Zen and the Art of Peaceful Living

I embarked on a ten-year reading binge in my spare time. I read everything I could get my hands on. I read over 40 books from all over the world, including The Torah, The Talmud, The Sacred Paths, The Christian bible, The Quran, The Book of Enoch, Watering the Soul, The Book of Mormon, The Holy Mother, Tao Te Ching, The teaching of Buddha, The Kebra Nagast, The complete Mahabharata, The Ashtavakra Samhita, The complete works of Vivekananda, and The Analects of Confucius. Of the many Upanishads available, I read: The Katha, The Isha, The Prasna, The Mundaka, The Mandukya, The Taittiria, The Aiterya, The Chandogya, The brihadaranyaka, The Kaivalya, and the Svetasvatara.

As I read these books over the years, I slowly noticed that each author appeared to tailor their text for their listeners at the time of their production, and despite this, each book had very similar truths hidden within them. It was as if you imagined you were looking at a bucket, a cup, a pitcher, a lake, and a saucer filled with pure water. Each vessel is different, but they all carry the same water of truth within them. By the time I got around to the Gospel of Thomas ten years later, I not only knew where my father was, but when I read the first ten of one hundred and fourteen sayings of Jesus Christ, I could easily understand their meaning. As I read the sayings of Jesus further, I slowly realized that the knowledge I gained by reading these various texts must have been similar to the knowledge Jesus gained by reading the various texts available to him in Jerusalem during his lifetime.

I wanted to share the knowledge I gained from my studies. I began to write short stories that reflected my new knowledge. As the children grew from day to day, there were moments when they presented me with learning opportunities. In those moments, when the children would ask about a specific subject, I would intellectually look back on my years of study and meditation and share what I had come to understand with them. After I shared my answer to the children's question, I wrote down the thoughts I shared with them in greater depth, so if the children ever got older and, like me, "really needed to know," they wouldn't have to spend ten years on their own looking for the same answers that I had already discovered. Because they were young, I made a special effort to keep the stories as simple as possible and less than five pages per story so that they could get more or less straight to the point of each subject. I even unraveled and wrote down the logical meaning behind the supreme mystery of the Holy Trinity for them within those parameters.

That is how this book came into being. As of this writing, I am celebrating 60 years of living. My children have become successful adults, and my wife and I feel it is time to share these stories with you and your loved ones. Ten years of reading and eleven years of writing did not only produce what I humbly believe is the best way to understand the meaning of the sayings of Jesus Christ. It also made a new way to see the beauty in the world around you and the knowledge that will help you achieve genuine peace and contentment. In my best estimation, this book rediscovers a previously lost point of view that I believe even Jesus would be proud of, based on common sense and practical philosophy rather than blind acceptance of faith and miracles. It provides a paradigm shift that will bring you back to your old bible with a fresh new perspective.

Author: David Dolezal
Publisher: Bookbaby
Published: 01/15/2025
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9798350982664

About the Author
Dr Dolezal is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army 1/9 Air Cavalry. He performed residency with rotations in orthopedic surgery and family practice / industrial medicine before obtaining his Doctorate in Chiropractic. Dr. Dolezal obtained board certification with the American Academy of Disability Evaluating Physicians, obtained certification in Manipulation Under Anesthesia, and is a Fellow of the American Board of Disability Analysts. Dr Dolezal served his community full-time in private practice for over 25 years while working part-time for Third Coast Medical Associates and Spine Care Medical Center. Dr. Dolezal also served as the medical consultant for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Medical Evaluation Specialists, Review Med LP. and Columbia Doctors Regional Worksteps Program.