This book has just published, which is late in the gardening season for most of us. But it’s also perennial.
The author, Zachiah Murray, is an ordained minister in the Kriya Yoga tradition and a Dharma teacher in the lineage of Thich Nhat Hanh — who writes a foreword for the book, obviously not written recently, since he passed more than three years ago.
It’s a lovely book, full of black-and-white illustrations that look as if they originated as block prints. And Murray writes with clarity, simplicity, and inspiration — as, for instance, in a section on “The Point of Pruning”:
“Breathing in, we vow to prune mindfully, understanding that our pruning makes space inside our garden and ourselves for peace and clarity.” And: “We must risk the removal of the old in order to stimulate new growth. This is true of our garden as well as of ourselves. Breathing out, we resolve to remove the old with courage.”
Later in that chapter we are given: “In the clearing of my garden… The tangle of my mind is loosened… Peace and joy are my signposts… I am on the right path.”
Chapter titles include “Risking the Tangle,” “Water’s Wisdom,” and “Bloom!”
Whether it is seeding, composting, weeding, or harvesting, the guidance and wisdom is thoroughly Zen, sometimes surprising, and sure to enhance the gardening life of readers with or without previous Zen experience.
