Frank Jude Boccio (Contributor of 21st Century Yoga)

Frank Jude rated a book liked it Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A fun and accessible survey of the western philosophical tradition interspersed with jokes ranging from the truly funny to the worst of 'dad jokes' and sad vaudeville. The topics touched upon include "Metaphysics", "Logic", "Epistemology", "Philosoph ...more
Dec 27, 2025 10:44AM · 1 like · like · see review
Frank Jude liked Liora Ellington's review of Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind: "A beautifully integrated approach to yoga and mindfulness. Mindfulness Yoga offers a profound and accessible blend of Buddhist teachings and traditional asana practice, creating a unified path that nurtures both body and mind. Frank Jude Boccio expla" Read more of this review »
Dec 05, 2025 05:11AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mindfulness Yoga by Frank Jude Boccio. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mindfulness Yoga by Frank Jude Boccio <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Frank Jude rated a book liked it Miles to Go Before I Sleep: My Grateful Journey Back from the Hijacking of Egyptair Flight 648 by Jackie Nink Pflug	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I feel a bit curmudgeonly rating this book only three stars as Pflug's story is heart-rending, mind-boggling, and inspiring. You can read about her here: https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm... She was a survivor of the hijacking of EgyptAir flight ...more
Oct 27, 2025 04:08PM · like · see review
Frank Jude rated a book really liked it Persuasion by Jane Austen	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Persuasion is the last of six novels completed by Jane Austen, published in December 1817, along with Northanger Abbey, six months after her death. Anne Elliot, an Englishwoman of 27 years (an incredibly advanced age for a woman to be unmarried at tha ...more
Sep 19, 2025 05:31PM · like · see review
Frank Jude rated a book liked it Sex, Sin, and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything In Between by Brad Warner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Brad Warner’s fourth book, Sex, Sin and Zen is thankfully a hell of a lot better than his last! It may not be as good as his first two, but it does offer plenty to think about. There is one trait that runs through his books that I do have an issue wi ...more
Aug 20, 2025 01:15PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sex, Sin, and Zen by Brad Warner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sex, Sin, and Zen by Brad Warner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Frank Jude rated a book really liked it The Noir Style by Alain Silver	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In college, I did a minor in "Film Studies" and specialized in film noir. In fact, I won an aware for an essay that explored the "femme fatale" as an expression of Nietzsche's "vita femina". I wrote a story that was made into a "neo-noir" film and wr ...more
Aug 04, 2025 11:46AM · like · see review
Frank Jude rated a book really liked it The Stand by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Stand is King's 6th book. The previous five include Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, and The Shining. Last year I read 'Salem's Lot which I loved. King's character development there, as in The Stand is patiently and deeply wrought. With so much time (pages ...more
Jul 15, 2025 12:20PM · 1 like · like · see review
Frank Jude rated a book really liked it Women in Korean Zen: Lives and Practices (Women and Gender in Religion) by Martine Batchelor	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Here's a truly valuable book for anyone interested in the role of women in Buddhism generally, and specifically in Korean Zen, which is the sect with the greatest parity between men and women in Asia. This book is presented in two parts. In Part One, ...more
Jul 15, 2025 11:49AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Women in Korean Zen by Martine Batchelor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Women in Korean Zen by Martine Batchelor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Frank Jude rated a book it was amazing Free Hugs: Selected and New Poems by Jefferson Carter	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
At the book launch for Jefferson Carter's latest collection of poems, Carter shared that he is not necessarily finished with a poem when it's first published. He often returns to earlier poems and reworks them. I found this both interesting and a bit ...more
Jul 03, 2025 07:24PM · like · see review
Frank Jude rated a book really liked it Receiving the Marrow: Teachings on Dogen by Soto Zen Women Priests by Eido Frances Carney	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is an important contribution to Buddhist commentary in general, and in particular, commentary on the teachings of Dogen Zenji. The subtitle is the reason why: "Teachings on Dogen by Soto Zen Women Priests". Now, of course, just as there's no uni ...more
Jul 02, 2025 10:35AM · 1 like · like · see review

