It's Okay Not to Look for the Meaning of Life

Free yourself from stress with simple, no-nonsense advice from a zen monk!

Zen monk Jikisai Minami takes the things we are supposed to strive for and turns them on their head. The 35 short, thought-provoking essays in this book are divided into four chapters about our sense of self, our hopes and dreams, our personal relationships and how to face death. Each essay begins with a deliberately controversial point of view to help us look at life's problems through fresh eyes.

Each chapter features a number of short, thought-provoking essays providing fresh perspectives on familiar problems that can change your life! The essays include:

• People Can Live Without Dreams and Hopes
• You Don't Have to Be 'Who You Want to Be'
• When Your Head Is Full of Anger, Do Routine Work
• Do Things for Yourself, Not for Others
• It's Natural for Life to Be Negative
• If It's Not a Life or Death Problem, You Can Handle It
• People Can Be Saved Just by Speaking Their True Feelings
• Wanting Things Creates Anxiety
• If You Grieve as Much as You Want To, the Time Will Come When You Can Laugh
• It's Absurd to Worry About 'The Other World' Rather Than 'This World'
• A Person with Good Relationships Passes Away Beautifully

Although the author's messages may seem harsh at first, his teachings help us reduce anxiety in our daily lives. Being bound by the belief that 'I have to do X' or 'I need to achieve Y' causes immense stress. The author encourages us to accept our reality and live our lives from that starting point. This, he believes will free us from anxiety, relationship problems and negative emotions.

This book has been a huge hit in Japan, with reader comments such as:

• 'I realized that I had made my life difficult by thinking, I always have to be ambitious about my work.' (Female, age 50)
• 'I was deeply moved by the idea that you don't have to find the meaning of life. This is a book I cherish.' (Male, age 34)

"With this straight-talking debut manual rooted in Buddhist principles, Zen priest Minami sets out to upend conventional wisdom about happiness, success, and purpose. […] The result is an invigorating perspective on what gives life meaning and the value of focusing on the here and now." —Publisher's Weekly
"[A] most welcome addition to the burgeoning Zen-based self-help genre—books that draw on that philosophy's ancient wisdom to address the ills of modern life." —The Japan Times
"Page by page, Jikisai Minami overturns preconceived notions of what we need to be happy, and he provides the tools to understand and manage suffering. The book is divided into four chapters addressing respectively our sense of self, hopes and dreams, emotions, and death and dying." —Lion's Roar

Jikisai Minami is a Zen monk and chief priest of the Reisenji Temple in Fukui Prefecture as well as head of the Osorezan Bodaiji Temple in Aomori Prefecture. In 1984 he decided to become a priest and entered Eiheiji, the head temple of the Soto sect of Buddhism, where he spent two decades training. After managing the Shishikurin Sanga training dojo for young priests, he began writing books discussing his relationship with Buddhism and his views on life. It's Okay Not to Look for the Meaning of Life is his most popular work to date, and the first to be translated into English.

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