Zig Zag Zen: Rubin Gallery NYC Launch

Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics Book signing and Discussion

with Alex Grey & Allan Badiner with Julie Holland, MD

Rubin Museum of Art, New York City

Wednesday, June 17, 6:30 – 7:15 PM

A presentation and discussion launching the new edition of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics with editors, Allan Badiner
and Alex Grey, and moderator Julie Holland, MD. A book signing in the shop will follow the program.

 Buddhism and psychedelic exploration share a common concern: the liberation of the mind. This new edition of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (Synergetic Press) has evolved from the landmark anthology that launched the first inquiry into the ethical, doctrinal, and transcendental considerations at the intersection of Buddhism and psychedelics. A provocative and thoughtful exploration of inner states and personal transformation, Zig Zag Zen now contains new original essays by such luminaries as Ralph Metzner and Brad Warner; exciting interviews with James Fadiman, Kokyo Henkel, and Rick Doblin; and a discussion of ayahuasca’s unique influence on Zen Buddhism by David Coyote. All of these new essays have been carefully curated to extend the original inquiry of authors Joan Halifax Roshi, Peter Matthiessen, Jack Kornfield, Ram Dass, Terence McKenna, Rick Fields and many others. Complementing these new essays is an expanded display of stunning artwork including pieces from Android Jones, Sukhi Barber, Ang Tsherin Sherpa, and Amanda Sage, as well as the original brilliant work of Robert Venosa, Mark Rothko, Robert Beer, Francesco Clemente, and many others, including more work by the pioneering visionary artist Alex Grey. Buddhism and psychedelics are inevitable subjects encountered on the journey to wisdom. Examined together, the reader may understand more deeply the essence of each.

 Zig Zag Zen is a must read for anyone who is concerned about the future of Buddhist practice.

Robert Thurman, Chair of Indo-Tibetan studies at Columbia University

Category: Consciousness Studies, Religion, Mind, Body, Spirit

ISBN: 978 0907791 62 1

Softcover $26.95 304 pages, 7 x 9 inches, 40 Color Plates
(Also available in Hardcover and eBook)

Available through Deep Books, Ltd.

http://www.deep-books.co.uk/

About the Speakers

Allan Badiner is a contributing editor at Tricycle magazine, and the editor of the new edition of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics (Synergetic Press). He also edited the books, Dharma Gaia: A Harvest in Buddhism and Ecology and Mindfulness in the Marketplace (Parallax Press) and his written work appears in other books including Dharma Family Treasures, Meeting the Buddha, Ecological Responsibility: A Dialogue with Buddhism, and The Buddha and the Terrorist. Allan holds a Master’s degree from the College of Buddhist Studies in LA and serves on the boards of Rainforest Action Network, Threshold Foundation, and Project CBD.

Alex Grey is best known for his paintings that portray multiple dimensions of reality, interweaving biological anatomy with psychic and spiritual energies. Grey’s visual meditations on the nature of life and consciousness, is contained in five books: Sacred Mirrors and Transfigurations, The Mission of Art, Art Psalms, and CoSM, co-authored with Allyson Grey, and in Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics. Grey’s work has been featured on the Discovery Channel, the CBC, and in Time, Newsweek, and on numerous multi-platinum record albums and is on permanent exhibition in the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in Wappingers Fall, N.Y.

Julie Holland, MD, in private psychiatric practice in NYC since 1995, authored the book Weekends at Bellevue (Bantam, 2009), which chronicled 9 years of night shifts at the psych ER. She edited two non-profit books helping to fund clinical research: Ecstasy: The Complete Guide, A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA and The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis, and is a medical monitor for MDMA/PTSD and cannabis/PTSD studies. Moody Bitches: The Truth about the Drugs You’re Taking, the Sleep You’re Missing, the Sex You’re Not Having, and What’s Really Making You Crazy is her latest book.

Testimonials

Zig Zag Zen is a treasure trove: inspiring, frightening, powerful, funny, eye-opening, and a source of great wisdom on a subject that our society finds endlessly confusing.

Mark Epstein, MD, author of Thoughts Without a Thinker and Going on Being

An extraordinary ride and guide down the corridors of the mystical psychedelic inward journey that will be of great interest and value to any serious explorer of spiritual insight. The zigzag is not for the straight and narrow.                                       Ganga White, author of Yoga Beyond Belief, founder of the White Lotus Foundation

Psychedelics opened my Doors of Perception, and Zen Buddhism has helped to keep them open.

John Densmore, author of New York Times bestseller Riders on the Storm and The Doors: Unhinged

Zig Zag Zen challenges Buddhists to acknowledge their psychedelic legacies, while confronting the duality undermining any chemically dependent spiritual path.

 Douglas Rushkoff, author of Ecstasy Club, Exit Strategy, Playing the Future and Coercion

Zig Zag Zen shines by its fairness: it faces the Zig and the Zag. That’s Zen at its best.

 David Steindl-Rast OSB, author of Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer