Back to the market

Joost van den Heuvel Rijnders spent three years in Buddhist meditation monasteries in Nepal and Burma. After the monastic life he returned 'to the market'. Back to the market is a metaphor from the Japanese Zen tradition and represents the practice and application of meditation in everyday life. For the author, after his long stay in Asia, this meant a return to a life as a history teacher in secondary education, a love affair and full of family life, and a spot in the football stands every two weeks.

This book is the result of a personal quest to integrate the ancient teachings of the Buddha into the West. Using often humorous personal examples from everyday life, from the football stands to students chewing gum in the classroom, the author shows the reader that the ancient life lessons of the Buddha are as timeless as they are universal. Characteristic is a sober and practical approach to meditation in which the author draws on the various Buddhist traditions, twenty years of personal practice and the many retreats and other courses he has guided in the Netherlands and Belgium. This book is a must for anyone who has come into contact with meditation and mindfulness.