Buddha in the Garden

Buddha in the Garden uses the garden as a metaphor for discovering solid life truths. Sometimes tripping over stones, it carries us down paths of puzzlement, delight, and achievement to find miraculous moments of understanding. With the peace of compassion, we come to new perspectives and deeper looks into ideas we may have thought we knew well.

Herein, every insect and animal becomes an unexpected teacher, offering quiet lessons in patience, balance, and kindness. There are no perfect fixes, no instructions for keeping out life. Instead, we learn to accept our hard-won methods for inviting it in—and finding beauty in the bargain.

This immersion into the First Precept (no killing) reveals issues gentle gardeners and Buddhists alike must confront in life and in the garden. Is it possible to adopt a no-kill attitude and still nurture an abundant garden?

Written for nascent Buddhists and those seeking ethical foundations for gardening, Buddha in the Garden shares Theravadan concepts and experiences unique to the author. Part garden wisdom and cautionary tales, part gentle guide, this bookis for anyone who believes a garden is more than a place to grow food—it is a place to grow you.