The Authentic Life

Wonderfully accessible Zen teachings for how to live your life genuinely, honestly, and happily in the face of life’s inevitable difficulties

Ever feel like your efforts to live a life of wisdom, honesty, and compassion are hijacked by, well, life? Take heart. Ezra Bayda has good news: life’s challenges aren’t obstacles to our path—they are the path. Understanding that liberates us to use every aspect of what life presents us with as a way to live with integrity and authenticity—and joy. 

In this, as in all his books, Ezra’s teaching is Zen made wonderfully practical, in a way that can apply to anyone’s life. Meditation is the foundation, but it doesn’t stop there. It’s about learning to take the practice of presence we cultivate in meditation to all the rest of our complicated lives. Doing that empowers us to navigate our journey with the integrity and authenticity that are what a satisfying life is all about.  Part I   The Territory and The Map
1.              Skeletons At the Feast
2.              The Rocky Road
3.              The Eternal Recurrence
4.              Doorways Into Reality
5.              Transforming Energy 
  Part II   Awakening the Mind
6.              What About Happiness?
7.              No One Special To Be 
8.              Who’s Who in the Zoo?
9.              The Misguided Quest
10.             Shades of Grey
  Part III   Emotional Awakening
11.            The Dilemma of Anger
12.             Saying Yes to Fear
13.           The Great Teaching
14.           What We Really Want 
15.           Sound Bites That Matter
  Part IV   Awakening the Heart
16.            The Bigger Picture
17.            The Song of Meditation
18.            The Most Important Thing
19.            Enjoy the Ride"Bayda writes with exceptional clarity and simplicity about the awakened life.  He has a gift for describing ‘ordinary mind,’ or the customary thoughts, feelings, and experiences of everyday life. His style is as plainspoken as Pema Chödrön’s. He deserves membership in the ranks of respected meditation teacher-authors.”—Publishers WeeklyEZRA BAYDA was born in 1944 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After graduating from Rutgers University with a degree in philosophy, he became a carpenter and a builder, an occupation he worked at for thirty years. He teaches with his wife, Elizabeth Hamilton (author of Untrain Your Parrot), at Zen Center San Diego. He is also founder of the Santa Rosa Zen Group in Santa Rosa, California, where he teaches monthly. He is the author five previous books, including Being Zen, Zen Heart, and Beyond Happiness.  For more information, visit www.zencentersandiego.org.