Tim Burkett reveals how and why the wisdom of non-holiness is the key to a joyful heart. You don’t need to go looking for something sacred—the happiness you seek is right where you are. In his book, a concise summary of Zen teachings unfold within the ordinary comedies and tragedies of everyday life—beginning with the delightful non-holiness he experienced in the presence of his original teacher, Shunyru Suzuki.
Don’t try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are. —The Dalai Lama
From Tricycle Magazine, Summer 2015:
TIM BURKETT
Often, in meditation, we are besieged by desire. One desire after another, they cycle through our mind endlessly. We’re alone with them, with nothing to distract us and no way to fulfill them. We can only look at the endless parade of desires.
If you sit in meditation with devotion, you will have to see and endure your desires. After a while, we realize how irrelevant the object of our desire is. It is desire itself that perpetuates our suffering. We use desire to cover up all sorts of difficult emotions. If we’re insecure, we set goals that will prove our self-worth. We use goal-setting to cover deep hurts or painful memories. Avoiding difficult emotions perpetuates them. The cycle repeats itself with even more intensity.
Can you accept your desires graciously? When you sit on the cushion and see one desire after another and feel how consuming each is—if you remain on your cushion, then you are graciously accepting them. It may not feel gracious on the inside. But when the bell rings and the desire suddenly dissipates, we recognize how little it actually means to us. Often it was just a temporary distraction from the pain or boredom that was coming up. Developing a gracious attitude toward our obsessive desires is what Zen practice is about. Seeing the nature of desire is the beginning of spiritual liberation.
From Nothing Holy About It: The Zen of Being Just Who You Are, by Tim Burkett, © 2015 by Tim Burkett and Wanda Isle. Reprinted with permission of Shambhala Publications.
Reviews for Nothing Holy About It:
“Amidst Tim Burkett’s insights into Buddhism and life, there emerges a wonderful, intimate picture of Shunryu Suzuki. I learned a lot from this book.”—David Chadwick, author of Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki
“Fresh and personal and full of great stories culled from a life devoted to the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. A wonderful testament.”—Red Pine, author of Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits
“I have long been aware of Tim Burkett’s deep respect and appreciation for his teacher, Suzuki Roshi. Now I know why. Here’s a touching account of how great an impact one life can have upon another.”—Steve Hagen, author of Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs
“Enjoy this wonderful, useful, profound yet modest book that expresses the true spirit of Zen. It and its warm-hearted author are blessings for the world, and I am honored and very pleased to introduce them to you.”—from the foreword by Norman Fischer, author of Training in Compassion.