Living the Season: Zen Practice for Transformative Times

by Ji Hyang Padma

As the Rig Vedas and Buddhist sutras foretell, as well as the Hopi and Mayan calendars, we are in the midst of complete transformation--ecologically, economically, politically, culturally. This graceful introduction offers creative safe passage through the sometimes overwhelming transition, drawing on ancient and contemporary spiritual practices particularly useful for these times. The endings we experience are always the beginning of something else. Hence author Ji Hyang Padma organizes teachings around the four seasons. In living connected to natural rhythms--the stillness of winter, the renewal of spring, the ripening of summer, the harvest of autumn--we touch a wholeness that is the source of healing and happiness. Practical exercises at the end of each chapter promote this state of being and bring the mind home to its innate clarity. Ideally suited to anyone experiencing personal change--through career, relationships, or world events--the book provides a way into Zen for beginners as well as a refresher for the more advanced.

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2013

About the author

Ji Hyang Padma combines an academic career as Director of Spirituality and Education Programs at Wellesley College with her role as a Zen teacher. Ji Hyang has done intensive Zen training and teaching in Asia and North America for 20 years, 15 of these as an ordained nun. She has completed several 90-day intensive retreats in Korea and North America. She also teaches Zen workshops annually at Omega Institute and Esalen Institute. While her practice has been situated within the Korean Zen tradition, she has had the benefit of studying with teachers across a wide spectrum of Buddhist lineages.

Ji Hyang has also served as Director and Abbot of Cambridge Zen Center, one of the largest Zen Centers in the country. Additionally, she has served as a meditation teacher at Wellesley College, Harvard University and Boston University. She is gifted at finding an entry-point into practice for people who are just beginning their journey.

Currently, Ji Hyang is completing a Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University with a research focus on Buddhist practices of healing. She serves on the board of Education as Transformation, an international organization that works with educational institutions to explore the impact of religious diversity and the role of spirituality in the learning process.

Ji Hyang’s recent writing has been published in Our Neighbor's Faith: Stories of Interfaith Encounters and Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work.
Her book, Living the Season: Zen Practices for Transformative Times, has just been released by Quest Books.

Reviews

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of wise and gentle reminders, this is good for renewing a practice, and/or for beginners. Like having a teacher in the room with you, continually encouraging you to remember your innate wholeness, this is a great book for refreshing "don't-know-mind".

[Rebecca Elson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on The Magical Buffet website on 12/01/13.

At this point in my life I’ve read quite a few books about Zen Buddhism, and since it’s me I’ve forgotten a healthy chunk of what I’ve read. (Seriously, I’ve got an awful memory, even for things I really want to learn and retain.) However, despite my crappy memory I feel quite certain I’ve never encounter a Zen book quite like “Living the Season: Zen Practice for Transformative Times” by Ji Hyang Padma.

Often Ji Hyang Padma shares stories from her own life and own experiences making “Living the Season” part memoir. The Zen Buddhism discussed in the book is based on what is practiced in Korea, which you rarely read about in the West. I’d never seen it before so I found that very interesting. I learned that my favorite goddess, or Bodhisattva if you hang with the Buddhists, Kwan Yin, is referred to as Kwan Seum Bosal if you’re a Korean Buddhist. “Living the Season” has loads of exercises. Once Ji Hyang Padma gets you meditating the sky is the limit. Literally. One of the exercises is sky gazing!

Ji Hyang Padma’s writing is sincere in acknowledging what most of us already know, we’re in a time of upheaval and change. Her message is to understand how we’re all connected and work to be of service to each other and also be of service to our planet. All of this is conveyed in her beautiful voice, filled with authenticity. “Living the Season” is a story, a Zen practice, and a mission statement, not to be missed.

[Julie Gohman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ji Hyang Padma offers beautiful stories and practical exercises from the Zen tradition. I have personally used many of her suggestions in my own life and in the classroom as a teacher at a university. Wise, gentle in nature, and enlightening, this book is for everyone - young, old, Buddhist or not. I loved it! Thank you Ji Hyang Padma.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book on awareness