What do you think?
Rate this book
Waking Up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation with Intelligence and Compassion
Life is rising up to meet us at every moment. The question is: Are we there to meet it or not? Diane Rizzetto presents a simple but supremely effective practice for meeting every moment of our lives with mindfulness, using the Zen precepts as tools to develop a keen awareness of the motivations behind every aspect of our behavior—to "wake up to what we do"—from moment to moment. As we train in mindfulness of our actions, every situation of our lives becomes our teacher, offering priceless insight into what it really means to be happy. It's a simple practice with transformative potential, enabling us to break through our habitual reactions and to see clearly how our own happiness and well-being are intimately, inevitably connected to the happiness and well-being of everyone around us.
197 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
105 people are currently reading
909 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
September 21, 2008
When I read books by the Dalai Lama, Pema Chodron, or other Buddhists, I often think that I don't have enough time to devote to practice the suggestions. Then I found this book by Diane Eshin Rizzetto. She doesn't live in seclusion. I can see how to apply precepts to my life as it is now, not as I could if I were a cloistered nun.
This is my new favorite. This book is the most practical I have read yet. It is not a vehicle to teach you esoteric Tibetan words, texts, or dogma, but it contains eight precepts to help you become more conscious of the things you do and why you do them.
This is my new favorite. This book is the most practical I have read yet. It is not a vehicle to teach you esoteric Tibetan words, texts, or dogma, but it contains eight precepts to help you become more conscious of the things you do and why you do them.
October 26, 2014
The centrality of moral practice, the direction of a blameless life is something that strikes all of us very early in the process. The immediate response is to tend to see these precepts as proscriptive, as though they are "Thou shalt nots". That is a misconception, they are instead guides to our deepest intentions. There is in them no expectation of perfection in practice they allow for our humanity but keeping them central to our own practice and indeed our own lives is transforming. It is my own experience that in the process of daily meditation and contemplation and constant exposure to the Buddha's teachings the precepts almost insert themselves. Not in a clashing way but subtly so that we wake up one day finding that something we have always done in our daily stupour is just no longer possible for us. The constant awareness of the principle of renunciation of the intention behind our behaviour leads gradually down the road of purification. This is not a moralistic stance but simply a practical one. The Buddha was right that meditation practice without morality at its heart is no practice at all. This is a great book to help guide us through the gate, at least I find it so when at this point in my own practice I see the precepts as much as its essence as anything else. I want to know what they mean to me and create that place at my centre for them that will become my constant reference point
April 12, 2012
I really enjoyed and appreciated this book on Zen Buddhist Precepts written by a former high school drop out and single mother of two, who stumbles onto Zen practice in the midst of regular life. The Buddhist Precepts discussed sound a lot like the ten commandments: "not taking life, not indulging in anger, not stealing, not gossiping, not putting oneself above others, and not using substances to cloud awareness," but that's where the resemblances end. Rizzetto continually reminds the readers not to take the Precepts as fixed and immutable "thou shalt nots," but rather as areas of focus to investigate the deeper motivations and consequences of our thoughts and actions. It sounds pretty heady but there is very little theorizing, abstracting or religiosity in her approach or writing.
Each chapter revolves around a single Precept that is then reworded, questioned, and explored with examples of students dealing with their experiences. Rizzetto takes care to ground each idea in concrete particulars that defies easy generalizations; in the chapter on not using substances to cloud awareness, she gives an example of a former heroin addict as he wrestles with the issue of using pain killers as he recuperates after a major surgery. Throughout, her writing is clear, gentle, probing. The focus she gives on becoming aware of the physical reactions in the body as we are confronted with powerful emotions, unknown compulsions and difficult situations, and using that as a kind of lever or a door to go deeper into the sources of our fears and desires... I found it pretty powerful.
In a world filled with information, data, prescriptions, theories, and all kinds of false intellectualization, this book seemed radical and felt like a breath of fresh air.
