“Be brave. Be kind. Fight fires.” That’s the motto of firefighters, like Hersch Wilson, who spend their lives walking toward, rather than away from, danger and suffering. As in Zen practice, firefighters are trained to be fully in the moment and present to each heartbeat, each life at hand. In this unique collection of true stories and practical wisdom, Wilson shares the Zen-like techniques that allow people like him to stay grounded while navigating danger, comforting others, and coping with their personal response to each crisis. Every life contains the unexpected and the unwelcome. How you cope with those inevitable events, more than the events themselves, defines the quality of your life. Firefighter Zen is an invaluable guide to meeting every day with your best calm, resilient, and optimistic self.

"Be brave. Be kind. Fight fires." That's the motto of firefighters, like Hersch Wilson, who spend their lives walking toward, rather than away from, danger and suffering. As in Zen practice, firefighters are trained to be fully in the moment and present to each heartbeat, each life at hand. In this unique collection of true stories and practical wisdom, Wilson shares the Zen-like techniques that allow people like him to stay grounded while navigating danger, comforting others, and coping with their personal response to each crisis. Every life contains the unexpected and the unwelcome. How you cope with those inevitable events, more than the events themselves, defines the quality of your life. Firefighter Zen is an invaluable guide to meeting every day with your best calm, resilient, and optimistic self.

The "vivid" and "electrifying" true story of how five monks saved the oldest Zen Buddhist monastery in the United States from wildfire (San Francisco Chronicle). When a massive wildfire surrounded Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, five monks risked their lives to save it. A gripping narrative as well as a portrait of the Zen path and the ways of wildfire, Fire Monks reveals what it means to meet a crisis with full presence of mind. Zen master and author of the classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi established a monastery at Tassajara Hot Springs in 1967, drawn to the location's beauty, peace, and seclusion. Deep in the wilderness east of Big Sur, the center is connected to the outside world by a single unpaved road. The remoteness that makes it an oasis also makes it particularly vulnerable when disaster strikes. If fire entered the canyon, there would be no escape. More than two thousand wildfires, all started by a single lightning storm, blazed across the state of California in June 2008. With resources stretched thin, firefighters advised residents at Tassajara to evacuate early. Most did. A small crew stayed behind, preparing to protect the monastery when the fire arrived. But nothing could have prepared them for what came next. A treacherous shift in weather conditions prompted a final order to evacuate everyone, including all firefighters. As they caravanned up the road, five senior monks made the risky decision to turn back. Relying on their Zen training, they were able to remain in the moment and do the seemingly impossible-to greet the fire not as an enemy to defeat, but as a friend to guide. Fire Monks pivots on the kind of moment some seek and some run from, when life and death hang in simultaneous view. Novices in fire but experts in readiness, the Tassajara monks summoned both intuition and wisdom to face crisis with startling clarity. The result is a profound lesson in the art of living.

Creating fire is easy, yet understanding and learning to live with this friend and foe has never been easy; stopping fire is a dangerous—and often deadly—pursuit. Drawing on his experiences as an environmental historian, firefighter and life safety educator, author Einar Jensen presents an eye-opening look at fire and our history of dealing with it, then gives us the tools for being responsible and prepared—as parents and teachers, as communities and fire service professionals, and as homeowners in the wildland urban interface. “If we don’t change our understanding of fire, our rules of engagement, or our cultural values, we should expect more tragedies and be willing to pay for them in ever-increasing volumes of dollars, blood, sweat and tears. I’m committed to preventing these tragedies, and I hope to bring more members into my prevention cadre.” — Einar Jensen Contents 1 - Fire, Our Friend and Foe 2 – Fundamentals of Fire Science 3 - Youth & Firesetting: Playing with Fire Can Burn Us 4 - Fire’s Dark Side: A Tool of Pain & Destruction 5 - Fire’s Positive Side: A Tool of Creation 6 - Rules of Fire, Rites of Fire 7 - Sacred Fire 8 - Risk Perception and Fire 9 - Harmony with Fire 10 - Will We Keep Burning? Plus 29 Ancient Myths about the Origins of Fire, and a detailed appendix with Resources for Dealing with Youth Fire Misuse, Suggested Reading, Online Resources, Glossary and more.

At night, a girl hears the sirens from the fire station near her house. Even though it is dark outside, she knows where they are going: to a castle, to a garden, all the way to Pluto . . . Dashka Slater and Nicoletta Ceccoli have crafted a dreamy ode to firefighters everywhere and the big, brave, spectacular feats they accomplish every day, and every night-all the world over.

They can walk through fire. They would sacrifice their own lives to save yours. In the tradition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Thoughts on Fire is a meditation on how to live a life that matters. Drawing on his dual life as a philosophy professor and firefighter, "Dr. Frank" begins a journey not just into the fire, but inside himself. The lessons of this voyage are not just about axes and hoses but hope, forgiveness and love. "As a professor and a firefighter, Dr. McCluskey shifts gears easily between the metaphysical and the macho, pontificating in a pin striped suit by day and plunging into a smoky, flaming house by night." -The New York Times "It is a book that you will want to read again and again. It is a remarkable story that you will want to share with those you love." -Dr. Robert Schachat, author of The Seven Conditions of Trust "Thoughts on Fire is a book that is at once entertaining and enlightening" -Dr. John Briggs, author of The Seven Life Lessons of Chaos