we each believe the other is different, somehow selfish or manipulative.

After the Ecstacy the Laundry does something no other book I've read has done. It's turned my spiritual journey on it's head. I look now at other spiritual seekers and think "The integration that you seek can only be found if you stop seeking. It is the proverbial goal that prevents you from understanding the journey."

Jack Kornfield's book is amazingly human. It makes no promises and offers no illusions. It says "this oatmeal is oatmeal. your thinning hairline is a thinning hairline. your friday night is your friday night. your job is your job. the politics at your job are politics at your job. your insecurities are your insecurities. your worries are your worries. your ego is your ego."

I wonder, sometimes, where Liza is now. The last time I saw her she told me she was living in a neighborhood that's very trendy right now. She was dressed in the latest underground style. I didn't get a chance to talk to her about her journey, or my own.

There's a phrase that captures the truth of spiritual enlightenment presented in this book. "What is the difference between a Buddhist and a non Buddhist? The non-Buddhist think's there's a difference."

What is the difference between an enlightened person and a non-enlightened person? The non-enlightened person think's that there's an "enlightenment."

One of the stories relayed in this book is that of a spiritual seeker who goes to find a master who lives on the mountain. He tracks down this master while he is carring a heavy burden to his home higher on the mountain. The seeker asks "What is the way of Enlightenment?" and the master puts his burden down. The seeker instantly understands, and thanks the master asking "Now what?" and the master picks up his burden and continues walking up the mountain.

Life is not easy. I don't think entering a spiritual practice will make it any easier. Work will still be work, family will still be family, and bills will still be bills. What we can hope to change is the constant chatter of our minds, and the worry of what tomorrow will bring.

I always thought that a spiritual life meant escaping the world and living in a monestary, or a small mountain community where I would meditate and live simply. I thought it meant giving up all of my earthly wants and desires. Now I'm faced with the odd realization that my life is perfect just the way it is. That I need only to slow down and appreciate what is around me.

I also thought a spiritual life would end suffering for me - the anxiety, and the avoidance of discomfort. That life would become stress free because I would be unattached to everything. That I would have no neurosis, and that I would be able to let everything slide off my back. Now I realize that that too isn't the purpose of spiritual practice. Spiritual practice doesn't help you escape your life, but helps you face it head on. The analogy I've begun to use is that enlightenment is like living with a great insult. The refusal to run away from that which is painful or cling to that which is comforting is what spirituality has become for me.

This book helped put spirituality within my reach. I no longer had to run away to the mountains, or give up my life. I could engage in spiritual practice in my living room, at my job, in my relationships. I could simply be who I am and where I am, and more honestly than I had been willing to before.

Shortly after finishing this book I started to experience tremendous anxiety. I was unhappy at my job, I wasn't performing well, and I was looking for a way out. It took me a few weeks to realize that I was identifying with the stress and looking for a way to solve it. I tried noticing the stress as something "outside of myself", a feeling like hunger, or the pain of a scraped knee, and not who I am. This went a great way towards releiving the stress, but more importantly, I began to accept the stress, and my job, and the responsibilities of my life.

This book also did a lot to dispell the illusions I may have had (even though I knew they were wrong) about what a spiritual life is. The Dalai Lama says that the meaning of life is to be happy. Until now I viewed spirituality as an escape from pain. I thought that that was the path to happiness. But as the story goes, the Buddha became friends with anger and envy. So must I become friends with my life. "Ah, my old friend pain. I see you've come to keep me company again."

Acceptance of these truths, and the courage to live honestly are the most difficult lessons I've ever had to learn. I reccomend this book to anyone who wishes to dispell the illusions, the comforting ones as well as the difficult ones, and begin to face life honestly. For those who wish to maintain their illusions (and I can't blame you for wanting this) do not read this book. To quote Carolyn Myss (who was quoting someone else) "I was not ready for the way that that man would have changed my life."

I'm a young American (20-something) and I am so happy that someone is finally paying attention to my generation of practicing Buddhists! This book is interesting whether you're a young person just discovering Buddhism, or an older person interested in the new spirtiual motivations in youth culture today. The only weakness I can mention about this book is that it does not cover a wide range of Buddhist traditions. I wish, for example, it had included interviews with young Buddhists in the Soka Gakkai tradition which is one of the most youthful schools of Buddhism I know of in the United States these days. In any case, I am just glad someone finally published a book like this one. I also highly recommend a little gift book written by a 20-something American Buddhist named Taro Gold called "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Eastern Wisdom." I hope more and more young Buddhist voices will be found in print in the near future.

