The Zen Path Through Depression

Depression is an agonizing, debilitating illness; fortunately there now are a number of treatment options available. Many sufferers turn to spiritual practice as a way to ease their pain. In The Zen Path Through Depression, psychiatric social worker and practicing Zen Buddhist Philip Martin offers instruction on how to heal the soul struggling with despair. His lessons, full of gentle guidance and sensitivity, are a product of his personal experiences using Zen practice to alleviate his own depression. The techniques Martin suggests are easy to follow, while his advice is basic and practical. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of depression, and suggests an appropriate meditation or reflection. With these tools, learning to cope with depression can also become a way to enrich the soul. Philip Martin has practiced Buddhism for more than twenty-five years. He has worked as a psychiatric social worker and case manager for twenty years, and is also a workshop leader. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “The Zen Path through Depression is a very useful addition to the growing library of applied Buddhism. Using words of the masters, his own story, and many sensitively designed practical exercises, Philip Martin shows us what the Buddha taught: that all mental and emotional states, no matter how difficult they may seem, are opportunities.”– Zoketsu Norman Fischer, co-abbot, San Francisco Zen Center