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Gary Gach

Goodreads Author

Born

in Hollywood, The United States

Website

http://garygach.com

Twitter

nobodhi

Genre

Spirituality, Poetry, Religion

Influences

Anonymous :: Paul Reps .:. Matsuo Basho * George Oppen <> Maxine Hong ...more

Member Since

September 2007

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Generalist.

¿ Books ?
Clerk, 2nd-hand bookshop, 8 years. Book designer / typesetter, 3 years. Book editor, 1 year. Associated with a few books* with someone's name on them identical to mine; managed not to repeat myself, as yet.

Middle school years in Hollywood commemorated by classmate James Ellroy ("Let's Twist Again"). BA + 1 year (UCLA - SFSU). Moved to San Francisco 45 years ago, where have been living since, where facilitating weekly mindfulness practice ( ... stop ... breathe ... smile ... ... ... go slow ... ... ).
______________________________
*
E.G. ————— as author, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism; editor, What Book Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop; co-translator, Ten Thousand Lives, Flowers of a Moment, and So

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Gary Gach’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 668 ratings · 88 reviews · 14 distinct works • Similar authors

	Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism 3.81 avg rating — 241 ratings — published 2004 — 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
	The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buddhism 3.96 avg rating — 146 ratings — 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
	What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop by Gary Gach (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Peter Coyote (Foreword) 4.18 avg rating — 68 ratings — published 1998 — 6 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
	Pause, Breathe, Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation Is Not Enough 3.83 avg rating — 54 ratings — 8 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
	Writers.net: Every Writer's Essential Guide to Online Resources and Opportunities 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1997	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 Pocket Guide to the Internet it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1996 — 3 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
	Preparing The Ground. it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1975	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
	Le bouddhisme 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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
	Isthmus. The First Crossing (Spring, 1972) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 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
	Understanding Buddhism - Second Edition by Gary Gach (Goodreads Author), illustrated (illustrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	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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Gary is Currently Reading

Gary is currently reading

The Healing Buddha

by Raoul Birnbaum

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May 23, 2020 05:59PM

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Psychosynthesis: A Manual of Principles and Techniques

by Roberto Assagioli

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Sep 28, 2014 07:27AM

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The Glass Key

by Dashiell Hammett

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Feb 07, 2013 10:26AM

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Gary is now friends with Noam
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Gary wants to read Palestine Wail by Yahia Lababidi (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
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Gary wants to read The Quotable Conrad; or, The Wit and Wisdom of Joseph Conrad by Joseph Conrad	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
Dec 06, 2024 07:11PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Quotable Conrad; or, The Wit and Wisdom of Joseph Conrad by Joseph Conrad. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Quotable Conrad; or, The Wit and Wisdom of Joseph Conrad by Joseph Conrad <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Gary rated a book it was amazing The Nigger of the Narcissus and Other Stories by Joseph Conrad	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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Gary wants to read The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad	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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Quotes by Gary Gach (?)

“Take karma, make dharma.”
― Gary Gach

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“Mindfulness isn't necessarily about awakening within. Awakening wisdom teaches me how my exterior and interior life are not separate. What happens in the world is happening within me, and vice versa.”
― Gary Gach, Pause, Breathe, Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation Is Not Enough

tags: awakening, inner-peace, mindfulness, social-engagement, wisdom

2 likes

“parallel lines meet in eternity
parallel lives meet for tea”
― Gary Gach

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Gary’s Quotes

tags: awakening, inner-peace, mindfulness, social-engagement, wisdom

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“All this twaddle, the existence of God, atheism, determinism, liberation, societies, death, etc., are pieces of a chess game called language, and they are amusing only if one does not preoccupy oneself with 'winning or losing this game of chess.”
― Marcel Duchamp

tags: atheism, chess, god, language, life, religion, society

202 likes

“Take karma, make dharma.”
― Gary Gach

8 likes

“Basic characteristics of an individual organism: to divide, to unite, to merge into the universal, to abide in the particular, to transform itself, to define itself, and as living things tend to appear under a thousand conditions, to arise and vanish, to solidify and melt, to freeze and flow, to expand and contract. Since these effects occur together, any or all may occur at the same moment.”
― GOETHE JOHANN WOLFGANG VON

14 likes

“A drop of pond water
under the microscope
just like in science class
but now your are the pond
& the microscope is mindfulness”
― Stephen Levine, Breaking the Drought: Visions of Grace

3 likes

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Transpersonal Psychology — 143 members — last activity Oct 28, 2025 01:01PM
Transpersonal psychology is concerned with the study of humanity's highest potential, and with the recognition, understanding, and realization of unit ...more

gary's goodreads group — 8 members — last activity Jul 08, 2010 02:25AM
everyone's invited. this is freeform group and from time to time i'll toss in some topics to encourage discussion: not only of my books, both publis ...more

¡ POETRY ! — 22584 members — last activity Dec 24, 2025 01:37PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read it!) Goodreads honors wordsmiths: poets and poetry promoted and prompted here. ~~~ "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -- Carl Sandburg “God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.” —Anne Sexton On Clouds – “…what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about…” —Yevgeny Zamyatin “If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn’t wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.” —Donald Hall “Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” —Boris Pasternak “Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” —Charles Simic “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” —Gustave Flaubert “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” —Allen Ginsberg. ~~~~~ Amy King, Moderator Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is also co-editing the anthology, Bettering American Poetry 2015, and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. ...more

Buddhist — 474 members — last activity Oct 07, 2025 06:22AM
A group for readers of Buddhist literature.

Ahmad Shamlu — 423 members — last activity Apr 22, 2015 03:08AM
what can i say?.. we mad about shamlu! (Ahmad Shamlu was a persian poet, writer, interpreter, and journalist. Born: December 12, 1925 Karaj, Iran. Di ...more

GoodReviews: The Official Book Review Contest — 250 members — last activity Sep 10, 2012 05:45AM
Help us find the best reviews on Goodreads! Nominate reviews here for our monthly review-writing contest! Winners will be announced each month in our ...more

Moderator Support Group — 2241 members — last activity 14 hours, 8 min ago
For Moderators and Co-Moderators: This is a dedicated group for discussing ideas, sharing answers, and finding solutions with the challenges of runni ...more

Literature & Film — 274 members — last activity Aug 23, 2016 03:11PM
For those with a love/hate relationship to seeing their favorite books on film.

Authors Society — 667 members — last activity Jan 13, 2025 07:05AM
This group is for writers to plug their books. It is also for readers who are searching for new books to read. Come join us!

Book Buying Addicts Anonymous — 1074 members — last activity Sep 09, 2018 07:34AM
For the booklover who reads four or five books at a time, buys just as many at a time and who changes books like he/she changes his/her clothing. If y ...more

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Gary’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-3) post a comment »

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message 3: by Leaning-Good (last edited Dec 15, 2010 05:45AM)

Dec 15, 2010 05:15AM

Hi Gary,

Me-o!
[How are you?]

Thanks for your generousness to still let me stay in your friends list :

Also, thanks to let me play in your lovely group, too.
[I hope that isn't ruin the sunny flower group [of Gary !] , right?]

haiku... haiku,
:D
Suka

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message 2: by Essi

Jun 12, 2010 03:21PM

Hello my dear Gary
I am very proud
This is my pleasure
Thank you for add me as your friends.
It`s my honor to be in your friends list.
Best regard

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message 1: by Patrick (last edited Aug 25, 2016 01:45PM)

Nov 14, 2007 09:59AM

Hello Gary. Thanks for adding me as a friend. Maybe we'll meet up in the city one day. I look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with you. Have an adventurous day.
~patrick

edgarfont.com

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