Hi.
Kanja
Odland Roshi is a ZenBuddhist priest in the lineage of
Harada-Yasutani. She has been a student of both Roshi Philip Kapleau
and his successor Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. She was ordained as a priest
in 1999, and was given permission to teach by Roshi Kjolhede in 2001.
Together with Sante Poromaa Roshi, she has been instrumental in the
creation of a full-time training temple in rural Sweden called
Zengården, as well as the growth and development of a network of
City Zen Centers in Sweden, Finland and Scotland. This, her first
book, was published in 2013.
In
the book you will find retreat diaries, a description of how to
perform Zen meditation, excerpts from instructions to a student, a
tale from Japan and a depiction of the first meeting of zen. These
things are all very good, but the book also contains Kanja Odlands
own images, which add an extra layer upon this creation of hers.
The
pictures are alone enough to buy the book. They often give more than
the text itself, although the texts are not bad, at all, the
pictures are somewhat brilliant. I really look forward to seeing more
books from Odland, even one with only pictures and reflections around
them.
Kanja Odland has an talent
for making good stories. A talent that really shines through in this
book. The stories presented are almost all about herself and her
experiences, but nevertheless are they, each on their own, an object
of a good, thoughtprovoking, tantalizing, teaching.
Some may say that
retreatnotes, or any diarynotes are not worth reading, and i
sometimes agree, but with this book, Odland has proven that there are
gems out there, and this is one of them.
My only wish were that there
were more...
If there is one thing I think the book
lacks, aside from more digressions on some places is that it should
have been written in english. But considering the language used
sometimes, I foresee an english translation coming...
All in all, all I have left to say is
thank you Kanja Odland for the book and for your practice.
Mtfbwy
Fugen
