01.01.2018 • 4 Std. 32 Min.

Collected by the author over many years, these stories from the Yoga and Zen traditions are the flint and steel that strike a spark that lights up the mind with insights that one should ponder daily to bring to light ever deeper meaning. They may be similar in intent to Zen Koans – but they are rather different in content. <br />In many Zen Koans someone says or does something extraordinarily inappropriate, which catches your attention just because it&apos;s extraordinary –but afterwards the light from them has to be applied to daily life. In contrast, the stories here are often ordinary incidents from ordinary lives (not that there aren&apos;t some extraordinary ones too!) that nevertheless open the mind&apos;s eye to the vast potential for realization and inspiration to be found in daily life.<br />The Pictures<br />The pictures featured throughout this book were brushed by Jacques Allais in the Suiboku style, in which he was an acknowledged expert. The innate beauty of this ancient monochrome ink-painting technique lies in its subtlety of expression, in which infinitely more is suggested than is drawn on the page – making it the perfect vehicle for focusing meditation practice as well as an ideal complement to the stories in this book.