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Christian Dittus
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English

ZEN ON THE TRAIL

Christopher Ives

Hiking as Pilgrimage

Discover how hiking can be a kind of religious pilgrimage, renewing our faith and deepening our sense of wonder—and offering deep peace of mind.

Evocative of the writings both of Gary Snyder and Bill Bryson, Zen on the Trail explores the broader question of how to walk on trails or be outside in a meditative way, how to deepen one's connection to nature. By directing our attention to how we hike as opposed to where we're headed, Christopher Ives invites us to begin shifting from ego-driven doing mode to spirit-filled being, from proving something in nature to exploring the vast interconnection of ourselves and the natural world. Through this approach, we can complement nature's beautiful vistas with clear-eyed views of what's going on inside this very body and mind—and we can find harmony in the woods on nature's terms.

In erudite and elegant prose, Ives takes us on a journey we will not soon forget.

This book features a new poem by Gary Snyder.

Christopher Ives is a professor of religious studies at Stonehill College. In his teaching and writing he focuses on ethics in Zen Buddhism and Buddhist approaches to nature and environmental issues. His publications include Imperial-Way Zen: Ichikawa Hakugen's Critique and Lingering Questions for Buddhist Ethics; Zen Awakening and Society; Divine Emptiness and Historical Fullness; a translation (with Abe Masao) of Nishida Kitaro¯'s An Inquiry into the Good; and a translation (with Gishin Tokiwa) of Hisamatsu Shin'ichi's Critical Sermons of the Zen Tradition. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Buddhist Ethics and is serving as cochair of the Buddhist Critical-Constructive Reflection Group and on the steering committee of the Religion and Ecology Group of the American Academy of Religion.
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Published 2018-09-01 by Wisdom Publications

Comments

Like John Muir, Chris Ives knows that going out into the natural world is really going inward. This book about pilgrimage is itself a pilgrimage: we accompany the author as he leaves civilization behind to enter the wilderness and encounter his true nature and original face. --David R. Loy, author of Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution, and other books

Highly informative and richly personal, Zen on the Trail reveals how heading out on a trail can carry us beyond our usual senses and sense of ourselves to uncover new possibilities, opening up spacious vistas that deepen our lives. Ives shows us how we might see such passages in the rhythms of our larger life journeys as well. Along the way we receive useful lessons in Zen philosophy, lore, and practice. --Taigen Dan Leighton, author of Zen Questions: Zazen, Dogen and the Spirit of Creative Inquiry, and translator of Dogen's Extensive Record