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Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart

Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
by Thomas Cathcart

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A fun and accessible survey of the western philosophical tradition interspersed with jokes ranging from the truly funny to the worst of 'dad jokes' and sad vaudeville. The topics touched upon include "Metaphysics", "Logic", "Epistemology", "Philosoph ...more

Frank Jude liked Liora Ellington's review of Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind:

"A beautifully integrated approach to yoga and mindfulness. Mindfulness Yoga offers a profound and accessible blend of Buddhist teachings and traditional asana practice, creating a unified path that nurtures both body and mind. Frank Jude Boccio expla" Read more of this review »

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Miles to Go Before I Sleep by Jackie Nink Pflug

Miles to Go Before I Sleep: My Grateful Journey Back from the Hijacking of Egyptair Flight 648
by Jackie Nink Pflug

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I feel a bit curmudgeonly rating this book only three stars as Pflug's story is heart-rending, mind-boggling, and inspiring. You can read about her here: https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm...

She was a survivor of the hijacking of EgyptAir flight ...more

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Persuasion
by Jane Austen

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Persuasion is the last of six novels completed by Jane Austen, published in December 1817, along with Northanger Abbey, six months after her death.

Anne Elliot, an Englishwoman of 27 years (an incredibly advanced age for a woman to be unmarried at tha Persuasion is the last of six novels completed by Jane Austen, published in December 1817, along with Northanger Abbey, six months after her death.

Anne Elliot, an Englishwoman of 27 years (an incredibly advanced age for a woman to be unmarried at that time) , whose family moves to Bath to lower their expenses and reduce their debt by renting their estate to an admiral and his wife. The wife's brother, Captain Frederick Wentworth, was engaged to Anne in 1806, but the engagement was broken when Anne was persuaded by her friends and family to end their relationship. Anne and Captain Wentworth, both single and unattached, meet again after a separation lasting almost eight years, setting the scene for a second, chance at love and marriage for Anne, once some confounding subplots are resolved.

Of all her lead characters, Anne Elliot is said to be noteworthy for her relative maturity. Along with this assessment, many scholars see Persuasion itself to be her most maturely written novel. Perhaps most telling, her use of indirect speech was fully developed by this novel and Austen utilizes it as a real virtuoso.

Considering the fame of Austen and her work, I'm not feeling any need to offer any synopsis. But clearly, Austen some of her narratives around themes such as "sense and sensibility" and "pride and prejudice" while also parodying Gothic Literature in Northanger Abbey and generally spinning yarns about women and men engaged in the politics of relationship.

Most obviously, with this novel, Austen clearly intended "persuasion" to be the unifying theme of the story, as the idea of persuasion runs throughout the narrative, with various vignettes and subplots also serving variations on that theme. The literary scholar, Gillian Beer suggests that Austen had profound concerns about the levels and applications of "persuasion" employed in society, especially as it related to the pressures and choices facing the young women of her day.

Indeed, many biographical details from Austen's life influenced this narrative such as her discomfort with what she came to think of as her own misguided advice to her beloved niece Fanny Knight on the very question of whether Fanny ought to accept a particular suitor.

Beer argues that Austen was keenly aware persuasion, whether to persuade or to be persuaded, rightly or wrongly—is fundamental to the process of human communication, and that, in her novel "Jane Austen gradually draws out the implications of discriminating 'just' and 'unjust' persuasion." Indeed, the narrative winds through a number of situations in which people influence or attempt to influence other people, or themselves. Finally, Beer calls attention to "the novel's entire brooding on the power pressures, the seductions, and also the new pathways opened by persuasion."

