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The Sound of One Monkey - 33 Zen Stories: Embrace Mindfulness, Quiet the Mind, and Find Peace in Simplicity & Meditation - Includes Reflections for Beginners
Quiet the Monkey Mind – 33 Stories to Find Your Zen 🎋
Do you ever feel like your own thoughts are arguing with each other?
Does your mind jump from one idea to the next, never sitting still?
If so, this book was written for you.
The Sound of One Monkey invites you into a surprising journey—a path of paradox, presence, and playful insight.
At the heart of these 33 Zen stories are two a young monk and a mischievous monkey who talks too much. One seeks clarity. The other insists it already knows.
Together, they wander through temples, riddles, forests, and absurd questions that slowly begin to unravel the illusion of control.
If your mind often feels loud or restless...
If you find yourself searching for peace but getting distracted by your own thoughts...
These stories will help
🎋 Step back from your inner chatter (and laugh at it).
🎋 Let go of the need to be “right” and feel the freedom of simply being.
🎋 Find calm beneath the noise, even when clarity seems far away.
🎋 Discover surprising wisdom hidden in humor, stillness, and not-knowing.
And somewhere along the way, you may find that the monkey… isn’t what you thought at all.
Inside, you’ll also find gentle reflection questions and exclusive bonuses to help deepen your experience—designed especially for beginners.
Even if you’ve read every Zen book on your shelf, or you don’t think Zen is “your thing," these stories will help you find what you're looking more peace.
If you’re ready to find your Zen, click “Buy Now with 1-Click” and start your journey today.
Do you ever feel like your own thoughts are arguing with each other?
Does your mind jump from one idea to the next, never sitting still?
If so, this book was written for you.
The Sound of One Monkey invites you into a surprising journey—a path of paradox, presence, and playful insight.
At the heart of these 33 Zen stories are two a young monk and a mischievous monkey who talks too much. One seeks clarity. The other insists it already knows.
Together, they wander through temples, riddles, forests, and absurd questions that slowly begin to unravel the illusion of control.
If your mind often feels loud or restless...
If you find yourself searching for peace but getting distracted by your own thoughts...
These stories will help
🎋 Step back from your inner chatter (and laugh at it).
🎋 Let go of the need to be “right” and feel the freedom of simply being.
🎋 Find calm beneath the noise, even when clarity seems far away.
🎋 Discover surprising wisdom hidden in humor, stillness, and not-knowing.
And somewhere along the way, you may find that the monkey… isn’t what you thought at all.
Inside, you’ll also find gentle reflection questions and exclusive bonuses to help deepen your experience—designed especially for beginners.
Even if you’ve read every Zen book on your shelf, or you don’t think Zen is “your thing," these stories will help you find what you're looking more peace.
If you’re ready to find your Zen, click “Buy Now with 1-Click” and start your journey today.
- GenresZenShort Stories
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 5, 2025
60 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 22, 2025
Awesome
This book seemed truly incredible to me, especially because I consider myself one of those people who often struggle to stay focused on the present. My mind constantly drifts toward future events and possibilities, which sometimes makes everyday life feel difficult and overwhelming. Within these pages, however, I found valuable practices and reflections that encourage living fully in the present and focusing only on the actions we are performing at each moment. The author’s approach makes this guidance practical and inspiring, turning each chapter into an opportunity to pause and reconnect with myself. It is a unique and powerful guide for cultivating a more mindful and conscious way of living.
This book seemed truly incredible to me, especially because I consider myself one of those people who often struggle to stay focused on the present. My mind constantly drifts toward future events and possibilities, which sometimes makes everyday life feel difficult and overwhelming. Within these pages, however, I found valuable practices and reflections that encourage living fully in the present and focusing only on the actions we are performing at each moment. The author’s approach makes this guidance practical and inspiring, turning each chapter into an opportunity to pause and reconnect with myself. It is a unique and powerful guide for cultivating a more mindful and conscious way of living.
February 8, 2026
BookSloth has a soft spot for quiet books with monkeys that ask you to slow down. The Sound of One Monkey did exactly that.
She read this book all at once first, gobbled it up in a single sitting, then went back and reread one story at a time—usually late at night, when sleep wouldn’t come and her own monkey mind was being particularly vocal.
And maybe it was that monkey mind at play that stopped this from being a five-sloth read. BookSloth found herself pausing, rereading, trying to picture what “arms splayed like fallen punctuation” was meant to look like. Those moments briefly pulled her out of the calm rather than drawing her deeper into it.
BookSloth loved the interplay between the monk and the monkey. The monkey asks the questions we all ask; the monk responds with patience that never quite tips into certainty. Together, they enact the push and pull between restlessness and stillness, intellect and intuition, striving and acceptance. It’s Zen without the lecturing.
This is a thoughtful, gentle collection with real depth beneath its simplicity. It understands that wisdom doesn’t arrive all at once—that insight comes in fragments, revisited and re-understood over time. This isn’t a book to race through, even if it tempts you to at first. It’s one to keep nearby, to return to when the world feels too loud.