Each chapter revolves around a single Precept that is then reworded, questioned, and explored with examples of students dealing with their experiences. Rizzetto takes care to ground each idea in concrete particulars that defies easy generalizations; in the chapter on not using substances to cloud awareness, she gives an example of a former heroin addict as he wrestles with the issue of using pain killers as he recuperates after a major surgery. Throughout, her writing is clear, gentle, probing. The focus she gives on becoming aware of the physical reactions in the body as we are confronted with powerful emotions, unknown compulsions and difficult situations, and using that as a kind of lever or a door to go deeper into the sources of our fears and desires... I found it pretty powerful.
In a world filled with information, data, prescriptions, theories, and all kinds of false intellectualization, this book seemed radical and felt like a breath of fresh air.
May 25, 2011
This is a book that is not just read, it is absorbed and allowed to steep in your consciousness. The work in this book is meant to be practiced. There is a lifetime of exploration to be had in this book.
August 16, 2024
Re-read this and was surprised by the different perspectives and I was able to take from it. Also felt like I connected aspects of the different precepts to teachings more broadly— really glad I returned to it.
June 18, 2024
Buddhist Ethics - the precepts, from a Zen point of view. Very good indeed, but nothing in this suggests an easy path.
February 27, 2008
Another book I keep coming back to.
Picked up a copy when I was going through a lot of reconfiguring myself, largely because I saw it on my mentor's bookshelf and figured she knew what she was doing.
Rizetto takes the Buddhist precepts (such as "not lying") and examines them not as static commandments, but rather invitations to help us consider the way we respond to situations. So, instead of "never lie!" we are invited to see a situation when we are tempted to lie and examine if this would be a time when it would be right to lie. Rizetto invites us into the "dead space," that place of groundlessness when things are happening and response, rather than reaction, is the appropriate step to take.
I read this book before going to bed every night for about a month, working through about half a chapter a night, and woke up with really marvelous intentions towards the world. I found especially helpful the chapter on "meeting others on equal ground," where Rizetto encourages us to examine our physical feelings when we come in contact with others, which may indicate our emotional state before we make the cognition of how we're feeling.
Glorious book that I keep loaning out, and know I will read throughout my life in an effort to better respond to situations and see them more clearly.
Picked up a copy when I was going through a lot of reconfiguring myself, largely because I saw it on my mentor's bookshelf and figured she knew what she was doing.
Rizetto takes the Buddhist precepts (such as "not lying") and examines them not as static commandments, but rather invitations to help us consider the way we respond to situations. So, instead of "never lie!" we are invited to see a situation when we are tempted to lie and examine if this would be a time when it would be right to lie. Rizetto invites us into the "dead space," that place of groundlessness when things are happening and response, rather than reaction, is the appropriate step to take.
I read this book before going to bed every night for about a month, working through about half a chapter a night, and woke up with really marvelous intentions towards the world. I found especially helpful the chapter on "meeting others on equal ground," where Rizetto encourages us to examine our physical feelings when we come in contact with others, which may indicate our emotional state before we make the cognition of how we're feeling.
Glorious book that I keep loaning out, and know I will read throughout my life in an effort to better respond to situations and see them more clearly.
September 15, 2008
A great "self help" book. i enjoyed it because you can see yourself in the situations. this book allows you to be human and then shows you how to deal with your human feelings and change in a good way. i can see how the writings in this book will help me in my everyday life. i think if more people were to read this book and not be against the "Buddha" aspect, the world as a whole would be better off. the world and the people in it will never be perfect but we could all get along better. i will use the teachings in my everyday life and hopefully will become a better person for it.
February 24, 2017
One of the most practical Buddhist books I've ever read. Loved the chapter on working with the Dead Spot (the moment just before the habitual response has kicked in). Really loved the individual chapters on working with each of the precepts -- observing what certain behaviors bring up for you and then using the precepts to dig deeper and see what happens when you stop that behavior. Mind changing.
October 9, 2016
A really outstanding entry into Zen Buddhism and its ethical practices. This is the third book about the precepts that I have read, and it is the best. The others have come across as somewhat disorganized, esoteric, or outdated. This one invites the reader into a real and intimate experience of the teachings.
