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“Urgently recommended”—Karen Maezen Miller
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The Earth in Celebration and Dismay
Lin Jensen,
Beloved and critically acclaimed author Lin Jensen returns with this bounteous volume exploring what the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins calls “deep down things.” Richly informed by deep ecology, Lin's writing explores our intimate connection to the land, to the specificities of place, and to the living earth itself-all as Lin uncovers our own deepest nature, the true heart of what it means to be human. There is much in what's happening in our environment now that can and perhaps should be cause for dismay- and Deep Down Things looks squarely at all of this and nonetheless gives us ample cause for celebration.
“Lin Jensen is hard to disagree with. If his previous book, Pavement, in which he chronicles his search for peace on city streets, was an ode to activism, Deep Down Things, is a tribute to what is buried underneath those streets, and to the life that grows between the sidewalk's cracks. In Deep Down Things, Jensen's writing takes on the quality of his subject: our living earth. Here, as in an old-growth forest, where individual trees fall to create gaps in the canopy, Jensen's musings allow light to penetrate and support the understory. The understory in this small book is the environment-dirt, rain, wind, and root-and how we humans are bonded to it. Jensen considers this relationship from a perspective informed by the insights of deep ecology and his Buddhist background. A natural storyteller, he is at his best when he's sharing bits of his own experience to demonstrate the dynamic between person and place, inner mind and outer space. He tells us of the Belgian draft horse named Bill who gave him his first glimpse of “the world of wide identification,” and he recounts the memory of losing his family's farm to developers in Southern California's Orange County. Spirit, he seems to suggest, is what takes place when the human-earth dynamic is realized.”-Tricycle
“Lin Jensen touches on everything from earthworms to cooking vegetables to breaking down the barriers between self and other. Jensen’s writing is heartfelt. When I finish reading one of his essays, I feel as warm and fuzzy as if I’ve just watched a simple feel-good movie. But make no mistake—the lessons Jensen is teaching are profound.”—Shambhala Sun
I am glad for my country and my world that Lin Jensen's beautiful book will be a part of it.”-Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self
“Our Buddhist Thoreau gets deep down into the roots of our disconnection from the earth and from each other-and how we can be healed.”-David R. Loy, author of The World is Made of Stories and Money, Sex, War, Karma
“Lin Jensen is an American original. He brings the insights of Buddhism, ecology and memoir together-giving us a way to take it all to heart and make it native.”-John Tarrant, Roshi, author of Bring Me The Rhinoceros & Other Zen Koans That Will Save your Life
“Lin Jensen is the clearest voice in Buddhism. Highly and urgently recommended.”-Karen Maezen Miller, author of Hand Wash Cold and Momma Zen
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LIN JENSEN is the critically acclaimed author of the memoir Bad Dog! A Memoir of Love, Beauty, and Redemption in Dark Places and Pavement: Reflections on Mercy, Activism, and Doing "Nothing" for Peace, a fearless and funny account of curbside social action. He is also the author of Together Under One Roof: Making a Home of the Buddha’s Household.
Each of these books took a unique approach to revealing the meaning of a Dharma life. In Bad Dog!, Jensen used his own autobiographical story to convey, in prose that has been likened to Steinbeck, a wise and compassionate look at an enormously difficult childhood, and the life that grew from it. In Pavement, Jensen chronicled what he learned in his daily vigils, sitting silently in protest to the horrors of war, on the streets of his home town in Chico, California. With these two genre-bending books, and his wonderfully poetic writing, Jensen has become one the most beloved of modern Buddhist writers.
His first book, Uncovering the Wisdom of the Heartmind, received the Best Nonfiction/Spiritual Book award from Today's Librarian. He has taught writing in various colleges and universities for over twenty years, and continues to teach Buddhist ethics and practices at Chico State University. He is the founding teacher and senior teacher emeritus of the Chico Zen Sangha, in Chico, California, where he lives with his wife.
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Deep Down Things
The Earth in Celebration and Dismay
Lin Jensen,
List Price:$ 15.95
Our Price: $12.76 (20%off)
Pages: 176 pages
Size: 6 X 9 inches
Binding: Trade paper
ISBN: 0-86171-611-6
Status: Available
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