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Endless Path Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and Daily Life Reviewed By Lois Henderson of Bookpleasures.com
- By Lois C. Henderson
- Published November 7, 2010
- Religion and Spirituality
Lois C. Henderson
Reviewer Lois C. Henderson: Lois is a freelance academic editor and back-of-book indexer, who spends most of her free time compiling word search puzzles for tourism and educative purposes. Her puzzles are available HERE and HERE Her Twitter account (@LoisCHenderson) mainly focusses on the toponymy of British place names. Please feel welcome to contact her with any feedback at LoisCourtenayHenderson@gmail.com.
Author:
Martin, Rafe
Publisher:
North Atlantic Books
ISBN: 978-1-55643-932-2
Jataka
tales are the stories that reveal the Buddha’s previous births as a
bodhisattva (one who has attained enlightenment, but who chooses not
to pass into Nirvana [the state of supreme bliss, tranquility, and
purity, when the fires of desire are extinguished], opting to remain
in the world to help lesser beings attain enlightenment) working
towards the goals of Buddhahood. Martin naturally relates to stories,
having children of his own. Interest in stories is with us from an
early age, with tales being used in most religions to exemplify the
principles propagated by the different belief systems concerned (just
think of the Parables in the Bible, for example, in terms of
Christianity).
In Endless Path, Martin shares with the
reader original telling of the jataka stories, “versions created to
speak in a lively colloquial, vernacular voice to contemporary
readers.” He himself has “gained strength from an ongoing
connection with the jatakas and the life of the Buddha, enough to
begin to trust his own way and then to find it.” The commentaries
for each story offer a Zen “take” on the jatakas and on their
relevance to our daily lives and practice. Extolling qualities of
generosity, morality, patient forbearance, limitless vigor,
meditation, wisdom, skillful means, resolve, strength, and knowledge,
the jatakas, together with their commentaries, are intended to “help
us rediscover the endless path unfolding even now beneath our feet.”
Clearly told in fluent and flowing English that is clearly that of an
English First Language speaker, the tales are powerfully written and
conveyed in such a way that we can gain the most from them.
As
a skilled Zen practitioner and teacher, Martin is in an ideal
position to help bring the truths of Buddhism alive, which he does
with admirable ease. He also acknowledges the role played by many
different communities of listeners in refining how he tells the tales
and reveals the insights that he and others have gained from each
one. Accompanying each jataka is a full-page illustration by renowned
artist Richard Wehrman, who is also a firm believer in the Buddhist
faith, moving, in 1973, to Rochester, New York, to study and practice
Zen Buddhism at the Rochester Zen Center.
Endless Path
is a truly insightful work, which has already received numerous
accolades from other leading Buddhist practitioners. Accessible,
inspired, and clearly marked by a generosity and foresight of spirit,
it is a work well worth obtaining and keeping in one’s own private
collection.
Click Here To Purchase Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and Daily Life