An essential guide to what it's like to spend a week inside a Zen Buddhist monastery. The notion of spending days at a time in silence and meditation amid the serene beauty of a Zen monastery may be appealing-but how do you do it, and what can you really expect from the experience? Waking Up provides the answers for everyone who's just curious, as well as for all those who have dreamed of actually giving it a try and now want to know where to begin. Jack...

What, exactly, is religion? Why does one religious tradition often differ so markedly from another? Why--despite their common source--are the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam so different? What kinds of factors separate the beliefs of a Hindu or Buddhist from the 'people of the book' and from other sects of Hindus or Buddhists? Religion affects everyone's life, whether directly or indirectly, and as religious issues become more...