The Intimate Way of Zen : Effort, Surrender, and Awakening on the Spiritual Journey

An intimate mystery encompasses you and tugs upon your heart—what does it mean to follow that tug across the arc of a spiritual life? Reflecting out of more than fifty years of practice in Zen Buddhism, Unitarian Universalism, and other contemplative traditions, James Ishmael Ford invites us into a journey through life's mysteries and the stages of spiritual development. Lightly structured by the archetypal Buddhist oxherding images, Ford’s exploration is rooted in the Zen way while being deeply enriched by various strains of world mysticism. The book, sprinkled with insights and quotes from Buddhist, Daoist, and Christian traditions, serves as a map and a companion to spiritual seekers or pilgrims—whether within one religious tradition or cobbling together a way of one’s own. “Here is the most natural of all natural experiences,” writes Ford. “In the midst of our suffering, our longing, our desperation, we capture a glimpse. Something touches us. And with that, if we are lucky and really notice some movement of some spirit within us, we turn our attention to the intimate way.” CONTENTS Introduction PART ONE Before the Full Moon 1. Entering the Intimate Way (Oxherding 1) 2. Establishing a Practice 3. Vows as the Container for the Contemplative Life 4. Snakes and Ladders 5. Into the Way (Oxherding 2) 6. On Family, Home-Leaving, Resistance, and Love 7. False Friends and True 8. Coaches, Teachers, and Guides 9. Surprised by Joy (Oxherding 3) 10. The Masks of God 11. The Three Poisons 12. The Five Hindrances 13. Finding an Only True Way (Oxherding 4) 14. Doubt, Faith, and Energy 15. Vainglory PART TWO After the Full Moon 16. Integration of Practice and Encounter (Oxherding 5) 17. Noonday Devil 18. Wanting Something Else 19. The Distant Song (Oxherding 6) 20. Magic Lands 21. Love, the Four Abodes, and Near Enemies to Our Practice 22. Seeing the Cycles, Letting Things Be 23. View from the Mountain (Oxherding 7) 24. The Grace of the Real 25. False Gods and Better Angels 26. No Trace (Oxherding 8) 27. Theories of Mind and Body 28. Bodhidharma Sighed: Encountering the Dark Night 29. An Infinite Storm of Being (Oxherding 9) 30. Groundhog Days (Last Temptations) 31. Hearing the Cries of the World 32. Becoming the Fat Guy (Oxherding 10) 33. Mystery Piled upon Mystery Acknowledgments Notes E-mail Sign-Up An intimate mystery encompasses us all and tugs at our hearts. What does it mean to follow that tug across the arc of a spiritual life? Reflecting out of more than fifty years of practice in Zen Buddhism, Unitarian Universalism, and other contemplative traditions, James Ishmael Ford invites us into a journey through life's mysteries and the stages of spiritual development. Lightly structured by the archetypal Buddhist oxherding images, Fords exploration is rooted in the Zen way while being deeply enriched by various strains of world mysticism. The book, sprinkled with insights and quotes from Buddhist, Daoist, and Christian traditions, serves as a map and a companion to spiritual seekers or pilgrimswhether within one religious tradition or cobbling together a way of ones own. Here is the most natural of all natural experiences, writes Ford. In the midst of our suffering, our longing, our desperation, we capture a glimpse. Something touches us. And with that, if we are lucky and really notice some movement of some spirit within us, we turn our attention to the intimate way.