Books • Wisdom • Inspiration
Irreverent Real-Life Stories from a Buddhist Rebel
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made." (Groucho Marx, no relation)
If you've long suspected that the sacred and the profane exist in close proximity, this book's for you.
What if the trials and vicissitudes of daily life could become the ground even for awakening? Can everyday neuroses actually become fuel for enlightenment?
Here you will find stories of two kinds—episodes from Marx's personal life and mini-essays on particular topics of interest. Some are Buddhist-themed; some have nothing to do with Buddhism. Nothing is meant to be sequential, either chronologically or thematically. For those things, we recommend a good book.
"Who are you going to believe? Me or your own eyes?" (Groucho Marx)
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What if we could understand our lives in deeper ways, maximizing meaning and fulfillment even during times of crisis?
Every normal human lifespan contains passages that deserve attention, intention and ritual. This book shows us how we can do that with minimal disruption to our normal lives and without the need for teachers, ministers or gurus. This isn't a religious book. All beliefs and non-beliefs are welcome.
Purchase Now →After your spouse dies, how do you go forward?
This beautifully-written memoir faces the realities of a loved one dying. Following a long fight with breast cancer, Tracy's death ended their 13-year marriage. In the months after his loss, Frederick Marx wrote about their time together (falling in love, their shortcomings, her illness, and how they made each other better). Marx recounts his relationship with his partner–not as a saint, but as a person.
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"Frederick Marx has written a touchingly intimate account of love, loss and healing. Losing a loved one is something most everyone faces at some point in life. At Death Do Us Part shows the possibility of navigating through this journey with consciousness, understanding and an open heart."
— James Baraz, Co-Author of Awakening Joy
"Filled like a banquet with rituals, stories, medicines, quotes and models, recipes for genuine growth and transformation... Rites to a Good Life is a call for us all to reflect on our own personal journey and its place in the culture and cosmos around us."
— Jack Kornfield
"Most people know Frederick Marx from Hoop Dreams, Journey From Zanskar, and other fine films. They probably don't know that he is a longtime student of dharma, an ordained Zen priest, and a gifted writer exploring the terrain of the human heart."
— Ram Dass
"This is a book we should all read. Heartbreaking, beautiful, intimate, challenging... This book is one's man's story of love, loss, and realization."
— Roshi Joan Halifax