Tell Me Something About Buddhism: An Overview

Now Featured at the Patheos Book Club
Tell Me Something About Buddhism
Questions and Answers for the Curious Beginner
By Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

"Zenju Earthlyn brings the Buddha's teachings alive in a fresh and powerful voice born from her own fully lived experience of transformation."
—from the foreword by Thich Nhat Hanh

For anyone curious about the teachings of Buddha and modern Buddhist practice, Tell Me Something about Buddhism offers the perfect introduction. Written and illustrated by Zen priest Zenjo Eathlyn Manuel and organized in an easy-to-use Question and Answer format, this brief book answers the many common questions people have about Buddhism, such as: Who was Buddha? What are the Four Noble Truths? Do you have a holy book like the Bible or Koran? What do Buddhists believe? Do you believe in God? Do some people have good karma and some bad? How do we practice oneness in a multicultural society?

Manuel, who has been involved in Buddhist practice for over twenty years, after an L.A. upbringing in an African-American Christian church, intertwines throughout the book her personal experiences as one of the first African-American Zen priests. Her life in the Sangha, her teaching in local communities and her travels around the world meeting other Buddhist practitioners enliven her answers to the most fundamental questions about Buddhist practice. Included are 20 illustrations by the author in charcoal-and-pencil.

About the Author

Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is a Zen Priest, Congolese drummer, a visual artist, and contributing author to several books including: Together We Are One, edited by Thich Nhat Hanh. She is the subject of the new film Zenju's Path, which premiered at the Buddhist Film Festival in Amsterdam in 2010.