Joyously Through the Days: Living the Journey of Spiritual Practice

by Les Kaye, Huston Smith (Foreword by)

Overview

Drawing inspiration from such diverse sources as Khalil Gibran, Virginia Woolf, and Frank Sinatra, as well as the Bible and the great Zen masters of old, this book offers a path to rich and lasting happiness achieved through what Huston Smith calls "goal-attaining patience." In Joyously Through the Days, Les Kaye explores life's every day complexities and instructs us in the Zen way through our human foibles. Through awareness, patience, and generosity, Kaye argues, we can respond with creative calm to the uncertain conditions of modern life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861716814
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Les Kaye received dharma transmission, authority to teach, from Hoitsu Suzuki, son and successor to Shunryu Suzuki. He as appointed teacher at Kannon Do Zen Center in Mountain View, California. He and his wife Mary have two adult children and a grandson and live in Los Altos, California.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Preface xv

Sources of Difficulty 1

Original Foolishness 3

The Rough Edges of Anger 6

The Complainer 9

Stress and Stress Prevention 13

The "I Have To" Trap 18

Staying Stuck 21

The Wall 24

The Emperor's Clothes 26

Mind Shadows 30

Stagnation 34

Carried Away 38

No Promises 42

Complicating Our Life 46

The Practice 49

The Skill of Awareness 51

Taking Care of Time 54

Negative to Positive 58

Walking Stones 61

Getting Off the Bus 65

Breaking the Habit 69

Finding Our Self 72

Enlightened Communication 77

A Sense of Control 81

Continuous Effort 85

Out of Sight, Out of Mind 89

The Meaning of Courtesy 92

Coming Down from the Attic 95

Tuning Our Life 99

Asking the Right Question 103

The High Road 107

Composure 111

Happiness 113

Truth in the Ordinary 116

A Meaningful Life 120

Caring 122

Fearlessness 126

Never Out of Stock 130

Love in the Larger Sense 134

The Source of Compassion 139

Spirituality and Technology 143

Life Is Not a Commodity 150

Sanctuary 154

Subtlety 158

True Creativity 161

We Are Needed 163

The Natural World 167

Epilogue 171

Appendix: A Basic Introduction to Zazen-Spiritual Practice in the Zen Tradition 175

Index 181

About the Author 189

Editorial Reviews

"An uplifting work combining grounded good sense with soaring poetic beauty, it is a Zen book that transcends Zen books."

Grace Schireson

"A wise and lucid book that explores awareness, patience, and generosity, three essential qualities of goodness so needed in our world today. This treasured book, written by a dedicated teacher of Buddhism, is a source of inspiration and guidance that the reader returns to again and again."

Joan Halifax

"A wise, humane, and level-headed approach to spirituality, wonderful counterweight to the more magical and doctrinaire accounts of Zen and Buddhism that are still all too common, even in a time when most practitioners are looking for down to earth benefits from their practice."

Norman Fischer

"Whatever one's spiritual inclination, Joyously Through The Days could serve as a valuable guide to a deeper awareness of personal beliefs and habits that shape how we respond to the world around us. If you've ever wondered about the practice of meditation, Kaye's book would be a great place to start."

Los Altos Town Crier

"Les Kaye is a master at finding spiritual lessons in the bits and pieces of our ordinary experience. He invites us to join him in the simple practice of becoming aware of what is actually going on, both inside our heads and in the world around us. Joyously Through the Days is a gentle little guide to such practice and a worthy companion to the author's earlier Zen at Work."

Carl Bielefeldt

"Inspiring. With the voice of a caring old friend, Les Kaye shows how the essence of a spiritual life practice is paying careful attention."

Frank Jude Boccio

“A wise and lucid book that explores awareness, patience, and generosity, three essential qualities of goodness so needed in our world today. This treasured book, written by a dedicated teacher of Buddhism, is a source of inspiration and guidance that the reader returns to again and again.”—Joan Halifax, author of Being with Dying

"A wise, humane, and level-headed approach to spirituality, wonderful counterweight to the more magical and doctrinaire accounts of Zen and Buddhism that are still all too common, even in a time when most practitioners are looking for down to earth benefits from their practice." —Norman Fischer, author of Sailing Home: Using the Wisdom of Homer's Odyssey to Navigate Life's Perils and Pitfalls.

"An uplifting work combining grounded good sense with soaring poetic beauty, it is a Zen book that transcends Zen books."—Grace Schireson, author of Zen Women

"Inspiring. With the voice of a caring old friend, Les Kaye shows how the essence of a spiritual life practice is paying careful attention." —Frank Jude Boccio

"Les Kaye is a master at finding spiritual lessons in the bits and pieces of our ordinary experience. He invites us to join him in the simple practice of becoming aware of what is actually going on, both inside our heads and in the world around us. Joyously Through the Days is a gentle little guide to such practice and a worthy companion to the author's earlier Zen at Work." —Carl Bielefeldt, author of Dogen's Manuals of Zen Meditation

"Whatever one’s spiritual inclination, Joyously Through The Days could serve as a valuable guide to a deeper awareness of personal beliefs and habits that shape how we respond to the world around us. If you’ve ever wondered about the practice of meditation, Kaye’s book would be a great place to start." —Los Altos Town Crier

From the Publisher