{"product_id":"thank-you-and-ok-isbn-9781590304709","title":"Thank You and OK!","description":"David Chadwick, a Texas-raised wanderer, college dropout, bumbling social activist, and hobbyhorse musician, began his study under Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1966. In 1988 Chadwick flew to Japan to begin a four-year period of voluntary exile and remedial Zen education. In \u003ci\u003eThank You and OK!\u003c\/i\u003e he recounts his experiences both inside and beyond the monastery walls and offers insightful portraits of the characters he knew in that world—the bickering monks, the patient abbot, the trotting housewives, the ominous insects, the bewildered bureaucrats, and the frustrating English-language students—as they worked inexorably toward initiating him into the mysterious ways of Japan. Whether you're interested in Japan, Buddhism, or exotic travel writing, this book is great fun.“Hats off to Chadwick. . . . His writer’s skill is evident in everything from skin-crawling descriptions of \u003ci\u003emukade\u003c\/i\u003e (dreaded scorpion-like insects) to a benevolent look at \u003ci\u003etakuhatsu\u003c\/i\u003e, formal monks’ begging.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Written down with good humor and keen observations. . . . This book is not a serious examination of Zen Buddhist practices nor a major study of East-West relations but a rollicking, anecdotal mishmash of incidents about the foibles of monks, abbots, ‘housewives,’ and fellow students of the author’s. Read with this understanding, this book is good entertainment.”—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Vivid, lighthearted, and unself-consciously profound.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e   \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The\u003ci\u003e Catch-22\u003c\/i\u003e of Zen.\"—Daniel Leighton, author of \u003ci\u003eFaces of Compassion \u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Asked why Zen was brought from India to China, master Zhao Zhou replied, 'The oak tree in the garden.' This is exactly what Chadwick gives us here—no grand sweeping statements about the 'real' nature of Zen or Japan—just specific experience rendered with a peculiar intensity that lingers in your memory. The writing is excellent. The artistic integrity is the very finest.”—Robert Pirsig, author of \u003ci\u003eZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Totally delightful—fantastic couch potato Zen. Chadwick saves you the trouble of going to Japan by making all the mistakes for you.\"—Jack KornfieldDavid Chadwick, a Texas-raised wanderer, college dropout, bumbling social activist, and hobbyhorse musician, began his Zen study under Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1966. Chadwick now lives in Northern California where he reads, writes, walks, and continues to dabble in Buddhism and related matters.","brand":"Shambhala","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302550720741,"sku":"NP9781590304709","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781590304709.jpg?v=1767737932","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/thank-you-and-ok-isbn-9781590304709","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}