The Other Side Of Nothing

A reader-friendly guide to Zen Buddhist ethics for modern times In the West, Zen Buddhism has a reputation for paradoxes that defy logic. In particular, the Buddhist concept of nonduality — the realization that everything in the universe forms a single, integrated whole — is especially difficult to grasp. In The Other Side of Nothing, Zen teacher Brad Warner untangles the mystery and explains nonduality in plain English. To Warner, this is not just a philosophical problem: nonduality forms the bedrock of Zen ethics, and once we comprehend it, many of the perplexing aspects of Zen suddenly make sense. Drawing on decades of Zen practice, he traces the interlocking relationship between Zen metaphysics and ethics, showing how a true understanding of reality — and the ultimate unity of all things — instills in us a sense of responsibility for the welfare of all beings. When we realize that our feeling of separateness from others is illusory, we have no desire to harm any creature. Warner ultimately presents an expansive overview of the Zen ethos that will give beginners and experts alike a deeper understanding of one of the world’s enduring spiritual traditions.

~ Things are not always what they seem~ Annies world is turned upside down when her best friend Jenna is killed in a car accident just before the New Year. Jenna is gone. Annie is devastated, until she finds she can some how still see Jenna. Her mind is obviously playing tricks she decides. Insane or not, at least she has her best friend back. School turns out to be another challenge. Its hard to concentrate when the best friend youre supposed to be grieving is now hanging all over Zach, the most popular guy in school. Annie, unable to look Zach in the eye, tries now to avoid a boy she and Jenna both had a crush on. Annie finds that things are not always as they seem. The first day back to school only leaves Annie with two questions. Why is Zach Calloway all of a sudden interested, when before Jenna died he didnt even know Annie existed? Even more important, why can creepy Evan Meglio from Biology class apparently see Jenna too.

The day after her eighteenth birthday, Julia Reeves checks herself into a psychiatric facility, longing to find a way out of the grief and guilt that have engulfed her since her father’s untimely death. What she finds is fellow suicide attempt survivor Sam Lorenzo, a brilliant twenty-three-year-old photographer. Sam brings beauty and light back into Julia’s life, so when he asks her to escape with him on a cross-country odyssey, she agrees. Before Julia can process what she’s done, the two young lovers are on the run. When Julia’s mother, Laura, learns Julia has disappeared and authorities will do nothing to help find her, Laura forms an uneasy alliance with the sole person who has as much to lose as she does: Sam’s mother, Arabella. Armed with only a handful of clues, the two mothers embark on a journey of their own, desperately hoping to save their children before they are lost forever. A moving exploration of family, friendship, and how far we are willing to go for the ones we love, The Other Side of Nothing is a powerful read about loss, self-determination, and second chances.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Zen Buddhism is a form of Buddhism that emphasizes meditation. It was started by a group of Buddhists who wanted to get back to the basics of what the Buddha had taught, dropping most of the dogmas and rituals. #2 Zen Buddhism is not a set of beliefs and dogmas, but a way to learn to see what reality actually is beyond all beliefs and dogmas. We can’t see the true nature of reality, but we can discover it. #3 The nature of time and reality hides the truth of universal oneness from us. But we can see it if we know how to look. The understanding of universal oneness is not like that. It’s not something we can own. #4 Because you are everything and everyone in the universe, it makes no sense at all to act unethically. To act unethically is the same as punching yourself in the face. Anything unethical you do to someone or something else, you are really doing to yourself.

Terry Ryan was poised to take the hockey world by storm when he was selected eighth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1995 NHL draft, their highest draft pick in a decade. Expected to go on to become a hockey star, Ryan played a total of eight NHL games for the Canadiens, scoring no goals and no assists: not exactly the career he, or anyone else, was expecting. Though Terry's NHL career wasn't long, he experienced a lot and has no shortage of hilarious and fascinating revelations about life in pro hockey on and off the ice. In Tales of a First-Round Nothing, he recounts fighting with Tie Domi, partying with rock stars, and everything in between. Ryan tells it like it is, detailing his rocky relationship with Michel Therrien, head coach of the Canadiens, and explaining what life is like for a man who was unprepared to have his career over so soon.

Laura Lippman meets Megan Abbott in this suspenseful mystery debut set in the aftermath of a violent crime—for “fans of crime fiction wanting literary flair and emotional depth” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). After her elderly neighbor is murdered, Amy Unger, a fledgling artist and cancer survivor, takes to the canvas in an effort to make sense of her neighbor’s death. Painting helps Amy recover from the devastating illness that ended her marriage and left her life in ruin. But when her paintings prove to be too realistic, her neighbors grow suspicious, and the murderer, still lurking, finds his way to her door. Bernard White, a widower who has isolated himself for years after a family scandal, can’t stop thinking about the murder of an old friend—and what it means for his fellow octogenarians as the death toll rises. He convinces the neighborhood’s geriatric residents to band together to protect one another. But the Originals, as they are known, can’t live together forever. As it is, Bernard is pressing his luck with the woman he’s moved in with. Maddie Lowe is a teenager trying to balance her waitressing job and keeping her family intact after the disappearance of her mother, even as their neighborhood becomes more dangerous by the second. She has information crucial to solving the crime. But she doesn’t realize it–until it’s almost too late. Their paths converge around the killer terrorizing their neighborhood and they are all faced with a life—or death—decision… A gripping page-turner that explores the strange connections between strangers, the past and the present, and the power of tragedy to spark renewal, The Other Side of Everything marks the exciting debut of a vibrant and riveting new voice.

Pedro has always believed his life is boring and that nothing exciting or good will ever happen to him, but things are about to change drastically. Because of circumstances beyond his control, Pedro is now the leader of his group of friends. Now tasked with making life and death decisions for which he has no previous experience, he struggles to make the right choices. He swiftly makes new friends as well as enemies, and discovers different realms that even in his wildest dreams ever imagined could exist. Because of Pedro’s lack of knowledge with traveling through other worlds, he usually ends up in the middle of the of the worst situations. In the past he was warned that “Things are not always the way they appear to be,” and swiftly realizes just how true that statement is. Steven Boyd and the Blufirs have already begun attacking and make everyone’s lives more difficult, yet somehow Pedro has managed to stay alive. But how long will they be able to survive as they travel through new and dangerous worlds where things are anything but normal? Despite all of this, Pedro has succeeded in meeting a few new allies who are now working alongside with him until more reinforcements can arrive, albeit from another solar system thousands of light-years away. As bad as things sometimes get, Pedro has always managed to make everything just a little more interesting and amusing for everybody else. But with every new world, there are more choices and challenges that must be dealt with.