Nothing Is Hidden

August 12, 2013
What is your original face? This is just one question—a Zen puzzler known as a “koan”— among many that psychoanalyst and Zen teacher Magid (Ordinary Mind) uses to explore concerns and issues in mindfulness practice. Rather than engaging with the koans only from an intuitive point of view, Magid examines their literary and psychological dimensions. “What is your original face?” becomes an exploration of insecurity, finding wholeness in life, and of denial of the possibility of equanimity. He challenges common wisdom about the ameliorative properties of Zen practice, noting that while it “deliver on the promise of insight,” it fails to integrate such insight into individual character. Magid presents a nuanced, sensitive, and compassionate analysis of how it is all too easy to fall into idealism, escapism, and elitism with meditation, charging his readers to consider their intentions and motivations. Zen by itself, he argues, is highly unlikely to cure a practitioner of his or her mental afflictions, but his book can help point toward more honest introspection that will yield healing and acceptance.

October 1, 2013
Psychoanalyst and Zen scholar Magid provides an accessible and thorough examination of the nexus of Zen koan analysis and the interplay between the conscious and subconscious forces of human psychology. Brief chapters use a specific koan as a starting point from which Magid juxtaposes the history of its tradition in Zen Buddhist practice with contemporary reflections of what can be unpacked from its underlying interpretive possibilities. Readers unfamiliar with Buddhism will be drawn in by the artful explication of Zen morality. Zen practitioners, current and lapsed, will be interested in the discussion of how foibles of Zen masters should not be conflated with the underlying psychological truths Buddhist awareness and presence offers. While valuable to cultural observers, this small book can also serve as a guide for the contemplative and/or psychiatrically perplexed. Pair with Gary Snyder's Zen-inspired poetry for a dynamic understanding of ancient and modern wisdoms enhancing one another.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)