February 5, 2011
At the end of this book, I'm left wondering, what was the point? I seriously doubt there was one; if there was, I slept through it.
October 8, 2011
Wow, I really am a curmudgeon. I saw nothing extraordinary in this book at all. It wasn't terrible, but I'd rather read Steve Hagen or Brad Warner.
December 5, 2024
My favorite aspect of this book, and the thing that will cause me to keep going back to it, is Rizzetto's understanding of the precepts as koans, rather than strict moral teachings, and the way this plays out in her foundational use of the, "Dead Spot," in her practice.
First, Rizzetto, chooses to frame the precepts as positive action anyone can get behind. In this way, "Thou Shalt Not Steal," becomes, "I Take Up the Way of Taking Only What Is Freely Offered and Giving Freely of All That I Can." Rather than glossing over this precept because we haven't engaged in blatant theft, or becoming defensive because maybe we've taken something we shouldn't have, at some point in our lives, this simple rephrasing makes us curious about what it would mean to, "take up this way." This openness allows us to see the relevance in our own lives and make appropriate changes, perhaps carpooling, being more diligent about bringing reusable bags, and being on time for things, to "take" less from the environment and not "steal" the time of others.
Once Rizzetto has you seeing that each of the precepts does, indeed, touch your life in some way, she springs the koan aspect of the precepts on you. If you have an appointment to meet someone at 1pm, but you're in the middle of having lunch with a friend who's in crisis over a diagnosis, a marital problem, or an issue with her child or job, what takes priority-- not stealing time from the person waiting for you, or giving your own time and compassion to your friend in need?
Typically, we either leave our friend to show up for our appointment (often late, anyway), or we are quite late, miss, or cancel our appointment to stay and console our friend. In either case, we end up making excuses and feeling guilty about our course of action. Here is where Rizzetto's magic, "Dead Spot," is found. By working with the precepts, and by seeing them as positive things to work toward, rather than as morally "wrong" things to avoid at all costs, we come to see that there is no action to take that is, always and for all time, morally correct. We can only be aware that we are making a choice and do our best to make one that, in this moment, under these circumstances, is most aligned with our values. Taking the time to see and understand our choices, and to feel both the physical and emotional sensations that arise as we consider our actions, frees us from guilt and from the need to make excuses, and it makes it easier to address the consequences of our choice without defensiveness. We have truly done our best.
As we begin to recognize the complexity of particular situations, and witness the actions of those who do not, and who are still making knee-jerk reactions to situations, rather than conscious choices, we can both have more compassion for them in their discomfort and defensiveness, and take less personally the actions of others that make our own lives more difficult, for either they didn't fully appreciate what they were doing, or they gad a difficult choice to make and did what they thought was best.
Overall, an interesting, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book.
First, Rizzetto, chooses to frame the precepts as positive action anyone can get behind. In this way, "Thou Shalt Not Steal," becomes, "I Take Up the Way of Taking Only What Is Freely Offered and Giving Freely of All That I Can." Rather than glossing over this precept because we haven't engaged in blatant theft, or becoming defensive because maybe we've taken something we shouldn't have, at some point in our lives, this simple rephrasing makes us curious about what it would mean to, "take up this way." This openness allows us to see the relevance in our own lives and make appropriate changes, perhaps carpooling, being more diligent about bringing reusable bags, and being on time for things, to "take" less from the environment and not "steal" the time of others.
Once Rizzetto has you seeing that each of the precepts does, indeed, touch your life in some way, she springs the koan aspect of the precepts on you. If you have an appointment to meet someone at 1pm, but you're in the middle of having lunch with a friend who's in crisis over a diagnosis, a marital problem, or an issue with her child or job, what takes priority-- not stealing time from the person waiting for you, or giving your own time and compassion to your friend in need?