As a young, serious Buddhist, I always wondered if there were others who shared my lifestyle and worldview. To my delight, I found that I am not alone. For me personally, "Blue Jean Buddha" is definitely a book whose time has come.
The book is down-to-earth and sincere, full of honest essays about how young people are implementing the Dharma into their lives, personal, public, and professional. It certainly is not New Agey, "too far out", cliche, or irrelevant. (I was anxious about the possibility of BJB being so, but it did not disappoint me!)The book explores the interchanges between Buddhism, Generation X and Y, and American pop culture, among other topics. It has no agenda except to portray Buddhism as it plays itself out, right now.
In many ways, I feel like BJB is a historical snapshot of some of the people who will be among the most influential shapers of Buddhism in the West in the near future. I was happy for this warning!
I definitely appreciated the vast diversity of Buddhist traditions and expressions represented in BJB. As an introduction, the book provides teases and initial glances into Buddhism, and does not purport to be a definitive statement by examining details. There are gaps, because there are still issues in modern Buddhism yet to be debated and/or resolved. But that is the point of BJB, it keeps you thinking, wondering, critically inquiring. I learned a lot from this book and totally recommend it to anyone interested in young people, and the future of Buddhism in the West.
The deep, thoughtful, and important reflections and rhetorical questions offered in THE CONCLUSION is WORTH THE WHOLE PRICE OF THE BOOK ALONE. Editor Sumi Loundon does not pretend to know all the answers, and after reading all these possibilities, I realized I didn't predict the future either! These are fast, exciting times we live in right now, and this is a perfect book to have along for the ride.

Sumi Loundon and company's BLUE JEAN BUDDHA is a rarity in several regards. For one thing, Loundon and her writers manage to lucidly articulate many ideas and feelings about culture, pop culture, age, and Buddhism that have previously proven to be precarious ground for authors to tread (this is particularly true of Loundon's first-class analyses throughout the book). For another, it switches gears gracefully--for any book, not just a dharma book--between being a sociological study (pieces like Kenneth Lee's "Drugs and the Dharma" and Thich Nu Pho-Chau's "Life as a Vietnamese Nun" exemplify this); a unique and very broad dialogue on philosophy, cultural ideologies, psychology, service, and peace (Claudia Heiman's "Winning over Depression," Noah Levine's "A Dharma Punx Path," and Adrienne Stauffer's "Freeing Tibet, Freeing Myself"); and very often literary nonfiction (Seth Castleman's "If a Nice Jewish Boy Sits in a Cave, Does He Make a Difference?" and Lillian Guild's "The Perfect Buddhist Boyfriend"). And lastly, its pieces burst with a very special kind of honesty about spiritual pursuits and the many facets of American life that only the spirit of youth could offer (Hanuman Goleman's "I'm a Mutt"). BLUE JEAN BUDDHA is fresh, insightful, and right-on. All of the bull's-eyes it manages to hit combined with its heart and humor make it an engaging read for anyone and an essential volume for any Buddhist's library.

Jack Kornfield is one of the few thinkers who writes about the intersection of traditional, academic thought and personal, faith-based spirituality. The result is an astonishingly successful blend of philosophy, memoir, and literary commentary. While Kornfield's spiritual background is Buddhist, he is aware of and receptive to the theories of enlightenments in all major religions and even the more secular Emersonian beliefs that have helped shape American spirituality.

The book is not tightly organized, but is written in a series of short sections, which variously touch on Kornfield's personal history, his current belief system, and his favorite authors, blending them into a coherent whole. I found the sections on T.S. Eliot and Walt Whitman to be among the most insightful commentaries on their work available to the lay reader.

At the same time that Kornfield is astonishingly well-read and deeply wise, he is never scolding or pedantic. As his title suggests, he is well aware of our human foibles and failings, and he displays a deep understanding and tolerance of the ways in which most of his readers will fall short of the example he sets.

This is Kornfield's finest work, and a book that be read for decades to come by those interested in exploring their spirituality.

like a wise older uncle, jack kornfield has much to share with the spiritual aspirant on the path. the book is packed with anecdotes and quotes from others who struggled and often succeeded in opening the heart to truth/peace/god. i would recommend this book to any truth seeker out there who would like to know how others have experienced the terrain. there is much wisdom here to guide and encourage. well worth your time and money.

So what happens after you've had a powerful spiritual opening? Are you forever free of the constraints of human life? Are you happy forever after? Do you no longer have to struggle with relationships or family dynamics?

Jack's latest book examines the lifecycle of individual spiritual growth through the eyes and words of modern spiritual masters in a variety of wisdom traditions. His book is peppered with interviews with some of the most important teachers of Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Sufi and Jewish traditions. Most interesting, and the central theme of this book, is his assertion that all of us human beings, even 'enlightened' masters must deal with the mundane and difficult aspects of life, including relationships with family, jobs, and yes - laundry. Not only must everyone deal with these, but Jack believes that one's spiritual path/person growth is deeply grounded in an subsists on these everyday matters.

His interviews with modern masters is especially moving in the sections where he describes how these ordinary folks were drawn into a spiritual path, and the multitude of ways in which this occurs.

For anyone who has read his previous book "A Path With Heart", this is a natural and well-done follow-on. Although he is a Buddhist, in this book (and his others as well) Jack is inclusive: he extracts the common and most fundamental elements of many wisdom traditions and offers them in their simplicity for us to consider.

Like a fine wine, for the 'ultimate' experience this book should be consumed slowly, with plenty of time between sips.