Colleen Morton Busch Book order

This volume presents an account of how five monks saved the oldest Zen Buddhist monastery in the United States from wildfire. The author charts the decision-making process of this Central-California Buddhist community in preparing for and fighting wildfire. The remoteness of the Tassajara monastery makes it an oasis, but also makes it particularly vulnerable when disaster strikes. More than two thousand wildfires, all started by a single lightning storm, blazed across the state of California in June 2008. With resources stretched thin, firefighters advised residents at Tassajara to evacuate early. Most did. A small crew stayed behind, preparing to protect the monastery when the fire arrived. But a treacherous shift in weather conditions prompted a final order to evacuate everyone, including all firefighters. As everybody escaped up the road, five senior monks made the risky decision to turn back. Relying on their Zen training, they were able to remain in the moment and do the seemingly impossible -- to greet the fire not as an enemy to defeat, but as a friend to guide. Novices in fire but experts in readiness, the Tassajara monks summoned both intuition and wisdom to face crisis with startling clarity. The result is a profound lesson in the art of living