When You Greet Me I Bow: Notes and Reflections from a Life in Zen

by Norman Fischer, Cynthia Schrager (Editor)

Overview

From beloved Zen teacher Norman Fischer, a collection of essays spanning a life of inquiry into Zen practice, relationship, social engagement, and spiritual creativity.

"Looking backwards at a life lived, walking forward into more life to live built on all that, trying not to be too much influenced by what's already been said and done, not to be held to a point of view or an identity previously expressed, trying to be surprised and undone and maybe even dismayed by what lies ahead."—Norman Fischer

Norman Fischer is a Zen priest, poet, and translator whose writings, teachings, and commitment to interfaith dialogue have supported and inspired Buddhist, Jewish, and other spiritual practitioners for decades. When You Greet Me I Bow spans the entirety of Norman Fischer's career and is the first collection of his writings on Buddhist philosophy and practice. Broken into four sections—the joy and catastrophe of relationship; thinking, writing, and emptiness; cultural encounters; and social engagement—this book allows us to see the fascinating development of the mind and interests of a gifted writer and profoundly committed practitioner.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611808216
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,056,910
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

NORMAN FISCHER is a Zen teacher, poet, translator, and founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation. A beloved figure in the Buddhist world, he is also well-known for his efforts at interreligious dialogue. His numerous books include, most recently, (prose) The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path, What Is Zen?: Plain Talk for a Beginner's Mind, and Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong, and (poetry) The Strugglers, On A Train At Night, and Untitled Series: Life As It Is.

Table of Contents

Editor's Foreword xi

Notes on Looking Backward while Walking Forward xvii

Part 1 A Buddha and A Buddha

Notes on the Joy and Catastrophe of Relationship 3

1 When You Greet Me I Bow 11

2 No Teachers of Zen 19

3 Falling in Love 29

4 Leaving Home, Staying Home 35

5 Stages of Monastic Life 41

6 Wash Your Bowls 53

7 On Spiritual Friendship 63

Part 2 Form Is Emptiness

Notes on Thinking, Writing and Emptiness 73

8 Beautiful Snowflakes 79

9 What Is Your Body? 87

10 A Mother's Death 95

11 Impermanence Is Buddha Nature 99

12 Suffering Opens the Real Path 107

13 Everything Is Made of Mind 119

14 On Looking at Landscape 127

15 Beyond Language 133

16 Phrases and Spaces 141

Part 3 East/West

Notes on Cultural Encounter 149

17 On Dogen's Shobogenzo 157

18 The Place Where Your Heart Is Kept 165

19 Why Do We Bow? 173

20 Applied Dharma 175

21 Putting Away the Stick 185

22 On God for Sue 187

23 Reencountering the Psalms 195

24 The Two Worlds 211

Part 4 Difference and Dharma

Notes on Social Engagement 223

25 Quick! Who Can Save This Cat? 233

26 On Being an Ally 241

27 Buddhism, Racism, and Jazz 245

28 The Sorrow of an All-Male Lineage 255

29 On Difference and Dharma 261

30 On Forgiveness and Reconciliation 267

31 We Have to Bear It 275

32 The Religion of Politics, the Politics of Religion 279

33 Contemplating Climate Change 287

34 No Beginning, No Ending, No Fear 293

35 The Problem of Evil 299

Acknowledgments 307

Notes 309

Publication Credits 311

Editorial Reviews

04/12/2021

Zen priest and poet Fischer (What Is Zen?) collects thoughtful personal essays from over three decades of his Buddhist teachings and practice. First, he discusses harmonizing one’s relationships with oneself, others, the physical world, the spiritual world, and time. For instance, “Leaving Home, Staying Home” revisits the story of Siddhartha leaving his pregnant wife to achieve enlightenment, each sacrificing so the other can live a fulfilled life. In the section on the relationship between writing and thinking, the essay “Impermanence Is Buddha Nature” explains that impermanence is both loss and change, which can be refreshing and renewing. Regarding cultural encounters, “The Two Worlds” contrasts Japanese and Western interpretations of Buddhism: where “the sacred has been reduced to the ‘inner life,’ something private,” in the West, in Japan, a Buddhist sensibility includes “a vague and dark (if also beautiful and serene) sense of an alternate order of reality.” In the standout “Buddhism, Racism, and Jazz,” Fischer describes African American cultural influences in American Buddhism and explains how addressing the “great national wound of racism” requires Buddhists to pursue “political and social activism as a total life project.” These moving contemplations showcase the intricate workings of a wise mind. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Reveals the evolution of this prolific writer and Buddhist thinker. . . . This body of work points to the heart of practice and, ultimately, what it is to live this human life.”—Lion’s Roar

“These moving contemplations showcase the intricate workings of a wise mind.”—Publishers Weekly

“This is a wise book. The universality in these teachings will appeal to anyone on a spiritual path.”—Spirituality & Practice

“The author’s earnestness and his vulnerability are what make the collection such a pleasure to read. . . . As we catch glimpses into Fischer’s life journey, it becomes increasingly apparent how eclectic, impactful, and innovative his approach has been.”—Buddhistdoor Global

“Steeped in a fundamental openness to life and relationship, Norman Fischer’s tender, unflinching reflections never fail to bring me solace and deliver me to a felt-sense of loving presence to life—to our own and to each other’s humanity—as ‘liberation itself.’ Among these reflections on the terrible beauty and aching sadness of life you will find the qualities of a wise best friend: everyday sanity, the encouragement to risk trust, and the committed hopefulness that things will be all right. A just-right companion for these times.”—Rhonda V. Magee, author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice

“This book is funny—but serious too, as any book about dedication must be. It is also humble, inviting, clear. Most people probably think of Zen as solitary and austere; Fischer, however, emphasizes the commitment to a community of practice. We all need that and most of us have no idea where to find it. This book is a good place to start.”—Rae Armantrout, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and author of Conjure

“This book is a treasure. Eastern dharma has truly been transmitted to the West. The book is also beautifully structured. Help with love, relationship, grief, death, injustice, politics, is close at hand. Reading Fischer’s book in these hard times emits a sigh of relief. Things almost make sense—even if upside down sense—the body lets go and relaxes.”—Natalie Goldberg, author of Three Simple Lines and Writing Down the Bones

From the Publisher