Fun book. It was a pleasure to read. .

Thank you Watkins and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed reading this book over a number of weeks and liked the lyrical way in which the book was written. I have read a number of books on Buddhism but had not read nor been introduced to Chan Buddhism.

Thank you for the opportunity to learn more about this method.

There's a lot to like about this book. Aimed at those who are perhaps approaching Buddhism for the first time, or haven't been practicing that long, Illuminating Silence details the Three Refuges, further teachings, and meditation techniques.

Sheng-Yen's insights as a practitioner of many years from lectures he gave are also documented here. Not to mention a breakdown and analysis of Wang Ming's poem, which I personally found of interest.

I felt there was a lot in here that gently challenged ways of thinking and was some of the text was rather thought provoking itself. What would personally stop me recommending the book to others was that I took a bit of an exception to his opinion on abortion, as well as his account of an instance where he gave marriage counseling shortly after that. The advice he gave to the wife raised my eyebrows a little.

But others maybe able to overlook it.

This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With thanks to NetGalley snd the publisher.