Synopses & Reviews
Maurine Stuart (19221990) was one of a select group of students on the leading edge of Buddhism in America: a woman who became a Zen master. In this book, she draws on down-to-earth Zen stories, her friendships with Japanese Zen teachers, and her experiences as a concert pianist to apply the inner meanings of Buddhism to practicing the basic ethics of daily living—nowness, unselfishness, compassion, and good will toward every living being. She emphasizes that inner growth comes through our own efforts and intuition, especially as we cultivate them through meditation practice. We can then take what we have learned in meditation and use it to respond to our daily lives in a straightforward and creative way, guided not by concepts or dogma, but by direct insight into the reality of the present moment.
Synopsis
Maurine Stuart was a princial American student of Soen Nakagawa Roshi. An accomplished concert pianist as well as a Zen master, she was the guiding teacher of the Cambridge Buddhist Association in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In the years since her death in 1990, her reputation as a teacher of great practicality, humor, and compassion has grown far beyond her original circle of students.
About the Author
Roko Sherry Chayat, Dharma Teacher at the Zen Center of Syracuse, New York, is a student of Eido Roshi and also studies with Soen Roshi. She is the author of Life Lessons: The Art of Jerome Witkin.