A quietly rewarding read for insomniacs, overthinkers, and anyone learning—slowly—to sit with their thoughts rather than wrestle them. 🦥🐒
She read this book all at once first, gobbled it up in a single sitting, then went back and reread one story at a time—usually late at night, when sleep wouldn’t come and her own monkey mind was being particularly vocal.
And maybe it was that monkey mind at play that stopped this from being a five-sloth read. BookSloth found herself pausing, rereading, trying to picture what “arms splayed like fallen punctuation” was meant to look like. Those moments briefly pulled her out of the calm rather than drawing her deeper into it.
BookSloth loved the interplay between the monk and the monkey. The monkey asks the questions we all ask; the monk responds with patience that never quite tips into certainty. Together, they enact the push and pull between restlessness and stillness, intellect and intuition, striving and acceptance. It’s Zen without the lecturing.
This is a thoughtful, gentle collection with real depth beneath its simplicity. It understands that wisdom doesn’t arrive all at once—that insight comes in fragments, revisited and re-understood over time. This isn’t a book to race through, even if it tempts you to at first. It’s one to keep nearby, to return to when the world feels too loud.
A quietly rewarding read for insomniacs, overthinkers, and anyone learning—slowly—to sit with their thoughts rather than wrestle them. 🦥🐒
August 22, 2025
This book amazed me from beginning to end. The Sound of One Monkey is a read that made me reflect and helped me look at the constant noise in my mind in a different way. The 33 Zen tales, which include the talking monkey and the young monk, humorously and light-heartedly impart important lessons. The text shows that it's more important to learn to let go and just be present rather than always trying to be correct.
The cover with the monkey is stunning and initially drew my attention, as it motivates me to explore the contents of this amazing book. It left me feeling clearer and more at ease, and I thought it was a good experience for anyone looking for serenity and fresh insights. A worthwhile read!
The cover with the monkey is stunning and initially drew my attention, as it motivates me to explore the contents of this amazing book. It left me feeling clearer and more at ease, and I thought it was a good experience for anyone looking for serenity and fresh insights. A worthwhile read!
August 22, 2025
Just the book I needed. I've been feeling quite restless for several months, with thousands of thoughts running through my head, and I think that's why fate put this book in my path. It's incredible how with each chapter I felt more and more at peace, something I hadn't felt in quite some time. It's a book that will take you on a journey where you can find many things and silence those thoughts that often prevent you from moving forward. Finding zen is not easy, but with this book you will be very close to it, as well as having a lasting tool so that every time you lose that much-needed peace, you can find a way back by reading it.
September 1, 2025
The Sound of One Monkey is a delightful and unexpected treasure that charmed me from the first page. Far more than just a collection of stories, it offers a deeply calming and enjoyable reading experience that captivated my often restless "monkey mind." The book's guidance to read without overanalysing, along with the insightful reflections at the end of each story, provided a gentle yet profound journey. The layout and illustrations are beautifully crafted (I don't mind if it's AI made), making it a pleasure to read and a perfect gift for a friend seeking tranquility and reflection. Highly recommended for its ability to soothe and engage the mind.
December 27, 2025
Now I miss the monkey
I don't really understand what part of me is the monkey. I don't really understand how this kind of thinking integrates with what Jesus taught. But I am quite sure that both kinds of teaching are true - they're just about different things, tho, in one sense, they're about the exact same thing.
I don't really understand what part of me is the monkey. I don't really understand how this kind of thinking integrates with what Jesus taught. But I am quite sure that both kinds of teaching are true - they're just about different things, tho, in one sense, they're about the exact same thing.
August 16, 2025
What an enjoyable read. Each short story is written to take the reader on a personal journey of discovery. The questions at the end of each story are provocative and designed to help the reader explore their own perceptions, ideas, and thoughts about themselves and the world around them.
October 4, 2025
Open to the mystery of the moment
Read slowly, read with care and delight. This is not a book to read straight through. Let one story marinate with you for a day, a week, a month or a lifetime.
Read slowly, read with care and delight. This is not a book to read straight through. Let one story marinate with you for a day, a week, a month or a lifetime.
February 1, 2026
Excellent.
I love this series of books. From somber to delightful, the stories bring out emotion in me and teach valuable lessons with ease, effortlessly. Looking forward to reading the rest of this authors books.
I love this series of books. From somber to delightful, the stories bring out emotion in me and teach valuable lessons with ease, effortlessly. Looking forward to reading the rest of this authors books.
August 23, 2025
Excellent
Excellent as all of his books. Great thought at end of each chapter. This allows one to not over think the meaning
Excellent as all of his books. Great thought at end of each chapter. This allows one to not over think the meaning
September 2, 2025
More Good
As with all of Kai’s books that I have read, when you read a story it just sort of gives you one of those AHA moments. Thank You Kai.
As with all of Kai’s books that I have read, when you read a story it just sort of gives you one of those AHA moments. Thank You Kai.
November 23, 2025
A fun way to learn zen.
December 19, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. Poetically written (how zen like ☺️) and gentle.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews