John Brehm

"Over 125 poetic companions for all life's ups and downs. The Buddha once told a disciple that good spiritual friends are the whole of holy life. The poems expertly gathered here offer all that one might hope for in such spiritual friendship: wisdom, compassion, peacefulness, good humor, and the ability to both absorb and express the deepest human emotions of grief and joy. The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy offers a wide-ranging collection of 129 ancient and modern poems unlike any other anthology on bookshelves today. It uniquely places Buddhist poets like Han Shan, Tu Fu, Saigyo, Ryokan, Basho, Issa, and others alongside modern Western poets one would not expect to find in such a collection--poets like Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, William Stafford, Denise Levertov, Jack Gilbert, Ellen Bass, Billy Collins, and more. What these poems have in common, no matter whether they are explicitly Buddhist, is that all reflect the essential truths the Buddha articulated 2,500 years ago. The book provides an important poetic complement to the many prose books on mindfulness practice--the poems here both reflect and embody the dharma in ways that can't be matched by other modes of writing. Its unique features include an introduction that discusses the themes of impermanence, mindfulness, and joy and explores the relationship between them. Biographical notes place the poets in historical context and offer quotes and anecdotes to help readers learn about the poets' lives. A short essay at the back of the book on "Mindful Reading" helps readers approach the poems from an experiential, non-analytical perspective and illustrates the similarities between meditation and the mindful reading of poetry. Brehm also includes a guided meditation on sound that helps readers appreciate the sonic qualities of poetry and shows how the anthology might be used in ongoing spiritual practice"--

The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy

Discover how to engage with poetry to support your spiritual practice, leading to more mindfulness, equanimity, and joy. Discover how engaging with poetry can support your spiritual practice--and lead you to more mindfulness and joy. In The Dharma of Poetry, John Brehm shows us how poems can be a source of wisdom and an entry into spiritual practice. He helps us understand how poems open up new ways of thinking, feeling, and being in the world that anyone engaged in spiritual practice--or wishing to live a more mindful life--might want to emulate. Brehm holds open the practice of mindfully entering a poem, with an alertness, curiosity, and open-hearted responsiveness that is very much like the attention we cultivate in meditation. A standalone book that also serves as a companion to the author's acclaimed anthology, The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy, this collection of lively, elegantly written essays offers in-depth explorations of twenty remarkable poems. It also offers poetry-related meditations and writing prompts that invite readers to directly engage with the poems and ideas discussed in the book, and expand their own practice of poetry. Additional resources include an essay titled "How to Lead a Poetry and Dharma Discussion" and a list of poetry resources for further exploration.

How Poems Can Deepen Your Spiritual Practice and Open You to Joy

The Dharma of Poetry

In a masterful blending of lyric and narrative, Sea of Faith ranges widely across interior states and external worlds. From the Sierra Nevadas to New York City subways, from an imagined friendship with Lao Tzu to a rueful meditation on Coney Island, from a comic and poignant classroom discussion of "Dover Beach" to a sexual fantasy spawned by a tedious poetry reading, John Brehm’s poems explore the human predicament with tenderness, compassion, and unforgettable humor.

Sea of Faith

Scott Gates

Examines who influences how federal, state, and local bureaucrats allocate their efforts

John Brehm

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