New book! Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra

COMING IN DECEMBER 2024

From the Buddhism Beyond Belief series

The Open Heart Project and Lionheart Press are introducing a series of small books meant to frame classical dharma teachings in a contemporary context. Buddhism Beyond Belief is for mystics short on time but full of vision and desire for intense wisdom that goes deep. How? By guiding the mystic directly to their own inherent wisdom, right now, no belief required. 

The first book in the series is called Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra by Susan. In it, she discusses this important and inscrutable text line by line and offers suggestions for bringing its wisdom into your everyday life. It also includes instructions for practicing it daily, should you wish to do so. 

From the Introduction: “Profound and insightful books have been written about the Prajnaparamita Sutra, also known as the Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Wisdom, or just the Heart Sutra. This is not one of them. Rather, it is an invitation to walk through the text with me, to be inspired, confused, frustrated, and delighted by it.” 

Susan Piver’s book Inexplicable Joy is small in size but big at heart. It is a very helpful practical guide to reading, reciting, and contemplating the Heart Sutra. But it is much more than that because it is profound, personal, direct, and at times funny. It also leaves you dangling out there with just your own mind; just as the Heart Sutra itself does so many times. Susan doesn’t give too many answers but opens up space for personally exploring this text that is both celebrated and enigmatic. She appeals to “Don’t-know mind” but also has some insights as to how not to know but experience. I’d say the book is Susan’s love letter to the Heart Sutra, coming from her heart and embracing the heart of Prajñāpāramitā. As the famous saying of Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince goes: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” 

–Karl Brunnhölzl, author of The Heart Attack Sutra

 


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