Tanya’s Collection of Zen
Stories
Tanya Schmid
Illustrated by Janina Uppgard from
Finland
October 2018
$9.99 Kindle
$12.99 Print
Buy on US Amazon
Buy on Germany Amazon
About
the Book
What is Zen? The “do” or “Dao,”
the way to so-called enlightenment? It is everyday wisdom is mirrored in
these 28 philosophical, motivational, often humorous tales of Zen masters,
along with Tanya Schmid’s personal anecdotes from thirty years of Zen practice.
These classic tales, told in a
language for a modern world, display life’s natural simplicity and magic, their
truth flashing like lightening in a midnight sky, their warmth like coming home
to a hearth we know so well. These stories display the paradoxes of Zen –
the sage-like beginner’s mind; the target inside, not outside; the way of
softness prevailing over hardness; taking Action with the attitude of no place
to go and nothing to do; to treat one’s self with discipline and others with
kindness – all in the search for inner peace. Tanya Schmid condenses
decades of Zen and martial arts training into entertaining parables that make
Asian wisdom comprehendible to Western Society.
The book is currently being
translated into German and Spanish. All funds from book sales go to their
environmental project, www.schmid-permaculture.com
About
the author
Tanya Elizabeth Egeness was born in northern Wisconsin and grew up in
Delafield. She is married to Hansjakob Schmid and they live in Gündlischwand,
Switzerland, where they run a small permaculture farm in the Bernese Alps.After years of studying traditional Asian medicine, martial arts, weaponry, healing, and meditation, Tanya and her husband started Schmids' Permaculture Farm in 2014 to create an exemplary, single family, subsistence farm according to permaculture ideals within 15 years (2014 to 2029). They want to preserve traditional animals, plants and ways of living that protect and support the environment as well as provide for their needs.
They produce all their own electricity with photovoltaic and heat and cook with wood. The Schmids live a simple life. The house is small, but it has a guest room upstairs in the attic where, from March through October, a Workawayer stays. Workawayers, or W.O.O.F.ers are Workers On Organic Farms who come to help with farm work in exchange for room and board.
Tanya and Hans have an herb garden, various extensive vegetable gardens, and many fruit and nut trees. In the summer and fall Hans mows the fields by hand with a scythe. In the winter, he chops and stockpiles wood for the stoves. Tanya makes lots of jams and jellies and stores the vegetable harvest in their root cellar. The Schmids have a cat named Pete, a border collie named Kay, three pot-bellied pigs (Zoe, Heidi and Urs), nine chickens and a rooster. For more details about Tanya's studies in the martial-arts, her previous Chinese medicine practice or Schmids' current permaculture farm, please see:
www.kyudo-interlaken.jimdo.com
www.schmid-permaculture.com
2 comments:
This is a book to be savored and treasured.
Tanya’s stories are a classic collection of Zen stories. Her short insights at the end of each story offer the reader an opportunity to reflect on the meaning, the teaching, of the story. Tanya’s style is friendly, not preachy. Her explanations are, like the teachings, a light in a direction for the reader to find their own path to meaning and understanding.
The writing is clean and simple. The stories are beautifully illustrated and edited well.
Even if you are not familiar with Zen, these stories are reminders of who we might want to be and how we can make our way in this troubled world. They are heartening and encourage us to be of good heart.
You do not have to be zen or a Buddhist to appreciate these stories. They can support your core faith, your chosen religion.
This book is appropriate for a wide age group. These are stories that encourage conversation with your children.
An excellent gift for your friends, I heartily recommend this book.
I received this book as a gift, and it's excellent; well-written and thoughtful. The language is approachable and helps to approach the more abstract ideas. I love it!
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