James Ishmael Ford

James Ishmael Ford’s Followers (9)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

James Ishmael Ford



James Ishmael Ford isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

STOP THE WAR: Commenting on a Zen koan

(At the recent Empty Moon Zen Saturday Zazenkai, Dharma Holder Mo Myokan Weinhardt gave the dharma talk on the koan “Stop the war.” I asked her if I could reprint it at my Monkey Mind column, hoping to see it get the wider readership it deserves. She graciously consented. ) Once, many years ago when […]
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on April 17, 2026 16:55
Average rating: 4.11 · 478 ratings · 44 reviews · 20 distinct worksSimilar authors
If You're Lucky, Your Heart...

3.98 avg rating — 140 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Book of Mu: Essential W...

by
4.31 avg rating — 105 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Introduction to Zen Koans: ...

by
4.16 avg rating — 67 ratings3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Intimate Way of Zen: Ef...

4.44 avg rating — 48 ratings2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Zen Master Who?: A Guide to...

by
3.86 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 2006 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
In This Very Moment: A Simp...

3.87 avg rating — 23 ratings5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Zen at the End of Religion:...

3.95 avg rating — 20 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
This Very Moment: A Brief I...

3.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1996 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Book of Mu: Essential W...

4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2011
Rate this book
Clear rating
Zen at the End of Religion:...

3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by James Ishmael Ford…
Quotes by James Ishmael Ford  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The koan is not a conundrum to be solved by a nimble wit. It is not a verbal psychiatric device for shocking the disintegrated ego of a student into some kind of stability. Nor, in my opinion, is it ever a paradoxical statement except to those who view it from outside. When the koan is resolved it is realized to be a simple and clear statement made from the state of consciousness which it has helped to awaken. —from The Zen Koan, by Ruth Fuller Sasaki”
James Ishmael Ford, The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan

“Koans offer the possibility that you could free the mind in one jump, without passing through stages or any pretense at logical steps. In the territory that koans open up, we live down a level, before explanations occur, beneath the ground that fear is based on, before the wanting and the scrambling around for advantage, before there is a handle on the problem, before we were alienated from the world. A koan doesn’t hide or even”
James Ishmael Ford, The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan

“We can learn to use the fire of our minds to good purpose.”
James Ishmael Ford, Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen



Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite James to Goodreads.