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"Special Karma: A Zen Novel of Love and Folly"
genkaku
Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
On Saturday, I received a copy of "Special Karma: A Zen Novel of Love and Folly" by Merry White Benezra. On Sunday, I read it -- it's relatively short at about 125 pages. The novel tells the fairly autobiographical tale of Iris, a woman who spends eight months at a Zen Monastery here in the United States. She goes with many dreams -- of enlightenment, of peace, of ... all the stuff most of us bring to spiritual practice. And bit by bit, through adventures that include the sexual advances of the "roshi" or spiritual teacher, her dream is informed and reshaped. The book is not an excuse for some religious propagandizing or emotional yowling. It just tells, in deft and suggestive understatement, what happens to one person.
As a matter of disclosure, Merry and I spent differing amounts of time at the same places. She is, so to speak, my sister, although we were never really close. But I am also a person who has spent most of his life being interested in and editing the world of writing. I am not kind when it comes to writing.
For all that, I can recommend Merry's book to anyone who wants a subtle, quiet look at what happens when someone who dreams of spiritual adventure and fulfillment puts her money where her mouth is and actually reads the fine print on the sometimes fierce, sometimes joyous, sometimes distressing contract that spiritual life represents.
As a matter of disclosure, Merry and I spent differing amounts of time at the same places. She is, so to speak, my sister, although we were never really close. But I am also a person who has spent most of his life being interested in and editing the world of writing. I am not kind when it comes to writing.
For all that, I can recommend Merry's book to anyone who wants a subtle, quiet look at what happens when someone who dreams of spiritual adventure and fulfillment puts her money where her mouth is and actually reads the fine print on the sometimes fierce, sometimes joyous, sometimes distressing contract that spiritual life represents.
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Comments
Thanks for the reco, genkaku.
For my own purposes, I would say it is worth precisely nothing, zero, zip, nada...
But the coffee sure does taste good this morning.
Thanks, old man. Hope you are well.