Hiking Zen: Train Your Mind in Nature - Paperback

by Phap Xa (Author), Phap Luu (Author), Jon Kabat-Zinn (Foreword by)

Discover the joy of mindful walking and hiking, cultivate deep connection with the world around you, and ultimately embrace the path of happiness as a way of life

A mobile monastery to stick in your pack whenever you go out on the trail, this book by veteran hikers and Buddhist monks Phap Luu and Phap Xa offers mindfulness practices to explore as you walk to generate inner and outer peace.

Grounded in the rich traditions of Zen practice, this book invites you to experience the fundamental connection between humans and the natural world.

Hiking Zen offers:

• concrete mindfulness practices to explore outside for peace, joy, and belonging

• actionable steps to weave mindful walking into the fabric of daily life
• nuggets of wisdom gleaned from leading multi-week mindful hiking retreats

• personal narratives of the monastic path
• insight into how connection with nature supports resiliency and collective and personal health and well-being

Author Biography

Phap Xa (Brother Equanimity) is a Dutch monk ordained in Plum Village by Thich Nhat Hanh in February 2003. He lives and teaches in the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) in Germany, hiking in the many surrounding forests. A couple of times a year, he shares the most beautiful trails with many people attending hiking retreats, and he leads Zen hiking retreats across the US and abroad.

Ordained in 2003 by Thich Nhat Hanh, Phap Luu (Brother Stream) leads mindful backpacking retreats in nature around Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California, US; Joshua Tree National Park; the Sierra Nevada; and on the Appalachian Trail. An advisory board member for Harvard University's Thich Nhat Hanh Center for Mindfulness in Public Health, Brother Stream has been active in many fields, including helping start Wake Up, the Plum Village movement for young people; Happy Farm, Plum Village's organic farming community; and Wake Up Schools since its inception in 2012 to bring mindfulness to schools.