Typically, we either leave our friend to show up for our appointment (often late, anyway), or we are quite late, miss, or cancel our appointment to stay and console our friend. In either case, we end up making excuses and feeling guilty about our course of action. Here is where Rizzetto's magic, "Dead Spot," is found. By working with the precepts, and by seeing them as positive things to work toward, rather than as morally "wrong" things to avoid at all costs, we come to see that there is no action to take that is, always and for all time, morally correct. We can only be aware that we are making a choice and do our best to make one that, in this moment, under these circumstances, is most aligned with our values. Taking the time to see and understand our choices, and to feel both the physical and emotional sensations that arise as we consider our actions, frees us from guilt and from the need to make excuses, and it makes it easier to address the consequences of our choice without defensiveness. We have truly done our best.
As we begin to recognize the complexity of particular situations, and witness the actions of those who do not, and who are still making knee-jerk reactions to situations, rather than conscious choices, we can both have more compassion for them in their discomfort and defensiveness, and take less personally the actions of others that make our own lives more difficult, for either they didn't fully appreciate what they were doing, or they gad a difficult choice to make and did what they thought was best.
Overall, an interesting, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book.
January 25, 2018
Waking Up to What You Do is likely meant to be read as a front-to-back book; however, I found that it is written in a way that one can jump around lessons (chapters) in the order that suits them. These kinds of "practice" books are typically laid out in a way which the writer believes the student should experience each lesson, and this one is no different. While I particularly did not agree with the succession of each lesson, it didn't matter. I was able to jump to the ones I felt would benefit me most first and continue on to the others without any confusion.
If you're in to this kind of thing - it's a great read and practice. Not only does the author give her explanation on how to practice each precept, she also includes the experiences and methods of some of her students. This is great, as it gives each precept multiple faces. There is not one correct way to practice Zen. There is not one correct way to approach and handle situations. Each moment is different for each person. This book allows the reader to understand these practices aren't going to be the same for everyone and that it's okay to have faults - a nice reminder when many books like this do not leave much room for human error.
If you're in to this kind of thing - it's a great read and practice. Not only does the author give her explanation on how to practice each precept, she also includes the experiences and methods of some of her students. This is great, as it gives each precept multiple faces. There is not one correct way to practice Zen. There is not one correct way to approach and handle situations. Each moment is different for each person. This book allows the reader to understand these practices aren't going to be the same for everyone and that it's okay to have faults - a nice reminder when many books like this do not leave much room for human error.
January 7, 2026
Almost certainly one of the most lucid and concretely usable books on precept practice written for a Western lay audience. Rizzetto treats the precepts not as abstract ethical ideals but as living diagnostic tools - ways of reading one’s own habits of harm, avoidance, and care as they unfold in ordinary life. Each precept is patiently framed in a manner that neither dilutes its difficulty nor mystifies it. The book’s greatest strength lies in the case studies drawn from jukai preparation with Rizzetto’s own students. These are not illustrative anecdotes in a thin, motivational sense; they are rigorous, often uncomfortable examinations of how intention, self-justification, and other entanglements actually operate in the trenches of the everyday. The precept practice Rizzetto endorses remains perpetually unfinished: not rules to obey or ideals to aspire to, but lenses for seeing what one is already doing.
April 19, 2022
While ‘Waking Up to What You Do’ is a fairly, quick read, it offers a practice of the Zen precepts that can be slowed down and repeated. Rizzetto describes the precepts, their place in Zen teachings and their purpose for augmenting Zazen or mindfulness meditation. She spends a little time differentiating between the application within a monastic community and their use for lay practitioners.
The rest of the book takes a chapter per precept to explore each one and set the reader up for an examination of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors within the context of each one. The book makes it easy for the student to take as cursory or as deep and reflective a pass with each one as they want.
As a student of Zen, I imagine that I will keep this book close at hand for multiple readings and find new layers of insight each time I open it.
The rest of the book takes a chapter per precept to explore each one and set the reader up for an examination of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors within the context of each one. The book makes it easy for the student to take as cursory or as deep and reflective a pass with each one as they want.
As a student of Zen, I imagine that I will keep this book close at hand for multiple readings and find new layers of insight each time I open it.
