Buddha Life, ZENful Life

81 Buddhists Speak on the Meaning of Life

What happens when 81 Buddhists from around the world answer one timeless question:
“What is the meaning of life?”

Between 2015 and 2020, editor Nicolae Tanase asked more than a thousand spiritual teachers, writers and practitioners from around the world a single question: What is the meaning of life? Among them were 81 Buddhists whose lives are deeply rooted in Zen, mindfulness, compassion and awakening.

Buddha Life, ZENful Life gathers their voices into one contemplative anthology. Each contribution is a reflection on what it means to live with clarity, kindness and presence in the middle of everyday life.

In these pages, you’ll discover:

• Personal perspectives on Buddhahood, Buddha Mind, awakening and enlightenment

• Reflections on selflessness, infinite compassion and the “highest happiness”

• Simple, grounded insights on suffering, joy, emptiness and interbeing

• A book to return to again and again as part of your meditation or mindfulness practice

This is not a textbook on Buddhism. It is a living conversation with Buddhists and Zen practitioners who have shaped their lives around the Dharma.

A book to live with, not just read

You can use this book as a quiet companion for your own path:

• Read one reflection a day and let it guide your meditation or journaling.

• Open it at random in a difficult moment and see what answer appears.

• Share passages in your sangha, study group, yoga or meditation class.

Let these 81 voices help you sit with the question, “What is the meaning of life?”—not to force an intellectual answer, but to taste it in your own experience.

For seekers on the Buddhist and Zen path

This book is for:

• Buddhists and Zen practitioners of any school

• Meditators and mindfulness practitioners seeking everyday Dharma

• Readers who enjoy short, contemplative texts rather than long treatises

• Anyone drawn to the question of life’s meaning and open to Buddhist wisdom

May Buddha Life, ZENful Life: 81 Buddhists Speak on the Meaning of Life accompany you gently on your path, one breath, one page, one insight at a time.