For anyone curious about the teachings of Buddha and modern Buddhist practice, Tell Me Something about Buddhism offers the perfect introduction. Written by Soto Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel and organized in an easy-to-use Question and Answer format, this brief book answers the many common questions people have about Buddhism, everything from who was Buddha to why do monks, nuns, and priests shave their heads.
Manuel, who was been involved in Buddhist practice for over twenty years, after an L.A. upbringing in an African-American Christian church, intertwines throughout the book her personal experiences as one of the first African-American Zen priests. Her life in the Sangha, her teaching in local communities, and her travels around the world meeting other Buddhist practitioners enliven her answers to the most fundamental questions about Buddhist practice. She writes, "Had I not opened myself to the many teachings from the earth, such as Buddha's wisdom, it would have been nearly impossible to survive the fires of my soul."

Included are about 20 illustrations by the author in charcoal-and-pencil style.

Tell Me Something About Buddhism: Questions and Answers for the Curious Beginner, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Hampton Roads Publishing, Hardcover, 144 pages, $16.95

Zenju Earthlyn Manuel has been a dharma practitioner for over 20 years and was ordained as a Zen priest in 2008 by Zenkei Blanche Hartman at the San Francisco Zen Center. She holds an MA in Urban Planning from UCLA and a PhD in Transformation and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Zenju is also a visual artist and the author of "Seeking Enchantment and Black Angel Cards". Her essay, "What Unknowing Things Know: The Zen Liberation in the Art of Romare Bearden" appears in the International Review of African American Art.