Untangled : walking the eightfold path to clarity, courage, and compassion

Untangled Walking the eightfold path to clarity, courage, and compassion

Koshin Paley Ellison

Book - 2022

"We live in a shallow "junk" pleasure-seeking culture, searching for connection in the wrong places, keeping our restlessness and anxiety at bay with unfulfilling distractions. The results of our junk pleasure culture are obvious: hundreds of articles have been published about the rise of loneliness and its detrimental effects on our mental, emotional, and physical health. Even those of us who have succeeded in the ways that society encourages-getting married, making money, and acquiring status-often feel unanchored, disengaged, and empty. What we want is to live a life of true pleasure-a life infused with meaning, marked by genuine relationship, and aligned with what matters most to us. How do we create a life of true pleasu...re, one that is worth living? Untangled is a welcoming guidebook to finding expansive ease and joy through what is traditionally called the eightfold path, one of Buddhism's foundational teachings. Psychotherapist and Zen teacher Koshin Paley Ellison walks readers through this time-tested map for transformation and lasting happiness. Following the eight roads creates profound change inside and out, from everyday interactions to our most intimate relationships (especially the one with ourselves). With his signature mix of storytelling and unexpected humor, Koshin uses anecdotes from his own life as a young gay kid dealing with abuse and discrimination as well as tales and teachings from Eastern and Western wisdom traditions to introduce mainstream readers to the eight roads for the first time and rejuvenate it for those already familiar. It is an ancient cure that's up to the challenge of addressing the dysfunction of our times"--

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Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 294.342/Paley Ellison Due Jul 12, 2024
Subjects
Eightfold Path.
Buddhism > Doctrines.
Published
New York : Balance 2022.
Language
English
Main Author
Koshin Paley Ellison (author)
Physical Description
x, 241 pages ; 23 cm
ISBN
9781538708309
  • Part I. Before Your Journey (Is There a Before?)
  • 1. True Pleasure Is a Place of Practice
  • 2. The Tangle
  • Part II. Beginning to Go Beyond
  • 3. You Are Not Just Your Body
  • 4. You Are More Than Your Feelings
  • 5. You Are Not Just Your Thoughts
  • 6. Confronting the Giants and Their Wheels of Suffering
  • 7. The Pivot: Finding Our Place of Practice
  • Part III. The Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion
  • 8. The Path Is a Place of Practice
  • 9. Perspective Is a Place of Practice
  • 10. Speech Is a Place of Practice
  • 11. Action Is a Place of Practice
  • 12. Work Is a Place of Practice
  • 13. Effort Is a Place of Practice
  • 14. Attention Is a Place of Practice
  • 15. Seated Meditation Is a Place of Practice
  • 16. Mystery Is a Place of Practice
  • Appendix 1. Resources
  • Appendix 2. Further Reflection for Untangling with the Four Noble Truths
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
Review by Booklist Review

Both accessible and thought-provoking, Untangled does an excellent job of explaining Buddhist principles and how they can be applied to life. Paley Ellison, a Zen Monk and psychotherapist, writes candidly about his own struggles with Buddhist practice--especially in his early days--and how the principles of the eightfold path helped center him and improve his self-image and his marriage, friendships, and work. Growing up Jewish and gay, he was bullied in school and suffered lingering traumatic aftereffects into adulthood. Meditation, he explains, helped him regulate his fear. He further explains how suffering is universal, and rather than deny negative experiences and emotions, it is helpful to come together and acknowledge these things in support of each other. Each chapter features reflection questions for the reader to ponder. Paley Ellison shares concepts to give readers a new lease on life, including purpose and genuine connections with fellow humans. Untangled is perfect for those curious about Buddhism, along with those who are simply curious about new ways of thinking.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Buddhist monk Paley Ellison (Wholehearted) delivers an outstanding guide to the essentials of Buddhist practice. To counter the "tangle" of fears and resentments engendered by modern life, Paley Ellison urges readers to follow the Eightfold Path of Buddhism. "We're not ever going to actually get good" at following the Path, Paley Ellison asserts, emphasizing that Buddhism is a way of life rather than a goal to be achieved. The author recounts how, early in his Buddhist practice, he lost sight of Buddhist principles in his eagerness to please his instructors and suggests that to achieve "right intention"--a tenet of the Eightfold Path--one must stop seeking validation in others and accept "life as it is." He tells of getting chased through the woods by teenagers shouting "hunt the Jew" when he was 10 and shares how he learned to "regulate" his lingering fear through meditation. Such reflection questions as "What do you conceal about your life?" and "Are there stories or thoughts you use to beat yourself up?" encourage readers to consider how to integrate Buddhist principles into their lives. Paley Ellison's candid anecdotes show the principles in action and his passion comes through on every page. Additionally, his theology manages to be accessible without oversimplifying. This walks the walk. (Nov.)

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