The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love

Building upon the experience of living and training in nunneries in Japan, Arai (women’s and Buddhist studies, Inst. of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, CA; Bringing Zen Home) introduces simple tips and rituals to bring more Zen and cultivate more peace. Through questions at the start of each chapter, followed by anecdotes and teachings, readers are guided along a journey toward bringing more Zen rituals into their life. While some strategies require a bit more preparation—making your home a refuge by creating an altar that honors your ancestors and invites them into your everyday life, for example—most draw upon daily activities readers are likely already doing, for instance, connecting with one’s environment through mindful cleaning, or using cooking as vehicle for compassion, by recognizing the hands that touched the food before you. There are rituals for seemingly mundane tasks (which are actually opportunities), as well as for the complicated and challenging aspects of life such as aging and caretaking, grieving, and accepting reality in painful circumstances.