Zen in the Vernacular - by Peter Coyote (Paperback)

About the Book

"Buddha's core teachings explained in accessible, everyday language. Shows how Zen offers a creative problem-solving mechanism and moral guide ideal for the stresses and problems of daily life. Shares the author's secular, vernacular interpretations of the Four Noble Truths, the Three Treasures, the Eightfold Path, and other fundamental Buddhist ideas"--

Book Synopsis

Buddha's core teachings explained in accessible, everyday language

"A quietly uplifting, practical view of Buddhism."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

- Shows how Zen offers a creative problem-solving mechanism and moral guide ideal for the stresses and problems of daily life

- Shares the author's secular, vernacular interpretations of the Four Noble Truths, the Three Treasures, the Eightfold Path, and other fundamental Buddhist ideas

During the nearly 3,000 years since the Buddha lived, his teachings have spread widely around the globe. In each culture where Buddhism was introduced, the Buddha's teachings have been pruned and modified to harmonize with local customs, laws, and cultures. We can refer to these modifications as "gift wrapping," translating the gifts of Buddha's teachings in ways sensible to particular cultures in particular times. This gift-wrapping explains why Indian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesian Buddhism have significant differences.

In this engaging guide to Zen Buddhism, award-winning actor, narrator, and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote helps us peer beneath the Japanese gift-wrapping of Zen teachings to reveal the fundamental teachings of the Buddha and show how they can be applied to contemporary daily life. The author explains that the majority of Western Buddhists are secular and many don't meditate, wear robes, shave their heads, or believe in reincarnation. He reminds us that the mental/physical states achieved by Buddhist practice are universal human states, ones we may already be familiar with but perhaps never considered as possessing spiritual dimensions.

Exploring Buddha's core teachings, the author shares his own secular and accessible interpretations of the Four Noble Truths, the Three Treasures, and the Eightfold Path within the context of his lineage and the teachings of his teacher and the teachers before him. He looks at Buddha's teachings on our singular reality that appears as a multiplicity of things and on the "self" that perceives reality, translating powerful spiritual experience into the vernacular of modern life.

Revealing the practical usefulness of Buddhist philosophy and practice, Zen in the Vernacular shows how Zen offers a creative problem-solving mechanism and moral guide ideal for the stresses and problems of everyday life.

Review Quotes

"The calm, inexorably sensible way Coyote links the deeper principles of Buddhism to secular social awareness is cumulatively convincing. He never browbeats, and he never allows even his non-Buddhist readers any easy excuses. When he writes that people don't have to be perfect before doing what's right, he makes readers believe it.

"A quietly uplifting, practical view of Buddhism."-- "Kirkus Starred Review"

"In Zen in the Vernacular, Peter Coyote brings us along on his Zen path and with concise language shares his unique understanding of Buddhism, birth and death, mind and body, and daily life. In engaging with things as it is, he delves into the social and political issues that he's passionately concerned with. In these chapters, based on a series of talks he gave during the pandemic, Coyote speaks with remarkable intelligence and compassion about how to awaken to truth far greater than our small mind while not turning away from the suffering and turmoil that surrounds us. All the while his fire is fueled and peace of mind maintained through Zen practice and meditation and an unwavering commitment to all beings."-- "David Chadwick, author of Crooked Cucumber and early student of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi"

"Zen in the Vernacular wonderfully points out and elucidates how Buddhism is always awakening in new language, language which can speak directly to us and from our own lips, as we discover how our narrative weaves its way through the countless narratives of our world: intimately connected, yet often at odds. How will we navigate our way? How can 'things as it is' inform and clarify our narrative along with the world's? Let's listen to what Coyote has to say."-- "Edward Espe Brown, author of The Complete Tassajara Cookbook, The Tassajara Bread Book, and No Recipe"

"An actor, narrator, and long-term seeker, Peter Coyote elucidates the essentials of Zen in his naked voice. His wide-ranging insights on social action with wholesome values and intention, woven into his biographical anecdotes, is captivating."-- "Kazuaki Tanahashi, author of Painting Peace: Art in a Time of Global Crisis"

"This book is written by someone who has had a deeply rich life. It is full of anecdotes from that life, told with humor and clarity, that serve as metaphors for teaching Buddha's dharma. It acknowledges and confirms a path for non-monastics--lay people immersed in daily life. It shows us how we can organize everyday life as the practice of liberation. This is a deeply compassionate book, joyously written by an accomplished storyteller. This book will help the West envision what Buddhism could look like 300+ years from now. Enjoy."-- "Soshin Teah Strozer, founding teacher at the Brooklyn Zen Center"

"This is a wondrous and generous book. Peter Coyote honorably follows D. T. Suzuki and Paul Reps, who both sought two generations ago to introduce Zen Buddhism to a curious United States. Coyote goes a step further, contextualizing the practice from within American life and culture, deftly reconciling contradictions, challenging the solipsistic to look inward. A thunderous ovation from my one hand!"-- "Ken Burns, filmmaker"

"This large book full of wisdom provides an updated and nuanced presentation of basic Buddhist teaching. Peter shares personal stories from the depths of Zen communities and from a range of friends: Governor Jerry Brown to American Zen pioneer Gary Snyder to a Mohawk poet and artist working as a logger in the Northwest. Peter employs his wide experience to envision Zen practice and life anew for modern contexts, something American Zen folks now work to express this worthy ancient tradition for contemporary application. Peter's vernacular Zen, stripped of exotic trappings, is an important contribution to this project. Peter gets down into the weeds. He faces loss and grief with open dignity amid our present afflictions of the pandemic and climate fires as well as in poignant situations of personal loss. But perhaps his greatest gift to an American vernacular Zen is his affirmation that Buddhism is not about 'spiritual bypass' or mere self-help programs, turning away from the challenges of societal oppression. Rather, Zen is a practice of universal awakening. Returning to his early inspirations from Gary Snyder, Peter Coyote expresses how a modern Zen can offer support and some settledness to engage with systemic suffering."-- "Taigen Dan Leighton, author of Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Buddhist Zen"

"This stimulating book is a truly American take on life, politics and social issues through the lens of a contemporary interpretation of Zen Buddhism. If that is your interest, this book is for you. Don't miss it."-- "David Brazier, Dharma teacher at Global Sangha"

About the Author

Peter Coyote is an award-winning actor, narrator, and teacher. Recognized for his narration work, he narrated the PBS series The Pacific Century, winning an Emmy Award, as well as eleven Ken Burns documentaries, including The Roosevelts, for which he won a second Emmy. A Zen student since 1974, in 2011 he was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest and in 2015 received "transmission" from his teacher, making him an independent Zen teacher. The author of Sleeping Where I Fall, The Rainman's Third Cure, and Tongue of a Crow as well as The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha, he lives in northern California.