The Zen Monkey and the Lotus Flower: 52 Stories to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Thoughts, Find Happiness, and Live Your Best Life

by Tenpa Yeshe

Do you need more time for yourself?
Do you want to get your mind off things?
Do you long for more happiness and contentment?

Then this is the book for you!
It contains 52 stories that will change your life and your way of thinking.

Each story is carefully selected to explain important Buddhist wisdom and thought processes. They deal with universal themes such as gratitude, mindfulness, self-love, and happiness.

The stories convey valuable life lessons that will enrich your life. After each story, a reference to the present time is made. It also tells what you can learn from the story for your own life.

Especially in today's world full of stress and distractions, the teachings of Buddhism are a true blessing. They give us new food for thought and show us what really matters in life .

This book invites you to reflect and find yourself. It shows you new ways of thinking that have incredible potential. You do NOT need to have any prior knowledge of Buddhism. These are timeless life lessons that are valuable and helpful to everyone (regardless of age or religion).


Buy this book if you.... Order the book now and start the most important journey in The journey to yourself.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Buddhism, Philosophy, Zen, Religion

158 pages, Paperback

Published August 22, 2023

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This seems to have been written by AI. The original content may have been good, but the delivery is dry and non compelling.

[Mirna Cocoma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is loaded with so much good advice and wisdom. After reading it, I was left with peace in my heart. There were some stories that really made me think and also appreciate the present.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought for sure this was written by a white pop-Buddhist "Karen" from the midwestern suburbs. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the back and found out it wasn't.

It's so fluffy. So shallow. Buddhism sold short and made to look like those "Hang in there" cat posters.

Sure...you can find inspiration anywhere and there's a little bit in here. But mostly...pseudo spiritual fluff for the modern American. (But Daaaamn, Daniel! The cover art slaps!)

[Jordan Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such simple tales for lasting life wisdom. If you have time I definitely recommend reading this. Gain a deeper insight within yourself and a better perspective on the world around you. 🌎 ☮️

[Louise Doey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a peaceful book. Each story is short but meaningful. It to very relaxing to read.

[Imogen Hodges · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

52 short stories that incorporate Buddhist tales, making them modern and easy to understand, giving you wisdom and knowledge of Buddhisim culture. Easy to read, I preferred the part where it explains what can be learnt from the story much more than the stories itself. Have various lessons and stories that I resonated with and pick out to refer back to.

Number of Stories I picked out that resonated with me: 11; 18; 24; 30; 37; 44

Number of what can be learnt from this Story that resonated with me: 3; 7; 11; 14; 17; 19; 20; 24; 30; 34; 35; 36; 37; 40; 42; 44; 46; 52

The only lesson I did not agree with was 27 - letting go of attachments - such as when losing a loved one.

[Susan P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might be a better fit for young children

[jailhousebookclub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review by Blackbird (Current Inmate)

There are some days that I am just not in the mood to spend all day reading. It might be that I am busy with other things or that mentally I can not concentrate. This is the perfect book for days like that. It is made up of 52 short stories that are meant to bring deeper peace and understanding of the world and ourselves. Each story is a simple parable about a page in length. After each story The author offers a brief insight into the meaning of the story with some ways to have better insight. I find this book to be great on days when I am feeling stressed. I think that for many inmates dealing with stress is a real daily problem. These stories help to teach valuable life lessons that can really change lives for the better.

All of these stories are based in Buddhist principles that have a goal of finding a life of balance. I think for many inmates they get to a point where they want to find an inner and putter life of balance. Even if you are not Buddhist these stories ring true and offer a lot of value. For myself I have found answers to obstacles I am facing in life through these parables. They have been incredibly helpful for me when I become frustrated over something has happened in my day. The stories really work to build a level of gratitude for the world and life that hopefully you can carry forward.

With so much stress and setbacks in life being part of incarceration it is amazing to have small books like this to help you cope. The book doesn't demand hours of reading at a time to gain knowledge. It reward you with real life long wisdom by being able read for a couple minutes at a time. This book has been something I can go back to numerous times to find new answers. I think of of the best things is that it gets me thinking about life in calm ways, which a skill I feel many inmates need.

[Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of parables about how to approach living your life. It provides guiding principles and meditations on improving your mindset. There are 52 stories, which is perfect for reading one a week. I don’t think this was meant to be read in like a few sittings, front to back. I think it would have a bigger impact and make more sense to choose one to read at the start of the week. This would be a good book to have as reference material so that when you are preparing for the day or need a pick me up you can just grab it and find a story that would apply to your present situation. It has some helpful and useful guiding thoughts, but it does not have any new mind-blowing reveals. It is wisdom that we have all heard before but it is nice to hear it again. The stories are cute and they frame it in a way that helps it sink in. I did end up taking many notes. However, there were a couple things that bugged me. First, there is a lot of repetition regarding the topics. More than one story revolved around being one with nature, gratitude, letting go, change, and being in the present moment. Granted, it might help to hammer home the points, and this highlights the fact that reading a story a week would be the way to go but it caused some eye-rolling. Even some of the names of characters repeated in different stories. Also, there were some rehashing of story beginnings. Tons of characters were dissatisfied or restless. There might have been a type or complete nonsense in one story. I think there is one huge takeaway that can sum up how to go forth from this book. “It is in our hands to shape ourselves and determine who we really want to be.” I think this should be a must read for billionaires and people in power.

