Please order through your local bookstore. I love Independent bookstores.
After being involved in Buddhist practice for over twenty years, after an L.A. upbringing in an African-American Christian church, I intertwine throughout the book personal experiences as student of Buddha’s teachings. My life in the Sangha, my teaching in local communities, and my travels around the world meeting other Buddhist practitioners enliven my answers to the most fundamental questions about Buddhist practice. I wrote, “Had I not opened myself to the many teachings from the earth, such as Buddha’s wisdom, it would have been nearly impossible to survive the fires of my soul.” The book is self-illustrated.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT BUDDHISM…..
“Zenju Earthlyn brings the Buddha’s teachings alive in a fresh and powerful voice born from her own fully lived experience of transformation.”
—from the foreword by Thich Nhat Hanh
“Tell Me Something about Buddhism is a dharma gem of great wisdom. Just reading Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s clear, beautiful and inspiring answers to questions about Buddhist practice quieted and calmed my mind as quickly as the wood striking wood sound of a han calling me to awakening.”
–Charles Johnson, author of Turning the Wheel: Essay on Buddhism and Writing and Middle Passage, winner of the National Book Award
“In homage to her ancestors, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel shares a very personal journey with many gems of wisdom to help heal the sufferings of racism and other human afflictions. What does it mean to be black and Buddhist?”
–Karma Leskhe Tsomo, Sr. Tibetan Nun, founder of Sakyadhita.org
“A warm, perceptive and helpful exploration of Buddhist truths by a Zen priest who brings her awareness of difference and the suffering it causes to her practice of this ancient spiritual path. Earthlyn asks us to step up to our lives and be present for them, to offer compassion to ourselves and others, to expand our vision to allow for a spacious, tender engagement with our precious days and hours.”
–Sandy Boucher, author of Turning the Wheel: American Women Creating the New Buddhism
“Thank you, Earthlyn, for presenting such a personally moving, beautiful and artistic book. Your testimony reveals both the diversity and humanity of the Buddha’s teachings. This publication is an inspiration calling for many of us to dare such an authentic tasting and expression of the benefits of the Buddhist path.”
–Larry Ward, Dharma Teacher, Scholar-Practitioner
“Zenju Earthlyn Manuel has written a book on the basic teachings of Buddhism that is as wise and warm-hearted as talking to a good friend over a cup of tea. A Buddhist priest and talented artist-author, she also shares her own life journey in stories, poems, and drawings, with complete tenderness.”
– Mushim (Patricia) Ikeda, Buddhist teacher and writer, East Bay Meditation Center Leadership Sangha member and core teacher
“Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s book is a lyrically written description of how the Teachings of the Buddha are relevant to all communities in our contemporary world. Her words are simple and yet penetrating, covering philosophy, technique, and the ineffable qualities of experiencing a spiritual life.”
–Larry Yang, teacher at East Bay Meditation Center and Spirit Rock
“I have read many books on Buddhism in the last twenty five years but this one heralds the arrival of a bracingly fresh, talented new teacher. Manuel’s ability to distill the teachings and describe in personal, honest terms her own engagement with them makes for a read that is lucid and affecting, unassuming yet universal. Her words land on you as if spoken to you and your situation alone. Her disarming style gives you a sense of inclusion, confidence and empowerment in the prospect of connecting with your own light and wisdom yet she never loses sight of the complicated, often painful realities of our society. Her arrival represents a whole ‘turning of the wheel’ of Buddhism taking root on Western soil.” –Canyon Sam, author of Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History, winner of PEN American Center Award
“I appreciate the clear and direct way that Zenju’s introduction to Buddhism points to both the North Star and the moon. Those of us who followed the North Star sense that the path of liberation is endless. Of all those who encounter her offering, I especially hope her book reaches those whose cultural legacy has been the longing for freedom.” – Merle Kodo Boyd, Zen Priest, Dharma teacher at Zen Center of Los Angeles
