Coronavirus, in short-measure, has changed the world completely. How can we make sense of this huge change in our lives? How can we cope, when our lives have been shaken-up and fears abound?Japanese Zen Buddhism offers a clear path to overcome fears and find courage, when all around us seems to be falling-apart. For thousands of years Buddhists have been meditating on the hardest challenges in life, such as sickness, grief and death.This book offers a unique introduction to the Zen path through words, photos and Haiku poetry. More than a guidebook, it provides a space for contemplation about our current situation. It discusses the Zen approach to life, and applies it to both photography, and the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. A photobook with a narrative, the author shares his perspectives on the art of photography, and reflects on what the medium means in the Buddhist context. He explores Buddhist ideas found in photography, and how masters of the form have used Buddhist presence, to produce artworks which resonate widely. He explores his application of Buddhist practice to photography, and also explains how photography can diverge from a purely Buddhist way.The author reflects on our global situation as a human family, in the context of COVID-19. He asks whether the exploitative economic path, that collectively we have been on for some time, has contributed to the emergence of the pandemic. He applies Zen ideas to our economic trajectory which is eroding nature and wilderness at an alarming rate, to feed our ever growing consumption and automated lifestyles.He pauses to consider the significance of the space that has emerged from the sudden halt in economic growth. Is it possible to draw an analogy between this global stillness, and the space of presence a person meditating can experience? Exploring evidence for the origin of the novel coronavirus, the author finds that while it probably originated in nature, it is important to understand, why it has crossed over into our species. Zen raises important questions about human interference in the natural world, which we need to address to re-align our relationship with nature. In a time of global catastrophe we need to hold onto our sanity, but also map a path ahead. This path could deliver more of the same, or forge a better future direction.The book is journey of contemplation of the ancient Zen path, trodden in a time of change. Through the lens of the photographer-author, we are taken on a visually and spiritually enriching journey, into the sacred mountains of Yamagata Prefecture in Japan, where Zen Buddhism evolved.

In 2020, as COVID-19 spread from Asia to North America, Zen Buddhist and ikebana practitioner Joan Stamm was forced to cancel her long-anticipated trip to Japan, where she had planned to research a flower temple pilgrimage and learn the deeper meaning of flowers known as “little Buddhas”. But with lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, Stamm, who lives on a mountain on an island in the Salish Sea, sequestered herself like a hermit and turned to her own flower garden for solace and meaning as the pandemic engulfed the world around her. The Language of Flowers in the Time of COVID tells the story of Stamm’s life and spiritual journey through these difficult times. Using traditional Japanese flowers as seasonal indicators, Stamm speaks the poetic language of flowers to explore ancient flower metaphor as it relates to the pandemic and the many manifestations of impermanence in one of the most tumultuous years in American history.

Following the Spanish flu a group of doctors and nuns banded together to found a hospital to prepare for the next pandemic. It took a hundred years, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Holy Name Hospital found itself at ground zero. In the Time of Covid highlights the innovation, creativity and help from unexpected people and places that allowed the hospital to secure PPE and equipment, completely redesign the hospital, handle the growing number of dead, and treat what seemed like unending waves of new Covid-19 patients. Using stories to illustrate his points, Dr. Jarret uses easy to understand language to weave in information on the origins of Covid-19, current treatments and studies, lessons learned and how his hospital dealt with the onslaught of Covid-19 cases. A must read for anyone wanting to know more about Covid-19 and its impact on us all.

The fate of English magic lies in their hands ... In Regency London, Zacharias Wythe is England's first African Sorcerer Royal. He leads the eminent Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers, but a malicious faction seeks to remove him by fair means or foul. Meanwhile, the Society is failing its vital duty - to keep stable the levels of magic within His Majesty's lands. The Fairy Court is blocking its supply, straining England's dangerously declining magical stores. And now the government is demanding to use this scarce resource in its war with France. Ambitious orphan Prunella Gentleman is desperate to escape the school where she's drudged all her life, and a visit by the beleaguered Sorcerer Royal seems the perfect opportunity. For Prunella has just stumbled upon English magic's greatest discovery in centuries - and she intends to make the most of it. At his wits' end, the last thing Zachariah needs is a female magical prodigy! But together, they might just change the nature of sorcery, in Britain and beyond.

Charlotte Joko Beck offers a warm, engaging, uniquely American approach to using Zen to deal with the problems of daily living—love, relationships, work, fear, ambition, and suffering. Everyday Zen shows us how to live each moment to the fullest. This Plus edition includes an interview with the author.

The key to the good life is compassion. Drawing on recent findings, Dobrin convincingly shows that compassion is built into human nature. When we act upon this inherent moral instinct, individuals find what they want most--to be happy.

A poetic journey through matters of faith, backdropped by the COVID-19 crisis, Love in the Time of Covid is a collection of traditional Japanese short-form poems that reveals the intersection of nature and spirituality. From doubt to conviction and darkness to light, the collection probes existential questions and documents life’s basic struggles. With honest glimpses at disillusionment and splashes of joy at recognition of divine truth, Love in the Time of Covid explores the nature of life, the reality of death, and the hope for redemption. The collection also highlights the unlikely friendship between the poet and an antiquarian of rare oddities during the pandemic of 2020 and beyond.