I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I actually read most of it while I was on a silent retreat. In some ways, this was a perfect setting!
Zen For Christians is written by Kim Boyer, a Religious Studies writer and a teacher at a Catholic Girl’s school. Her approach to Zen is from a Christian perspective. She has experience of both traditions and I would say that she is true to both in her presentation. I find her style to be very accessible, both in terms of background and practical aspects of how a person could explore the Zen traditions on her own. The author describes this as ‘a beginner’s guide to Zen, written especially for Christians’. It includes detailed instructions in the practice of Zen meditation, an introduction to the teachings and also personal reflections from the author on her experiences and thoughts.
I found the teachings to be very interesting, and the reflections to be quite insightful. I appreciated the practical wisdom as well, such as the insight that many people who follow this path are disaffected Christians who may find it odd that a practicing Christian would want to try on aspects of Zen as well.
In particular, though, I found the introduction to Zen practice to be very helpful. Boyer spells out clearly the approach to each practice along with her own experience on what has worked or not worked. During my days of retreat, I attempted my pwn practice of some of the exercises. I found I was able to follow her suggestions, and found it to be a helpful experience.
I would recommend this book for anyone who is curious to find out more about this way.

Kim Boykin writes with a great deal of authority about Zen meditation and practices. She has also obviously seriously studied Christian practices and beliefs. Her expertise makes this book very valuable for anyone wanting to learn about Zen thought and practice. Kim shared her own experiences as examples of Zen practice. Zen for Christians is nicely written and well worth reading.

When Kim Boykin studied Zen, she found the rich tradition of Christian contemplation which had always been there. She decided to combine Zen meditation and practices with her Christian meditation and prayer. This is a clear and easy-to-read guide about how to practise Zen meditation, which includes breathing and walking meditation and shows how to incorporate these habits into your daily life. She writes about Buddhist beliefs and shows their similarity with Christian beliefs in a concise and interesting way.



I found this book especially easy to relate to because Boykin converted to Catholicism and I share her love for the beautiful liturgy and I could understand her journey to faith.



I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

The title intrigued me, since I do collection development for our religion section. The book is written in a very approachable and accepting style. I wish they had updated the 1990s photos of meditation poses, though. Even though this is a second edition of a 2004 book, it looked very '90s with the dated pictures.

I really wanted to like this book. But there was too much detail on the practice of Zen and precious little information on the connection between Zen and Christian contemplation. The author begins by insisting that Zen and Christianity are compatible, but she then takes huge detours to focus on the verbiage and requirements of Zen practice. I truly wanted to explore the connections and commonalities between Christian mysticism and Zen, but the book came up lacking.

This book would be an excellent introduction to Zen, but the author seems very much to want to direct you to your nearest Zen center and practice meditation according to arcane and strict rules, leaving your Christian faith at the door. In this sense, I feel the title, in attempting to appeal to Christians, was misleading.

This is a very well-written book about two religions that most people don’t think have anything in common. The author came from a secular upbringing and it wasn’t until later in life that she became a Christian. By that time she already was studying Buddhism. This book draws parallels between and shows how Christianity and Zen can be practiced together. There are a lot of exercises such as breathing exercises and walking exercises that help you clear your mind and achieve Zen. This book was an interesting read and not something that I normally would have read. Being a Christian, this book intrigued me. I am not sure I see myself practicing Zen, but I enjoyed learning more about it.