Alex's Reviews > Everyday Zen: Love & Work

this was my first time reading anything about zen/buddhism and i think this book is an incredible starting place,,., charlotte joko is extremely well spoken and provides lots of examples for the philosophy so even though there were concepts that were quite challenging to grasp (the reason this 200 pg book took me like a month to read 😭 each chapter end i had to book down the book n rlly force my brain to have a thought) it was never confusing!!

whilst i found the idea of a complete non-attached lifestyle hard to agree with the idea of the non-reality of our thoughts was absolutely fascinating!!! The idea of the True Self and how it relates to the experience was bananas and the use throughout the book of biblical phrases but put through this zen lens was rlly eye opening

SHIT THAT RESONATED WITH ME ENOUGH TO PUT THE PAGE NUMBER IN MY NOTES APP

-the idea that we only have this exact moment, concepts like past and present are essentially non-reality “If I don’t do it now, when else can i do it.”

-there are no problems only decisions.,,. and if a decision is giving us stress then it is not from the external but because we do not know the internal well enough,.. we have questions about our self that go unanswered so we don’t know how to act.,, when we dismantle the idea of “I” and we truely engage with the experience the will be no worry only action

- Guilt based morality.., Joko spoke about thinking things like “i should be kinder” are still false thoughts that cloud the experience even thought the come from a “moral” place. If we attune ourself completely with the experience compassion and love with come naturally.., you don’t have to struggle to be nicer to someone, you realise that you and the other are essentially the same and compassion will come from that realisation

-all the christian tie ins like mother Teresa and the Garden of Eden being the simple life, “ Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.”

ANYWAY THERE R HONESTLY SO MANY BITS THAT GAGGED ME I RLLY FEEL LIKE I NEED TO READ THIS BOOK AGAIN IN A YEAR OR SO TO TRUELY INGRAIN THE CONCEPTS INTO MY BRAIN N FR FR UNDERSTAND MAMAMIA

(also on a side i read this book because my dad told me to and i think a part of the reason i have it 5 stars in bc there were several times when i was reading it that i got an insight into how his mind woks…. several of the philosophies joko talks about i recognised not from hearing him speak about them but by watching him practice them.,, which was really special for me)