Tell Me Something About Buddhism: Questions and Answers for the Curious Beginner
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Overview
One of the first African American Zen priests provides “clear, beautiful, and inspiring answers to questions about Buddhist practice” (Charles Johnson, National Book Award–winning author of Middle Passage and Turning the Wheel).
For anyone curious about the teachings of Buddha and modern Buddhist practice, Tell Me Something about Buddhism offers the perfect introduction. Written by Soto Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel and organized in an easy-to-use question-and-answer format, this concise book answers the many common questions people have about Buddhism, everything from who was Buddha to why do monks, nuns, and priests shave their heads.
Manuel, who has been involved in Buddhist practice for over twenty years, after growing up in Los Angeles in an African American Christian church, intertwines throughout the book her personal experiences as one of the first African American Zen priests. Her life in the Sangha, her teaching in local communities, and her travels around the world meeting other Buddhist practitioners enliven her answers to the most fundamental questions about Buddhist practice, accompanied by her charcoal-and-pencil illustrations. As she writes: “Had I not opened myself to the many teachings from the earth, such as Buddha’s wisdom, it would have been nearly impossible to survive the fires of my soul.”
“Offers both the story of her spiritual rite of passage from a black girl to a Buddhist priest, and a hands-on manual with the basic questions that many are afraid to ask.” —Dr. Marlene Jones, contributor to Dharma, Culture, and Color: New Voices in Western Buddhism
For anyone curious about the teachings of Buddha and modern Buddhist practice, Tell Me Something about Buddhism offers the perfect introduction. Written by Soto Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel and organized in an easy-to-use question-and-answer format, this concise book answers the many common questions people have about Buddhism, everything from who was Buddha to why do monks, nuns, and priests shave their heads.
Manuel, who has been involved in Buddhist practice for over twenty years, after growing up in Los Angeles in an African American Christian church, intertwines throughout the book her personal experiences as one of the first African American Zen priests. Her life in the Sangha, her teaching in local communities, and her travels around the world meeting other Buddhist practitioners enliven her answers to the most fundamental questions about Buddhist practice, accompanied by her charcoal-and-pencil illustrations. As she writes: “Had I not opened myself to the many teachings from the earth, such as Buddha’s wisdom, it would have been nearly impossible to survive the fires of my soul.”
“Offers both the story of her spiritual rite of passage from a black girl to a Buddhist priest, and a hands-on manual with the basic questions that many are afraid to ask.” —Dr. Marlene Jones, contributor to Dharma, Culture, and Color: New Voices in Western Buddhism
”Discover and enjoy the freedom that’s your birthright. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel asks the important questions…and brings home the answers. This simple book makes the Buddha’s timeless teachings real, for all, for here and now. Ordinary life is precious life. I’m grateful for her guidance along the Path.” — Gary Gach, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism and editor of What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hip Hop
“Tell Me Something about Buddhism is a dharma gem of great wisdom. Just reading Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s clear, beautiful, and inspiring answers to questions about Buddhist practice quieted and calmed my mind as quickly as the wood striking wood sound of a han calling me to awakening." —Charles Johnson, author of Turning the Wheel: Essay on Buddhism and Writing and Middle Passage, winner of the National Book Award
“In homage to her ancestors, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel shares a very personal journey with many gems of wisdom to help heal the sufferings of racism and other human afflictions. What does it mean to be black and Buddhist?" —Karma Leskhe Tsomo, Sr. Tibetan Nun, founder of Sakyadhita.org
“Tell Me Something about Buddhism is a dharma gem of great wisdom. Just reading Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s clear, beautiful, and inspiring answers to questions about Buddhist practice quieted and calmed my mind as quickly as the wood striking wood sound of a han calling me to awakening." —Charles Johnson, author of Turning the Wheel: Essay on Buddhism and Writing and Middle Passage, winner of the National Book Award
“In homage to her ancestors, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel shares a very personal journey with many gems of wisdom to help heal the sufferings of racism and other human afflictions. What does it mean to be black and Buddhist?" —Karma Leskhe Tsomo, Sr. Tibetan Nun, founder of Sakyadhita.org
- Title: Tell Me Something About Buddhism: Questions and Answers for the Curious Beginner
- Authors: Thich Nhat Hanh, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
- Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 146
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781612831794, 9781571746580, 1571746587, 1612831796
- Resource ID: LLS:9781612831794
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-21T10:49:04Z
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is a Soto Zen Priest, Congolese drummer, a visual artist, and contributing author to several books including: Together We Are One, edited by Thich Nhat Hanh, and Dharma, Color, and Culture: New Voices in Western Buddhism. She is the subject of the new film Zenju's Path, which premiered at the Buddhist Film Festival in Amsterdam in 2010.