Being Black - Hardcover

Williams, Angel Kyodo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670892688 ISBN 13: 9780670892686

Publisher: Viking, 2000

Synopsis

Teaches African Americans ways to integrate Eastern philosophy into daily life by serving others, meditating, and tapping into the warrior-spirit in order to lead a more meaningful life.

About this title

Review:

In this exquisite primer on Zen Buddhism, author and ordained Zen priest Angel Kyodo Williams is not trying to convert African Americans into a new religion. Instead, she is simply presenting Zen principles and practices that emphasise living a life of grace and self-acceptance. Having faced the daily challenges of growing up black in America, she is especially adept at showing how these Zen principles apply to the African American experience. "People of colour are especially in need of new ways and new answers to the separation and fear we face each day", Kyodo Williams writes. "It wouldn't be stretch to say that as black people, more than most groups in this country, we live our daily lives with the distinct taste of fear in our mouths... While the principles offered here are not an antidote to the underlying reasons for our fears, they can give us a different way to approach them".

Kyodo Williams offers a savvy, yet tender voice as she walks readers through the basic principles of Zen. It's hard to resist her invitation to take on the numerous sensible vows that lead to enlightenment, such as staying true to the warrior spirit while "committing ourselves to practising good". The bottom line is that this is a book about claiming the strength, compassion and integrity that dwell within everyone. And although it speaks to the particular needs and trials of the African American community, readers of all colours and walks of life will find this an irresistible invitation. --Gail Hudson

Review:

"There is nothing quite like this lean, honest, courageous presentation of the Dharma." - Alice Walker "...an important new step for Dharma in the West, her book is a classic." - Jack Kornfield

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0670892688
• ISBN 13: 9780670892686
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216