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Lotus in the Fire: The Healing Power of Zen
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About Lotus In The Fire: The Healing Power Of Zen
Product Description In 1995, Jim Bedard, a martial artist and Zen student, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and given ten days to live. This is the story of how he used his spiritual strength to bring himself into full contact with a death sentence as well as with painful medical treatment, including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. It is also the inspiring story of how the faith of his family, Zen teacher, close friends, and the Buddhist community helped him. Bedard's story introduces us to Zen practices that can help us cope with emotional turmoil and physical pain. His words on compassion, on karma, on gratitude, on impermanence and the inevitability of death—all from a nonsmoking, meditating, aerobically fit vegetarian who became suddenly and "terminally" ill—are inspiring and sometimes funny. He explores, too, the fundamental question of suffering, its cause, and how the teachings of karma can help us accept illness, ultimately using it as an opportunity to deepen our spiritual lives. From Publishers Weekly In this remarkable document, Canadian writer Bedard tells how his Zen Buddhist faith helped him overcome terminal cancer. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 1995, and given just seven to 10 days to live, Bedard drew upon meditation, prayer, introspection and chanting during months of hospitalization that included devastating rounds of chemotherapy, gallbladder surgery, radiotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. For Bedard, an ex-Catholic turned Buddhist, a vegetarian and a former martial arts teacher who works at the Toronto Zen Center, illness became a spiritual crisis that broke down walls of stubborn self-reliance, egoism, attachment and perfectionism. Now in complete remission, he describes his uncanny out-of-body experiences while in an ICU, as well as a near-death experience that he claims took him to otherworldly realms, confirming his belief that death is only a transition period before one's next rebirth. Through the prism of his harrowing ordeal, he illumines Buddhist concepts of compassion, balance and mind/body unity. Bedard's conviction that karma from present and past lifetimes contributed to causing his disease is a diagnosis with which many will disagree, yet his riveting, taut and very moving survivor's story will appeal to readers of all faiths. A wake-up call to live life to the fullest, told with modest understatement and no New Age jargon, his book will inspire patients and their families coping with illness, as well as anyone coming to terms with death. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal In late August 1995, a 42-year-old father of four listened in disbelief as his doctor pronounced a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia. He might have fewer than two weeks to live. In this intimate, sobering, sometimes frightening account, Canadian martial artist Bedard chronicles the precipitous deterioration of his health, life-threatening chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the excruciating pain caused by his damaged gallbladder, and several battles with imminent death. More than a celebration of his eventual victory over the disease, this book offers a real message of spiritual growth and hope. Throughout his year-long ordeal, he drew upon years of Zen practice, particularly his understanding of the law of karma, and the loving support of his family, his Zen teacher, and the Buddhist community. A powerful, personal testimony suitable for popular collections on death and dying.AJames R. Kuhlman, Univ. of North Carolina at Asheville Lib. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "This extraordinary book is both a treasure and a triumph. It is an inspiring testament to the ways in which rigorous spiritual practice can help us deal with acute suffering, pain, fear, and death... Lotus in the Fire proves the benefits of spiritual practice as supportive tool and a key to healing."—Frederic A. Brussat, Spirituality & Health "[Beda