Anne Elliot is, at 27, definitely more mature and self-possessed than any of her other female leads. This makes her, to my mind, a more trustworthy character but also less overall interesting or engaging as Emma Woodhouse or Elizabeth Bennet. That said, it's a wonderful and fitting addition to the oeuvre of one of the truly great novelists of the English language! ...more

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Sex, Sin, and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything In Between
by Brad Warner

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Brad Warner’s fourth book, Sex, Sin and Zen is thankfully a hell of a lot better than his last! It may not be as good as his first two, but it does offer plenty to think about. There is one trait that runs through his books that I do have an issue wi ...more

Frank Jude rated a book really liked it

The Noir Style
by Alain Silver

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In college, I did a minor in "Film Studies" and specialized in film noir. In fact, I won an aware for an essay that explored the "femme fatale" as an expression of Nietzsche's "vita femina". I wrote a story that was made into a "neo-noir" film and wr ...more

Frank Jude rated a book really liked it

The Stand
by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Stand is King's 6th book. The previous five include Carrie, 'Salem's Lot, and The Shining. Last year I read 'Salem's Lot which I loved. King's character development there, as in The Stand is patiently and deeply wrought. With so much time (pages ...more

Frank Jude rated a book really liked it

Women in Korean Zen by Martine Batchelor

Women in Korean Zen: Lives and Practices (Women and Gender in Religion)
by Martine Batchelor

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Here's a truly valuable book for anyone interested in the role of women in Buddhism generally, and specifically in Korean Zen, which is the sect with the greatest parity between men and women in Asia. This book is presented in two parts. In Part One, Here's a truly valuable book for anyone interested in the role of women in Buddhism generally, and specifically in Korean Zen, which is the sect with the greatest parity between men and women in Asia. This book is presented in two parts. In Part One, "Living As A Zen Nun", Martine Batchelor describes her experience as a nun in Korea for just over ten years. She presents an interesting perspective, at times questioning the formalities, and at other times veering toward a self-analysis that can sound overly critical. In one wonderful passage, she succinctly details the differences between Japanese and Korean Zen which I wish were more widely known. As I have long said to anyone who'll listen, what most westerners think of as "zen" is more Japanese aesthetics and mores and that they would be surprised to see how differently zen looks and is practiced in China and Korea. Here's Batchelor after spending several months in Japan before arriving in Korea:

I do not think I could have remained long in Japan. It felt too strict and severe for me. During the summer retreats the windows are closed in the meditation hall, so you are uncomfortably hot. In winter the windows are open, so you are uncomfortably cold.... But in Korea the stone floors of the meditation hall are heated in winter and the doors are left wide open in summer. You feel physically at ease and yet, at least in my case, all the more able to concentrate on your meditation.

If you move ever so slightly or nod in a Japanese meditation hall, you are hit on the shoulder with a flat wooden stick and are grateful for it. In Korea, the stick was abandoned in favor of independence. You are in the meditation hall because you want to meditate, to awaken; it is up to you to be as aware as possible and put in as much effort as you can.

This "independence" is relative, of course, but in my training, I was enabled to make small adjustments in posture, and even stand in the middle of a meditation session to do standing meditation if I were growing fatigued, and even to move into the center of the hall and do prostrations to either rouse energy or burn off excess agitation. No such behavior would ever have been countenanced in the Japanese lineage centers I practiced in. Also, instead of the minimalist black and white of the Japanese zendo, the Korean songbong's alter was draped with red and yellow altar cloth, and covered with flower and fruit offerings.

The second part is a memoir of Son'gyong Sunum, the leader of the meditation hall at Naewonsa Monastery, translated by Batchelor. She became a big inspiration to Batchelor, and Sunim's life, spanning the 20th century, Batchelor thought to engage her in talking about her life and that is what is presented here.

Again, books like this and Robert Buswell's The Zen Monastic Experience are important in detailing the reality of zen training as a corrective to the notion that zen is all "chill" as one might come to expect as the term is used for spas here in the west! ...more

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Free Hugs: Selected and New Poems
by Jefferson Carter

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At the book launch for Jefferson Carter's latest collection of poems, Carter shared that he is not necessarily finished with a poem when it's first published. He often returns to earlier poems and reworks them. I found this both interesting and a bit ...more

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Receiving the Marrow by Eido Frances Carney

Receiving the Marrow: Teachings on Dogen by Soto Zen Women Priests
by Eido Frances Carney

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This is an important contribution to Buddhist commentary in general, and in particular, commentary on the teachings of Dogen Zenji. The subtitle is the reason why: "Teachings on Dogen by Soto Zen Women Priests". Now, of course, just as there's no uni This is an important contribution to Buddhist commentary in general, and in particular, commentary on the teachings of Dogen Zenji. The subtitle is the reason why: "Teachings on Dogen by Soto Zen Women Priests". Now, of course, just as there's no universal "men's perspective" as seen by the sometimes cantankerous debates among male teachers, we should not expect some hegemonic "female voice" and these eleven women evidence a variety of vision.

