Description:
A Spirituality & Practice "Best Spiritual Book of 2025"
Zen is the ideal path for those who have left institutional religion behind.
In this liminal moment, when the grip of our old religions has loosened, a prominent Zen practitioner asks: What is religion? What is spirituality? And what is it all about?
Ford begins by invoking the ideas of Aldous Huxley, welcoming what he calls a "naturalistic perennialism." Ford believes there are currents of religion that are rooted in our biology. And as something natural, it is something that people can find within all religions, in fact, the heart birthing of all religions.
Then, true to the book's title, Ford asks and answers, "Why then, Zen?" and demonstrates how pure Zen is as simple as noticing and waking: an expression of an intimate way of life.
Four noble truths, ox herding pictures, samadhi, koan, lovingkindness, and many other Zen essentials are here, in succinct and conversational prose that offers a lifeboat to anyone who feels something missing in the absence of religious life.
Brief description: James Ishmael Ford is both a Zen priest and a Unitarian Universalist minister. He has lived in monasteries and other spiritual communities, served as a local pastor and spiritual director, and preached throughout New England, where he lives. His previous books include If You're Lucky, Your Heart Will Break and, in 2024, The Intimate Way of Zen. www.jamesishmaelford.com
Review Quotes:
"Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote, 'Zen is a way of insight.' Then he suggested what Zen is not: a system or method to be institutionalized, the way western society has domesticated religion. James Ford's insightful and honest introduction to this venerable tradition of meditation and inner transformation just might help us see what Merton meant--and why Zen can be a great blessing for our time, even for those who identify as spiritual but not religious." --Carl McColman, author of The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism and Read the Bible Like a Mystic
"James Ford has long been an honest and thoughtful voice on matters spiritual and religious. In Zen at the End of Religion he shines a light on Zen as a path for those who are alienated from religious institutions but are still seeking--something. Something deep, boundless, intimate. Zen at the End of Religion is a clear and authentic introduction to Zen." --Barbara O'Brien, author of The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World
"When I hear James Ford's words, something in me wakes up. He has the rare ability to communicate something that is much larger than himself. We are all lucky to be in contact with this gift." --Gesshin Claire Greenwood, author of Bow First, Ask Questions Later
"James Ishmael Ford has given us the perfect introduction--or re-introduction--to living and practicing Zen Buddhism in twenty-first century America. In turns accessible, direct, and erudite, he plays in the deep waters of Zen with obvious love and delight, born of decades of practice and teaching. This delight is contagious!" --Zenshin Florence Caplow, author of he Hidden Lamp: Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women
"Explores the teachings, techniques, and koans that are at the heart of a Zen practice, all from the perspective of a seeker of naturalistic perennialism in a post-religious world." --Lion's Roar magazine
"Zen at the End of Religion resonated with me as a Buddhist, albeit a Nichiren Buddhist, as it provided a multi-layered description of some of Zen's profound concepts and practices, conveyed in a simple yet effective manner. While it's probably not the sort of book one could read in one sitting (I took over a week), it can be a rewarding experience for a mind seeking a foray into human civilisation's profoundest wisdom." --Ashish Virmani, review, ALotusInTheMud.com
"I get strange looks from my friends and acquaintances when I talk about Zen practice. (The brows are raised even higher when I mention koans.) At the slightest hint of curiosity, I have pointed them to classics in Zen practice such as Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Suzuki Roshi. Zen at the End of Religion by James Ishmael Ford offers a wonderful alternative." --Quest Magazine
Blurbs for Ford's 07/24 book with Shambhala:
"This book is about the messy path of Zen as lived and taught by James Ford. It tells no lies. Nothing linear or logical, no quick ecstatic fix, only a lifetime of longing and steadiness, of pilgrimage. It will steer you through the vastness of Zen practice and show you how to live a life that isn't just spiritual, but real." --Eve Myonen Marko, co-author, The Book of Householder Koans: Walking Up in the Land of Attachments
"A marvelous combination of stories, teachings, and practices that is part memoir and part storytelling about Zen, spirituality, philosophy, and life. It is such a well-rounded work because its author has tested his understanding against more than a half-century of life and practice that has shorn away both the illusions of this world and the illusions of an oversimplified view of Buddhism. To be savored, like fine wine, or if one prefers, fine tea." --Mark Unno, author of Shingon Refractions and president of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies