Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficult People

Author: Mark Westmoquette 
Publisher: Watkins
Format: Hardcover
Condition: Used
Pages: 224
Published: Dec 2021

In this book, Mark Westmoquette speaks from a place of profound personal experience. A Zen monk, he has endured two life-changing traumas caused by other people: his sexual abuse by his own father; and his stepfather’s death and mother’s very serious injury in a car crash due to the careless driving of an off-duty policeman. He stresses that by bringing awareness and kindness to these relationships, our initial stance of “I can’t stand this person, they need to change” will naturally shift into something much broader and more inclusive. The book makes playful use of Zen koans – apparently nonsensical phrases or stories to help jar us out of habitual ways of perceiving the world and nudge us toward a new perspective of wisdom and compassion.