Barry Magid is a psychoanalyst and member of the faculty of the Stephen Mitchell Center for Relational Studies. He is a Dharma successor to the late Charlotte Joko Beck and leads the Ordinary Mind Zendo.
He sets the stage for his explanations of Zen koan practice with the following:
"The traditional Zen koans offer us the chance to encounter and reengage what we consciously or unconsciously consider 'not-me.' Sometimes, as in my case, it will be a part of me that is considered damaged, shameful, or incongruent with the person I am trying to be."
Throughout the rest of the book, Magid challenges us to see that koans offer us a way to heal the splits in our psyche and discover a wholeness surpassing anything we could have imagined. Blending his Zen wisdom with insights from psychotherapy, the author examines koans about impermanence, desire and attachment, change and unity, uselessness, surrender and submission, and difference. For Magid, these teaching tools can be used to help meditators let go of the intellect, established habits, and the lure of seeing oneself as completely independent of others.