Let's face it, for most of its history, Chan/Seon/Thien/Zen has been absolutely male dominated. To some extent, of course, women have always played a part in the practice, teaching, and dissemination of Zen, but there's a tell in how their contributions for the most part have been unrecorded by HIS-story. As the editor, Eido Frances Carney points out in the "Introduction", "Throughout history it has been rare to find women of any religion who stood on their own spiritual authority, rather than an authority lent to them by men. Privilege prevented women from achieving legitimacy without a man's confirmation and promotion."

Of course, from the beginning, though the Buddha was hesitant to ordain women, he acknowledged their capacity to awaken was equal to that of men. And Dogen welcomed women into the Soto Zen tradition writing "When it comes to realizing the Buddha Dharma make no distinction between men and women or between nobles and commoners." Thus, Carney says "...we don't rise to demonstrate our full capacities because Dogen says so, we rise because we ourselves understand, by right of our practice-experience and spiritual authority in the Buddha Dharma, that Awakening does not make distinctions. Thus we stand side by side with Dogen Zenji in confirmation of his teachings."

That said, Carny doesn't downplay Dogen's own contradictions as she adds "He had numerous women students as did his successors, although Dogen did not ordain any women. Neither did he go so far as to order equality in the Zendo, where women sat in a lower-status position."

Given this, she goes on to say "This collection then is not a feminist treatise, but an extension of the right and just equality that belongs to all sentient beings". I would argue that this is EXACTLY why this is a feminist text! Given the historical context of patriarchy in the Zen traditions, this stance is a feminist response and I wish Carney hadn't shied away from that. There's also a reason that the first book of this nature is the result of western women practitioners who grew up during the feminist struggle for equality. When I first sat in a zendo in 1976, it was pretty much still a men's group but over the decades, like with yoga, there's been a feminization of the tradition so that some of the most relevant teachers are indeed women.

Now, as one would expect of any collection of essays by eleven different people, the quality of the writing and depth and nuance of the teachings vary. There's something of value in every one of these essays, AND some present a vision that is truly remarkable. I hesitate to single out any specific writers or essays but I do want to say that Shotai De La Rosa's essay, "One Bright Jewel" is replete with some important observations often over-looked by others such as how she clearly marks the distinction between the non-dual understanding of Vedanta and that of Madhyamaka: "... for Dogen, non-dualism is essentially inseparable from dualism, not its opposite, otherwise the non-duality will be dualistic". The crux of the issue is that Vedanta is more accurately understood as a form of monism essentializing 'the One' as Brahman. Of course, many within Zen end up essentializing the empty nature of phenomena into an "emptiness" that in all but name sounds suspiciously like Brahman. Similarly, the concept of "buddha-nature" is often essentialized into a subtle atman. The tendency to do so permeates the Zen traditions and thankfully the Critical Buddhism movement (which sadly went mostly ignored by the Soto Zen School) can offer a clear way to avoid such essentializing. It is around this issue that Zen Naturalism distinguishes itself from the mainstream of Zen culture. ...more

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	21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics, and Practice by Carol Horton (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Roseanne Harvey (Editor), Frank Jude Boccio (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.90 avg rating — 183 ratings — published 2012 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind by Frank Jude Boccio (Goodreads Author), Georg Feuerstein (Foreword by) 4.06 avg rating — 148 ratings — published 1993 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sit With Less Pain: Gentle Yoga for Meditators and Everyone Else by Jean Erlbaum, Michelle Antonisse (Illustrations), Frank Jude Boccio (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 3.74 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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