[Leah2895 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to mark this as read so I can leave a review and because I did lead through it before diving in. If as someone suggested this is ai generated we then AI has come a very long way. This book will, however, seem obscure and weird if you go into it blind - maybe even surfacy or trite. But I have to tell you about it, because if you are on a journey of mindfulness and negotiation/yoga etc this book is a golden ticket to understand all the stuff. Of course we know we need to say in the present but what the heck does that even mean? Well by page 2 you’ll have a cute story a breakdown of the lessons in it and then you can create a metaphor with it. After years and years of practice I can just picture a river and BE HERE NOW. It’s meant to be absorbed story by story one week at a time hence the 53 stories but I’m going one before bedtime and it’s a huge help.

[Rebecca Gledhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. The way the way this cute little book explains things in short, simplified and clearly is brilliant.

Short little stories that explain why certain things in life shouldn’t upset or hurt us. It explains that life finds a way.

This book is full of wisdom for those seeking simplified answers to why we need to look at “bad” situations differently.

Seeing the positives in the negatives.

Seeing that there’s a point to “keep going, keep fighting” in life.

For every bad situation, there’s someone out there who sees it differently, from a different perspective and if explained clearly and calmly the person suffering can also see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[Ali Akbar Zaidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

With mimimal input from the writer, this book is a collection of 52 stories from Zen and Buddhist traditions.

Overall, its a book that gives a lesson of compassion, gratitude, wisdom and patience.

My favorite story is the one where there is a fight between a dove and an eagle and the dove manages to defeat the eagle for fighting it on the home ground. The stories begin with quotes from famous writers and philosophers, which are sometimes entirely unrelated and out of place.

This book is more of a collection that a book that tells how to control your Inner Monkey and pay attention to the inner Lotus.

My favorite line, It is in the darkness that we see the light.

[Alicia Marinache · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only "critique" I have of this book is the (in my opinion) unnecessary addition of the "interpretation". Most of the stories have the interpretation implied, it's right there. Putting in writing next to the fable/parable left me feeling deflated, all the charm and poetry of the story disappeared.

For that reason, once I was able to figure out why am I annoyed, when the stories are such a beauty (and the drawings that accompany them beautiful!), after reading a few, I ended up just reading the story, and ignoring the interpretation. That brought back the magic.

[Mary Casas · Rating 5 out of 5]

ɴᴏɴ-ғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻 📚
𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℤ𝕖𝕟 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕜𝕖𝕪 & 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕠𝕥𝕦𝕤 𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣
sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪғᴜʟ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs ᴀɴᴅ ғɪʟʟ ɪᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘᴏsɪᴛɪᴠɪᴛʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴏғ ᴡɪsᴅᴏᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʟᴇᴠᴇʟ. ɪᴛ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅs ᴜs ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟ ᴍᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ ᴏғ ʟɪғᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴡ sʜɪғᴛɪɴɢ ᴘᴇʀsᴘᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇs ᴄᴀɴ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴏᴡ ᴡᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇ. ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏғ ʟᴇssᴏɴs ᴄᴀɴ ʙᴇ ᴛᴀᴋᴇɴ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴇᴀᴄʜ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪs ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴsᴛʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ , ɪᴛ ᴀʟsᴏ ʜᴇʟᴘs ᴜs ʀᴇғʟᴇᴄᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴘᴘʟʏ ᴛᴏ ᴏᴜʀ ᴅᴀɪʟʏ ʟɪᴠᴇs. ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴍᴀʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴀs ᴏʙᴠɪᴏᴜs, ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴡᴇ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ɢʀᴀᴛᴇғᴜʟ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅᴇᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ sɪᴍᴘʟᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢs.

[Medusa_atram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I friend of mine gave me this special book for my birthday, and I have been reading it for the past month, today I read the last parable and it was just perfect timing. I love it! I will keep it close to me and every time I need an encouragement from my angels I will pick a random page and trust the synchronicity of the moment. Highly recommend 💜

[Rodney Tripp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. These short stories are great to read as well as a book to read to your children or your grandchildren. I would recomend this book young adults also. This book was great surprise to me. It is neither religious nor Buddhist, but does at time give a slight sway to a moral insight into things. My recommendation you in book land is... don't pass this one up.

[Salomé Paulo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish it. It was so SIMPLE that it was difficult to concentrate, because it was saying the same over and over again. Read the first 7 stories they were all exactly the same, and the message about mindfulness was the same one in each chapter. If you’re used to read spirituality books, this has nothing deep to offer.

[Louise Hammett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this little book! I’ve been reading it a story each night to my kids as well and talking through the lessons that can be learned from each one. They are really enjoying it, and hopefully will put the lessons into practice in their daily lives too.

[Lindsay InAustin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The AI voice was truly awful on the audio version. Flat, mispronounced words, and just annoying. DNF half way through because it was too painful to try to pay attention to the content. What I did hear was bland and way too much like a Chicken Soup for the Soul semi-Buddhist version.

[Sarah-Jayne Windridge-France · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was rather lovely, positive, very zen.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and effective, the stories reflect character development that will assist with the lifetime journey. Deep truths are expressed in simplicity.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book.

[cherie · Rating 1 out of 5]

completely ai generated, sadly a waste of time

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥹 this book is everything 🙏🏼🫶🏼

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is fine for what it is, but I wouldn't say it is life changing.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wisdom.

[Lo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely stories to be reread to remind us what is important in life. All about perspective.

[Leah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to my children at night before bed. We read 2 short stories, and it was lovely. They loved discussing the stories after. Very good lessons for adults and children

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all the short stories. So many lessons and reminders of how to be the best version of yourself!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice stories to put things into perspective