The Beginner’s Guide to Zen Buddhism
Harmony/Bell Tower, 2000

Here is a comprehensive introduction to Zen Buddhism for those who don’t know how or where to begin, nor what to expect once they have started practicing. It includes the fundamentals of meditation practice, basic teachings and major texts, what to do when you visit a zendo, and a history of Zen from the founding of Buddhism to its major schools in the West.

“This is the first book I am aware of that draws on the existing body of literature in English by modern Zen teachers to offer a solid reader’s guide to the ABCs of Zen. A practitioner herself, Jean Smith manages to write about Zen simply and succinctly—from the inside.”
—Norman Fischer, coabbot of San Francisco Zen Center

ORDER NOW

The Beginner’s Guide to Walking the Buddha’s Eightfold Path
Harmony/Bell Tower, 2002

This book focuses on the concepts central to practicing in our daily lives the Buddha’s teachings on right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. Smith explains exactly what the Buddha had in mind, using authoritative translations of his own words and then elucidating them for us. Throughout there are wonderful quotes from a broad range of Buddhist teachers, making this a book for Buddhists of all traditions.

“Writing a ‘nuts and bolts’ guide that is genuinely wise, charmingly conversational, and a pleasure to read requires a particular talent, and Jean Smith has proved once again she has it.”
—Sylvia Boorstein, author of Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There

ORDER NOW