March 25, 2024
"Waking Up to What You Do" by Diane Eshin Rizzetto is a book I've delved into twice now. Initially, I read it last year as part of a book club, and this year, I revisited it on my own. It's the kind of book that demands a slow, deliberate approach to truly grasp its teachings. Trying to rush through it proved fruitless for me; instead, I found it more beneficial to focus on one chapter at a time. What draws me to this book are its profound insights into self-awareness and presence. It has played a significant role in my journey towards understanding myself better and embracing who I truly am. Overall, "Waking Up to What You Do" is a gem for anyone seeking to cultivate mindfulness and live more consciously.
August 23, 2024
Whether Buddhist or not, Diane Risotto's book is a useful guide to understanding our self and our behavior.Simply by pausing to the present moment and paying attention to our feelings, our emotions, our fears, our thoughts, we can begin to see how they effect our decision making, our reactions, our motivations. The author uses the Buddhist precepts as a guide to help the reader navigate real life situations and help facilitate the awareness necessary to free us from cycles of behavior that create suffering in our lives. Of course this is not as easy as it sounds and the author is clear that in the face of difficult ethical decision making, these precepts are guides that prod us to skillfully navigate life and not commandments or rules by which we judge ourselves. While Buddhists may take a vow to follow these precepts as strict parameters to their behavior, the lay person can use them as a framework of behavior to aspire towards- to help, in the words of Diane Risotto, "grapple with the slipperiness of what's the best action to take given the circumstances of any situation".
April 9, 2022
Sealed deal
I was thinking about changing my Roman Catholic beliefs to the spiritual zen Buddhism precepts and practices and started on the path with the relaxation response (modern, western meditation) and yoga. I've read a couple of books on Buddhism but this one sealed the deal.
I was thinking about changing my Roman Catholic beliefs to the spiritual zen Buddhism precepts and practices and started on the path with the relaxation response (modern, western meditation) and yoga. I've read a couple of books on Buddhism but this one sealed the deal.
February 23, 2023
Really good practical advice for those wanting to explore Buddhism and ways you can apply Buddhist teachings in day to day life, and in meditation. You can tell she's a good teacher. I had many Aha! moments when reading this. Looking forward to her other book Deep Hope.
June 10, 2017
Excellent, down-to-earth look at the basic precepts of Buddhism and their application to everyday life.
November 17, 2019
Very good book to get one started practicing with the Buddhist precepts.
December 15, 2020
Nothing special
July 27, 2022
A decent guide to the precepts. Fairly surface-level and therefore quite accessible. Writing is rarely great in these self-help/Zen crossovers.
March 1, 2024
Really enjoyed this one - very easy to follow. It’s one of those books you’ll likely reread in years to come.
December 31, 2010
The first time I read this book, I checked it out from the library. Then I went and bought a copy because I knew I'd want to read it again. So this is the second time around for me, and probably not the last. Her suggestions and explications of the precepts are easy to understand and apply.... well, at least to figure out how you should apply them. Getting to application is tough. But it doesn't seem impossible to "wake up to what you do" the way she outlines. Very accessible book. I'd recommend it to anyone.
February 3, 2014
This book was on my 'to read' because she was a student of Yoko.. and her books are my faves. Too bad this book is not even close. Maybe I'm a little too hard on Diane because she's Yoko's student, having higher expectations and all that... It's not really about the knowledge shared (because it's really interesting) but her writing style - I really had difficulties finishing it. (and honestly I skipped some parts here and there).
December 26, 2012
Buddhism is very simple...you need perspective to watch yourself in your emotional states. This book takes some case studies and also offers some buddhist precepts. As a meditator, I found that application of the precepts in different situations interesting. not for the new meditaor...a decent self-help book.
March 28, 2009
I find myself picking this book up from time to time, just to refresh my memory. I found it quite inspiring, and realistic.
I love the way it's casually written. Definitely one of those books that's easy to pick up and skim for insight.
I love the way it's casually written. Definitely one of those books that's easy to pick up and skim for insight.
October 1, 2010
A very practical book about Buddhism. Each chapter is devoted to a precept, and the explanations are practical and interesting. I will definitely be reading it again just to refresh my memory and reflect further on the author's points...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews