Tell Me Something about Buddhism: Questions and Answers for the Curious Beginner

Beginning The Dharma With Ekai Zenju

Buddhism can be approached simply through short introductory books or in studies of great complexity. "Tell me Something about Buddhism: Questions and Answers for the Curious Beginner" is a work in the former category with moments of substantial insight. There is a freshness to the book.

Ekai Zenju is the Dharma name of an ordained Zen priest, a status the author explains in the course of the book. Her given name is Earthlyn Manuel, with the title "Zenju". Manuel has been practicing Buddhism for over 20 years. She began in the Nichren school, and in 2008 received ordination as a Zen priest. Manuel holds an MA in Urban Planning and a PhD in Transformation and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is an African American woman with roots in Louisiana who was raised in California.

Her little book is effective in the way it combines her personal story with and introduction to Buddhism. Manuel begins with a discussion of how she became attracted to Buddhism, coming from a background of African American Christianity and civil rights activism. Manuel was approached by Buddhist teachers from Nichren. She resisted at first but gradually was drawn to the teachings. She aptly observes: "I did not choose Buddha's path as much as I had been chosen by it." When asked by relatives and other people what she, as an African American woman, found valuable about Buddhism, she says: "To follow the ancient teachings of Buddha was to be life affirming. On the path of Buddha's teachings, I returned, through chanting and meditation to that place within that had not been touched by the suffering of hatred. In following the path of Buddha, I began to peel off the masks that covered my original face. In the practice of Buddha's love, I eventually became aware of my life in all of its difficult and glorious moments."

The book is in a question and answer format. This is a device that I have found ineffective in other contexts, but it works here. Manuel poses and offers elementary answers to basic questions about Buddha and Buddhism. Her approach combines introductions to Buddhist teachings with her own life experience. She writes simply and often pithily. She uses small charcoal drawings and poems of her own making as well as quotations from other Buddhist teachers. The book has a feel of personal experience.

The questions range from "Who was the Buddha and What did he Teach" to questions regarding the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Doctrine of Karma, the nature of enlightenment, the purpose of meditation and chanting, Buddhism's teachings about death, Buddhism and theism, and much more. Towards the end of the book, several questions address Buddhism and women and Buddhism and multiculturalism, particularly as it involves African American practitioners.

Much of what Manuel says is striking. In discussing the eight-fold path, for example, she discusses and qualifies the usual translation of "right" action, "right" intention, and so forth by substituting the term "complete" for right. She does so "for the sake of avoiding a sense of right and wrong or confusing this path with rules." Manuel explains further: "Complete refers to doing what is beneficial to living an awakened life, living in a way that does not cause suffering. The path aligns with actions of the body, speech, and heart-mind."

Manuel makes a similar observation when discussing Buddhist precepts and comparing them to the Ten Commandments and other teachings of Western religions. She writes: "The precepts are meant to assist us in valuing life and in not judging the self or each other from a righteous place. They are not principles to measure someone's flaws or level of spirituality. There is no external punishment for breaking these precepts. Mostly, the precepts describe how an awakened person lives mindful of the possible suffering caused by his or her actions. In this way of caring for each other, we nurture a spiritually based social justice."

In discussing how Buddhism helps individuals deal with dissatisfaction with and in their lives, Manuel offers her experiences chanting the Heart Sutra and says as well: "take time to view life without an old story, to walk without thoughts of how you look, to listen without interpretation, to taste something as if for the first time, or to smell and not name what you are smelling. Move through the world without thoughts of liking or disliking this and that."

Overall, Manuel recoginzes that Buddhist wisdom is not to be learned from a book, "even this one", but from patience, reflection,
and an attempt at understanding. In "Final Words" at the end of the book, Manuel summarizes:

"Know that it it is difficult to learn Buddha's teachings through explanations. Know that I have made an attempt to concretize a teaching that cannot be solidified because wisdom comes from your own life. So you may still feel fuzzy about this practice. It is this fuzziness, coupled with curiosity, that has kept me on the path. I feel genuinely that Buddha intended the practice to be a continuous exploration. Once we become certain, there is no place for learning, and we find ourselves defending our idea with a partial view of things."

I have been studying and attempting to incorporate Buddhist teachings into my life for some time. Manuel's short book for beginners help reinvigorate my efforts. This book is valuable both to readers new to Buddhism and to readers with a substantial practice.

Robin Friedman