Zen Encounters with Loneliness

Embark on a poignant and sometimes comic journey through Zen, poetry, and the transformative, personal practice of writing.

In Zen Encounters with Loneliness Terrance Keenan weaves together poetry, memoir, and raw insight to give voice to the lonely "nobody" in everyone. From his memories of early childhood to his struggles with addiction, writer's block, and human relationship, Keenan delivers a heart-rending portrayal of the human hunger for selfhood and connection. Through his beautifully crafted literary reflections, he finds that Zen does not comfort our dream of being somebody, rather, it reveals connection only when we face who we really are—nobody. Zen Encounters intimately calls us to recognize that the well of emptiness is also a well of potential—to grow, learn, and overcome adversity.

PRAISE
"An exceptionally fine and engaging work; recommended for most collections."
—Library Journal

"This book is worth reading for Keenan's flowing reflections on topics ranging from karma to Kafka. Particularly intriguing are his thoughts on writer's block, meditation, Japanese poetry and fatherhood."
—Publishers Weekly

"Following in the great tradition of Basho, Keenan combines prose and poetry to create a journey through the interior, drawing from the anecdotal and the philosophical, from the great teachings of the Zen tradition and others, and from those he encounters along his way. He has made the journey itself his home."
—Sam Hamill, author of Crossing the Yellow River

"A deeply personal yet broadly inviting account of a spiritual journey. What is it to be an American Zen monk living in the so-called ordinary world of family and career responsibilities? Terrance Keenan's reflections and insights are wrung from the depths of his own wrestling with such questions, and with the great matter of life and death. This is a book of a heart torn open and a willingness to live, and to give, from that openness."
—Rev. Roko Sherry Chayat, author of The Subtle Sound

"Zen Encounters with Loneliness reminds us once again that the small truths are often more powerful than those shouted from the rooftops. This heartfelt book is filled with light, wisdom, and courage."
—Dinty W. Moore, author of The Mindful Writer

"Every few years, if you're lucky, a book comes along that changes your life. Zen Encounters with Loneliness is one of those books. It gives us permission to be honest with ourselves about our own frailties, and, through this acknowledgement, to find our own salvation."
—Satya Robyn, author of The Most Beautiful Thing

"Keenan's Zen Encounters with Loneliness is a remarkable kaleidoscope of moving poetry and prose, touching the emptiness in all of us."
—Jean Smith, author of Now

Acknowledgments
A Note to the Reader
Introduction

Part I The Death of the Fathers

1. End of the Rational Ideal
2. The End Of Perfection
3. The End of Linear Certainties

Part II The Orphaned Dark

4. Dissolving the Fictions
5. Habit of Being

Part III Hell Is Being Without Space

6. Giving up Wisdom
7. The Thief in the Infinity of Childhood
8. No Blame
9. Be Kind
10. Love Everything

Part IV Ways To Live Happily

11. The Most Important Thing in Life
12. Giving Up Giving Up

Part V A Boy Running in the Wild

13. The Merciful Avatar
14. Wild Apples, Crows in the Rain
15. The Canticle of Ecstasy

Part VI The Three Infinities

16. Infinite Gratitude to the Past
17. Infinite Service to the Present
18. Infinite Responsibility to the Future

Part VI Blue Heaped Upon Blue

19. What We Can’t Talk About
20. Trying to Be Love

Part VIII An Endless Vow

21. Living Stardust
22. Arriving in the Irreligious Dark
23. Flocks of Finches at Dawn

Afterword

Selected Poems

I. Death of the Fathers
II. The Orphaned Dark
III. Ways to Live Happily
IV The Three Infinities
V. Blue Heaped Upon Blue
VI. An Endless Vow
VII. A Boy Running in the Wind