Paula Arai on The Little Book of Zen Healing
Paula Arai, the Eshinni and Kakushinni Professor of Women and Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, has recently released her fourth book, The Little Book of Zen Healing: Japanese Rituals for Beauty, Harmony, and Love.
Paula wanted to do something to help those who were suffering during the pandemic. She decided to write her second book, Bringing Zen Home, The Healing Heart of Japanese Women’s Rituals, which is a research study on the healing rituals of Japanese lay women. She believed that the stories in her book could be beneficial to people who had been feeling isolated and grieving during the pandemic.
Paula was contemplating this when Peter Sellars, a professor at UCLA and renowned theater and opera director, reached out to her. He had found solace in her book Bringing Zen Home during the initial summer of the pandemic and wanted to share it with others. He requested that Paula create a version of the book that was more accessible and less scholarly.
