365 Nirvana Here and Now: Living Every Moment in Enlightenment

By Josh Baran

Book Overview

365 Nirvana shows that Nirvana is here and now and is accessible to us all not just those who spend decades meditating. With inspirational writing from luminaries in the field, 365 Nirvana is a spiritual bible for a new generation of spiritual seekers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0007163584
• ISBN13: 9780007163588
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Thorsons Pub
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 1.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Gentle reminders when faced with uncertainty

My husband bought this for me for Christmas. We're faced with giving birth in February to a child who will require several open heart surgeries. I've been struggling with the anticipation and fear - mostly of the unknown. It's made the days hard to get through. I've picked up this book no less than 10 times in the few hours since he's given it to me, and each page contains a small wisdom that reminds me to focus on where I am at this moment - even if it means embracing the anger and the fear. Each page is a gentle reminder that the moment is where we are; to dwell in the unknown is to miss living fully in the now. All the rest, everything before and beyond the now, is out of our control - and this book makes that concept a little less frightening. Highly recommended.

Mainstream nonduality

If you are seeking the spiritual understanding that would finally end your search, the open secret is that there is no movement to make that would capture a kept secret. As Wei Wu Wei has said, "What is not kept secret is a secret, and what is kept secret is not a secret at all." Or as the author quotes Yuanwu: "It is right in your face. This moment, the whole thing is handed to you." That is the thesis of 365 Nirvana Here and Now. The purpose of the book is to reveal the secret through celebration of it in the form of a wide variety of quotations, and through guiding the reader toward its understanding. The result is that this may be read as two books: (1) a very short book consisting of 16 pages of introductory material along with an 11 page dialogue section at the end of the book, entitled "Afterthoughts," and (2) a long book consisting of 365 pages of quotes from a wide variety of sources. The "very short book" establishes the presence of a spiritual teacher in this reading journey. The book is not merely 365 pages of quotes. The power of the book lies in the presence of a teacher who is asserting his presence thoughout. Because it is not enough to point out the variety of ways the open secret is expressed; the seeker has to be guided toward understanding these writings. We learn from the "very short book" that the author Josh Baran is a strategic communications consultant in New York City. He has handled public relations for Bill Gates, the Dalai Lama, Byron Katie, Amnesty International and other institutions, individuals and corporations. He began his spiritual search at the age of 14 when he became suddenly preoccupied with the experience of "non-stop mental turmoil." By age 19 he became a full-time seeker, exploring various traditions and teachers, finally choosing to devote himself to Zen Buddhism. Baran became a Zen monk and priest, leaving his community after 8 years, displeased with its extremely authoritarian culture. Fifteen years of independent exploration followed and culminated in a meeting with Tulku Urgyen, a revered master of Dzogchen. About that meeting, Baran writes, "I saw how much of my life's energies had been focused on looking forward to some imagined future, rather than simply celebrating the all-pervasive present. ... All I needed was to take to heart Tulku Urgyen's words, 'Simply let be in naturalness without technique, without artifice.'" After the meeting, Baran "hungered for the words that were alive with realization and that reflected the timeless view that Tulku Urgyen had pointed out. Slowly, I began gathering writings." About the collection of writings making-up the bulk of this book, the author/editor says, "See where these words point and then drop them -- completely. What the Buddha, Jesus, or Zen Masters realized has nothing to do with your own understanding. In the end, it is all just story and hearsay." Toward deepening the reader's understanding, the "very short book" makes two gestures: First

Everyday Enlightenment

This is a book to read everyday. I just open it at random and read a page or two. So many incredible, simple and clear reminders that IT is all right here - peace, truth, heaven on earth. No beliefs, no dogmas, no demands. Just pointers to be present to reality as it is - right here and now. I love reading these pieces after sitting quietly or just when i wake up. Also, this is a great gift book for almost anyone because of the wide and unique passages that Josh Baran has put together. As someone who has been meditating for a very long time and has read hundreds of spiritual books, I find that 365 Nirvana Here and Now is a refreshing simple stop sign. Also, there is a terrific afterword in the book - a long dialogue with the author that clarifies the essence of this collection. for Power of Now fans, for seekers of any kind, for meditators -- this book is for you.

Radical Refreshment, One Jewel at a Time

"LOOKING AT EVERYTHING AS IF FOR THE FIRST TIME REVEALS THE COMMONPLACE TO BE UTTERLY INCREDIBLE, IF ONLY WE CAN BE ALIVE TO THE NEWNESS OF IT." RUTH BERNARD (venerable San Francisco photographer)This book, by former Zen priest Josh Baran took 10 years to be selected, and consists of 365 koans, reminders, and poetic utterances from utterly disparate sources ranging from the Western poetics of Walt Whitman and Rainier Maria Rilke to traditional Buddhist teaching to Alanis Morrisette's pop lyrics to the more anecdotal remembrances of the assuredly non-famous. It's worth the wait. Some of the daily selections benefit from Baran's closing commentary, either asking a question limned by the above reading or making a small statement that deepens the accompanying text. 365 Nirvana has the aspect of the I-Ching, a prayer book, a small book of wisdom. A shallow dip rewards deeply.Many are crystal clear nondual utterances from Buddhist or Advaitic sources. Others are pragmatic, poetic, and personal; for instance:"For years, as a Zen meditator, I praved for a mystical ray gun that could zap away every negative thought. Then I discovered that thoughts weren't the enemy, and I learned to welcome them with open arms." Josh Baran (accompanying text to Francis Lucille's "Real Meditation." p. 102)". . . "What is this miracle?' he cries. `What are these mysteries called: trees, sea, stones, birds?'" Nikos KazantzakisAnother exercise: When you wake up tomorrow morning, see everything as miracle, as mystery. (p. 255)

A TREASURE!

This book is a treasure! In combining a plethora of views into one simple context, Josh Baran takes a form of pointed concentration (joriki, in Japanese Zen meditation) to an entirely new level and then brings it into everyday consciousness. Like the prescription from an old sage to his frustrated student, "Why climb the mountain when I can bring the mountaintop to you?" 365 Nirvana Here and Now places the seemingly unsurmountable at our feet. Having said that, however, 365 Nirvana will rest at my bedside, or maybe in my purse, briefcase, or . . . well, wherever it wants to be in the "here and now!" Donna Lee Gorrell, author of Perfect Madness