Seeds for a Boundless Life: Zen Teachings from the Heart [Paperback]

Short and accessible teachings from one of America's pioneer woman Zen teachers.

Zenkei Blanche Hartman is an American Zen legend. A teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, author ofZen Mind, Beginner's Mind, she was the first female abbot of an American Zen center. She is greatly revered, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has lived and taught for many years. This, her long-awaited first book, is a collection of short teachings taken from her talks on the subject of boundlessness--the boundlessness that sees beyond our small, limited self to include all others. To live a boundless life she encourages living the vows prescribed by the Buddha and living life with the curiosity of a child. The short, stand-alone pieces can be dipped into whenever one is in need of inspiration. A great Zen master gives us her total heart in this beautiful book of her teachings. She ‘gives life to life,’ and in this way, gives humanity to humanity through her deep understanding of her life and our life. What a treasury of rare and earthly wisdom! —Joan Halifax, author ofBeing with Dying

Simple Zen, that makes you pause, appreciate; full of respect, kindhearted as a grandmother, and unpretentiously wise. —Jack Kornfield author ofA Path with Heart

These wise and compassionate words of Zenkei Blanche Hartman are grounded in forty-five years of continuous Zen practice. There is nothing superficial here. The basis of these talks is Zenkei Roshi’s fundamental touchstone of zazen meditation and her interaction with countless Zen students over these many years. Take a look inside and treat yourself to the no-frills understanding of a truly mature person. —Sojun Mel Weitsman, Abbot, Berkeley Zen Center

Like so many other Zen students, my practice has been nourished by Zenkei’s loving wisdom. From basic Buddhism, through Zen ancestors to engaged relationships and social£&