Drawing on centuries of wisdom, renowned Zen Buddhist priest Shunmyo Masuno applies the essence of Zen to modern life in clear, practical, easily adopted lessons – one a day for 100 days.

From this book you will learn 100 ways to bring yourself true happiness and calm. 

You will earn how to exhale deeply to eliminate negative emotions, to arrange your house simply to clear your thinking, to line up your shoes at night to bring order to your mind, to plant a single flower and watch it grow, to worry less about what you cannot control.

This summary contains direct quotes from the books and my thoughts about it. 

100 life-changing lessons from Zen – The Art of Simple Living by Shunmyo Masuno

1. Make time for emptiness

2. Wake up fifteen minutes earlier

3. Savor the morning air

4. Line up your shoes when you take them off

5. Discard what you don’t need

6. Organize your desk

7. Make a delicious cup of coffee

8. Put pen to paper with care

9. Try using a loud voice

10. Do not neglect your meals

11. When eating, pause after every bite

12. Discover the benefits of a vegetable centric diet

13. Seek out your favorite words

14. Pare down your belongings

15. Arrange your room simply

16. Try going barefoot

17. Exhale deeply

18. Sit zazen

19. Try a standing practice

20. Seek out the sunset

21. Don’t waste time worrying about things you cannot control

22. Become adept at switching modes

23. Breathe slowly

24. Don’t think of unpleasant things right before bed

25. Join your hands together

26. Make time to be alone.

27. Create a small garden on your balcony

28. Get in touch with nature

29. Don’t put off what you can do today

30. Try your best to do what you can now

31. Discover another you

32. Don’t be troubled by things that have not happened yet

33. Take pleasure in your work

34. Do not feel put out by the tasks before you

35. Don’t blame others

36. Simply immerse yourself

37. Don’t compare yourself to others

38. Seek not what you lack

39. Every so often, try to stop thinking

40. Try attending a zazen meeting

41. Plant a single flower

42. Make distinctions

43. Make a proper start

44. Cherish your own self

45. Think simple

46. Do not fear change

47. Feel instead of think

48. Notice changes

49. Don’t let things go to waste

50. Think with your own head

51. Don’t be bound by a single perspective

52. Believe in yourself

53. Instead of worrying, get moving

54. Get active

55. Maintain a supple mind

56. Wait for the right opportunity

57. Appreciate your connection with things

58. Try just sitting quietly in nature

59. Try clearing your head

60. Enjoy a Zen garden

61. Serve people

62. Cast away the ‘three poisons’

63. Cultivate your sense of gratitude

64. Demonstrate, rather which assert, how you feel

65. Express your mind, but not in words

66. Focus on others’ merits

67. Deepen your connection with someone

68. Fine-tune your timing

69. Don’t fixate on right and wrong

70. Give up the need to be liked by everyone

71. See things for what they are

72. Skillfully detach

73. Do not get caught up with mere words

74. Do not think in terms of loss and gain

75. Do not be swayed by the opinion of others

76. Have faith

77. Have a conversation with a garden

78. Find occasions to get together with family

79. Make someone happy

80. Appreciate all the people who come before you

81. Be here now

82. Be grateful for every day, even the most ordinary

83. Recognize that you are protected

84. Be positive

85. Do not covet

86. Accept reality for what it is

87. There is not just one answer

88. There is not just one way, either

89. Don’t be a show-off

90. Do not divide things into good and bad

91. Believe in yourself, especially when you feel anxious

92. Notice the changes of the season

93. Try taking care of something

94. Free yourself from money

95. Listen for the voice of your true self

96. Cherish being alive, every single day

97. Make every preparation

98. Contemplate how to die

99. Put your everything into the here and now

100. Make the most of life

Further Reading...