BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

Touching Ground: Devotion and Demons Along the Path to Enlightenment

Touching Ground: Devotion and Demons Along the Path to Enlightenment

Touching Ground: Devotion and Demons Along the Path to Enlightenment
Stock photo: cover may vary

Touching Ground: Devotion and Demons Along the Path to Enlightenment Paperback - 2018

by Testu, Tim

Add to wish list
  • Used
  • Paperback
New

Description

Wisdom Publications, 2018. Paperback. Like New. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Ask the seller a question Add to wish list
A$10.74
Free Delivery within USA
Standard delivery: 4 to 8 days
More delivery options
Ships from ThriftBooks (Washington, United States)
Biblio Top Seller
The BIBLIO Guarantee

Details

  • Title Touching Ground: Devotion and Demons Along the Path to Enlightenment
  • Author Testu, Tim
  • Binding Paperback
  • Condition New
  • Pages 216
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Wisdom Publications
  • Publication date 2018
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated
  • Bookseller's Inventory # G1614293333I2N00
  • ISBN 9781614293330 / 1614293333
  • Weight 0.75 lbs (0.34 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 in (22.61 x 14.99 x 1.78 cm)
  • Themes
    • Religious Orientation: Buddhist
  • Category Biography / Autobiography
  • Library of Congress subjects Zen Buddhists - United States, Buddhist monks - United States
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2017052938
  • Dewey Decimal Code B
  • Quantity available 1

About ThriftBooks Washington, United States

Biblio member since 2018

From the largest selection of used titles, we put quality, affordable books into the hands of readers

Terms of Sale: 30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.

Browse books from ThriftBooks

Reader reviews for Touching Ground: Devotion and Demons Along the Path to Enlightenment

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

The vivid story of a hippie, a carpenter, a Vietnam vet, an alcoholic, a marine engineer, and a great dad who battled his demons on the Buddhist path.

From October 16, 1973, to August 17, 1974, Tim Testu walked all the way from San Francisco to Seattle, bowing his head to the ground every three steps. And that's not even the best part of his story.

Tim Testu was one of the very first Americans to take ordination in Chinese Zen Buddhism. His path--from getting kicked out of school to joyriding in stolen boats in the Navy to squatting in an anarchist commune to wholehearted spiritual engagement in a strict Buddhist monastery--is equal parts rollicking adventure and profound spiritual memoir.

Touching Ground is simultaneously larger than life and entirely relatable; even as Tim finds his spiritual home with his teacher, the legendary Chan master Hsuan Hua, he nonetheless continues to struggle to overcome his addictions and his very human shortcomings.

Tim never did anything halfway, including both drinking and striving for liberation. He died of leukemia in 1998 after packing ten lifetimes into fifty-two years.

Media reviews

Citations

  • Publishers Weekly, 11/12/2018, Page 0

About the author

Timothy Testu was one of the first Americans in his Chan lineage to ordain on American soil and perhaps the first American to undertake a "three steps, one bow" pilgrimage within the United States, an arduous practice with roots in ancient Asia. He was a Navy submariner and a close disciple of Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. He passed away in 1998.

Jeanette Testu grew up and continues to live in beautiful western Washington. She works as a disability law paralegal and is now studying to be a pastry chef--not due to legal burnout but for the puzzle of perfecting a recipe and the joy of feeding her loves. She has had the privilege of helping families of children with special needs for over ten years. She has a fabulous teenage son, Liam, who plays lots of instruments and kindly eats green macarons and cookies with coriander. On any given day she follows 3 to 5 of the precepts. She values her unconventional upbringing and applies many Buddhist principles to her messy modern life.

Emma Varvaloucas is the executive editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, where she's worked with writers from across the Buddhist traditions for six years. After a childhood spent as a bunhead in tights and pointe shoes, she now moonlights as a professional aerialist and aerial dance teacher. A student in the Tibetan Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, she strives to be less of a terrible practitioner every day.

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.

tracking-