Koshin Paley Ellison - Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up

It seems that in the twenty-first century, more and more people are spending their lives in isolation from each other not the isolation that comes from living alone, though this seems to be a growing problem in some societies, but the isolation that is the result of creating artificial barriers between ourselves and others.

Koshin Paley Ellison has written a manual for personal growth and change based on a contemporary interpretation of Buddhist refuge and precepts, making it accessible to everyone, not just those interested in or practicing Buddhism. Using anecdotes, quotes, and reflective questioning, he prompts us to become aware of the barriers we have erected around ourselves and suggests ways by which we can dismantle them. His message is one of hope: that through personal transformation we can develop courage, openheartedness, and compassion in our relationships with others, and enrich our own lives.

His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje

I am so grateful for the light Koshin brings to the world. His wisdom teachings in Wholehearted will transform your heart, mind, and soul.

Donna Karan, fashion designer and founder of the Urban Zen Foundation

It is difficult to be honest and simple, and in todays world it is so necessary and healing. Koshin uses the Buddhist precepts to stay real and available, which makes his writing valuable and crucial. His commitment to transparency makes it possible for me to show up as my true self so that pure communication is exposed as the recipe for being alive and joyful.

Rodney Yee, yoga teacher and author of Moving Toward Balance

Koshin Paley Ellison shares his extraordinary compassion and bright wisdom with pithy advice that can help any of us cultivate a richer and more nourishing life. Wholehearted gives a vibrant wake-up call from a Zen mensch.

Daniel Goleman, coauthor of Altered Traits

Koshin Paley Ellison writes with authenticity, vulnerability, and depth. In Wholehearted, he prescribes connection, inspiration, and love to heal us as individuals and as a society. I consider this very good medicine.

Dr. Andrew Weil, founder of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and author of 8 Weeks to Optimal Health

The subtitle of this wonderful book says it all: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up. In a writing style that is elegant and eminently readable, Koshin Paley Ellison illuminates a path of connection, care, and love. The depth of his experience as a Zen teacher and practitioner reveals itself throughout this work, showing us how to live a wholehearted life.

Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness

Wholehearted is full of nuance, humor, and tenderness. I found it such a useful guide to the profound teachings, and it left me with lots to think about and to try to activate in my own life.

Laurie Anderson, avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director

In Wholehearted, Koshin Paley Ellison offers his personable and creative approach to the precepts, making it clear that compassion and unselfish caring are at the heart of Zen.

Norman Fischer, poet, senior Zen priest, and author of The World Could Be Otherwise

This jewel of a book is packed with inspiring and timeless wisdom, pointing us toward freedom. Practical and delightful, each page is nourishing, leaving you more tender and more connected to humanity. This is a book for everyone.

Ruth King, author of Mindful of Race

To meet Koshin is like being embraced by hope. This book is like having the best long-lunch conversation ever, where you leave with a new best friend. I love Koshin and now I can take him with me wherever I go.

Anthony Edwards, actor and director, winner of a Golden Globe and six Screen Actors Guild Awards

With examples from personal experiences that reveal his unpretentious humanity and good-natured humor, Koshin makes the ancient wisdom of Zen feel intuitive for our contemporary minds.

Ira Byock, MD, author of Dying Well and The Best Care Possible, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Koshin writes with the clarity of a bell. From everyday moments he takes timeless wisdom. With elegant language he blesses ordinary annoyances with breath and insight. And with simplicity he uncovers the complex heart of human stories.

Pdraig Tuama, poet and theologian, author of In the Shelter

A kind guide for meeting lifes challenges with more equanimity, resilience, and compassion.

Frank Ostaseski, author of The Five Invitations

Wholehearted is wonderful guidance for the sixteen bodhisattva precepts written by an American Zen teacher for American people. An excellent work to make the Dharma available for people living in the modern society.

Shohaku Okumura, Roshi, author of Living by Vow

Koshin Paley Ellison, a monk living in New York City, reinterprets the timeless teachings of Zen Buddhism in a contemporary way that is conversational, insightful, and unexpectedly irreverent!

Shakil Choudhury, author of Deep Diversity

There are SO many books about Zen and Buddhism. This is one I would recommend.

Jan Chozen Bays, Roshi, MD, teacher at Zen Community of Oregon, and author of Mindfulness on the Go and Mindful Eating

Although the book is serious in content, Koshins lightheartedness shines through. Precepts do not have to be a heavy subject, but can be viewed as joyful guiding lights, as Koshin demonstrates.

Gerry Shishin Wick, Roshi, abbot of Great Mountain Zen Center and coauthor of The Book of Equanimity

Readers will find the nourishing sustenance of wisdom and kindness in this excellent rendering of the Zen Buddhist precepts.

Egyoku Nakao, Roshi, abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles

Each of us has an enormous capacity for love a deep well of attention and care that we can offer to ourselves and others. With guidance that is both simple and wholly transformative, Koshin Paley Ellison, Zen teacher and psychotherapist, shows us how to uncover it: pay attention, be of service, and be with others.

With this inspiring and down-to-earth book, drawn from the Zen precepts and illustrated with anecdotes from Koshins own life and practice, youll learn how to

explore and investigate with your own core values,

identify the mental habits that could be unconsciously hurting yourself and others, and

overcome isolation.

Each chapter closes with a contemplation to help integrate the teachings into your life.

This book is about getting back in touch with your values, so you can live energetically, authentically, and lovingly. This an invitation to close the gaps we create between ourselves and others to wake up to ourselves and the world around us.

ITS TIME TO LIVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY.

Wisdom Publications

199 Elm Street

Somerville, MA 02144 USA

wisdompubs.org

2019 Koshin Paley Ellison

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system or technologies now known or later developed, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Paley Ellison, Koshin, author. | Varvaloucas, Emma, editor.

Title: Wholehearted: slow down, help out, wake up / Koshin Paley Ellison; edited by Emma Varvaloucas.

Description: Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, [2019] |