cover image No Fear Zen: Discovering Balance in an Unbalanced World

No Fear Zen: Discovering Balance in an Unbalanced World

Richard Collins. Hohm, $21.95 trade paper (264p) ISBN 978-1-935387-95-4

Zen Buddhism practitioner Collins records his decade long reflections on zazen, or sitting concentration, in this thoughtful volume. Beginning with an overview of Zen, he explores the understandings and common misconceptions that characterize Western experiences of this practice. Collins is associated with the New Orleans Zen Temple and much of his writing focuses on his experiences there. There are odes to his teacher, Robert Livingston Roshi, as well as explanations for the uninitiated. An interesting section, "Sitting Behind Bars in Tehachapi," explores his experience of zazen with prisoners in California. Unfamiliar terms in non-English languages are defined and explained in a comprehensive glossary. This book will appeal most to those associated or familiar with Collins and his temple, but the Zen-curious reader will find it an accessible and readable introduction. (June)