I just finished Everyday Zen by Charlotte "Joko" Beck, and it's very pragmatic and good, IMO, though you won't learn a lot of doctrine from it.
Zen is not a good Buddhist tradition to start with unless you have a skilled personal teacher, IMO. I would recommend starting with something like dhammatalks.org instead. (Click on the "For Beginners" header near the bottom of the page.)
Of all the translations of the Tao I've come across, none dissolved me into the flow as deeply and effortlessly as Ursula's.
I try to keep multiple copies around so I always have a couple to gift to someone...
The book is a source of primordial wisdom, boundless serenity, and transcendent signal
P.S. my encounter with it completely redefined what I considered language to be capable of communicating and distilling - inexpressible, ineffable experience... divine poetry
I just finished Everyday Zen by Charlotte "Joko" Beck, and it's very pragmatic and good, IMO, though you won't learn a lot of doctrine from it.
Zen is not a good Buddhist tradition to start with unless you have a skilled personal teacher, IMO. I would recommend starting with something like dhammatalks.org instead. (Click on the "For Beginners" header near the bottom of the page.)
My journey into this world started with Watts' "The Way of Zen", and later, with his posthumous book "Tao: The Watercourse Way"
And I am a big fan of Ron Hogan's "Getting Right with Tao" translation/modern interpretation of the Tao Te Ching.
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching (Translated Ursula K. Le Guin) The Way of Lao Tzu (Wing-tsit Chan)
Of all the translations of the Tao I've come across, none dissolved me into the flow as deeply and effortlessly as Ursula's.
I try to keep multiple copies around so I always have a couple to gift to someone...
The book is a source of primordial wisdom, boundless serenity, and transcendent signal
P.S. my encounter with it completely redefined what I considered language to be capable of communicating and distilling - inexpressible, ineffable experience... divine poetry