Climb the Joyous Mountain, Second Edition

Climb The Joyous Mountain: Living the Meditative Way (Second Edition)

By Justin F. Stone

Climb the Joyous Mountain is just part of the life story of Justin F. Stone, who traveled to Japan by freighter for the first of seven Far East trips in 1963. Over the next decade, he lived and meditated in Buddhist temples with Zen monks; traveled to India, living and meditating with Yogis in the Himalayas; and ventured to Hong Kong and China, meeting preeminent Buddhist scholars. His friend, Zen poet and world traveler, Paul Reps greatly influenced this path from the moment in 1954 that they first met.

If you haven’t read Climb the Joyous Mountain recently, you haven’t read it.

climbing,

climbing,

climbing –

finally

we

hit …

bottom!

From the introduction:

“…Once, when I mentioned the many errors in my life to the Bengali teacher, Ramamurti Mishra, he immediately snapped, “Those are not your mistakes.” This statement really distinguishes the unreal from the Real, and I am grateful to Mishra for the profound lesson…

It seems that during much of my adult life I have been the fortunate recipient of many such lessons. When the wife of Zen Priest Ogata gave me a Zen lecture by saying, “Stone-san!” and then slowly letting her folded fist open and unfold as a flower unfolds, it made me want to cry…

Her husband, who spoke excellent English, once said to me, “Anybody can be the Small Hermit. Be the Big Hermit.” Much later, meditating in the foothills of the Himalayas, I thought of this and said to myself, “What am I doing up here being the Small Hermit? I should be able to do this at the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street.” I am grateful for these two lessons.

…The Buddha spoke of Right Livelihood. However, what is right for me might be wrong for another. How can we tell another what to do? We can ask meaningful questions and we can offer constructive examples, but we cannot define another’s life. To try to live what I AM seems to make sense. In the eyes of others, it often makes us look like fools…

The anecdotes in this book are not here for the purposes of reminiscing. Rather, they point in the direction of the Joyous Mountain. A leap in the air, a clicking of the heels, or a really delighted laugh beats all the torturous discussion – without a doubt. But still we write books. Does writing books make me a writer? I don’t know.

Does writing about the Joyous Mountain make one joyous? I don’t know. What do I know? There have been moments at the piano when music flowed like T’ai Chi Ch’uan and moments of grace in athletics… Looking back at some moments in the Far East, when I was simply fortunate to be in a particular place, I realize how rich the fabric was (and is). After meditation, sometimes, we feel an inexpressible thankfulness. For what? To whom?

All one can do is bring the palms together in a salute to all beings. May they lose the attachment that makes for suffering. Life can be good – if we plant the proper seeds. The way of joy is best. Climb the Joyous Mountain.”

…………

As Carmen Brocklehurst says in the Foreword, “He has seen enough of the world to know that underneath it all, within each of us, silence speaks and gives rise to full possibility. ‘This spiritual seed then makes it possible for us to Climb the Joyous Mountain.’… ‘Only by cultivating ourselves will the Life Force change.’ There are those who Know; Justin makes it clear that each of us has that potential… Ramana Maharshi said that finding Truth was simple – all we had to do was ask, “Who Am I?” To his great benefit and ours, Justin did not take this edict casually but rather, he gave it his full attention. The chapter entitled “Who Am I?” touches readers to the core. So many spiritual students have worked for years wondering if they would fulfill the prize of spiritual Enlightenment. The poignant passages Justin utilizes this chapter are more like living water than mere words – water that quenches the thirst of parched spiritual students. Justin invites us to drink of the living water and truly live ourselves, our lives.”

$14.95

ISBN 1-882290-09-7

6” x 9” / paperback / 132 pages

www.gkpub.com

tel 1-888-540-7459 or 1-505-797-7300

Pub Date: July 2008

Cover painting, From the Mountains to the Ocean, by Justin Stone, and courtesy of KG.

Cover and interior design by Vision Design Group in Lexington, Massachusetts.