welcome to the Montreal Zen Center

Some of his books can also be ordered from this site by emailing books@zenmontreal.ca. Please allow $6 postage if posted in Canada. The prices of the books (in Canadian currency) are listed below.

All of Albert Low's books can be ordered from various places on the internet. Simply copy/paste the title of the book with author's name ... ie Albert Low A Pratica do Zen E O Conhecimento de si mesmo ....and Google will come up with a place where you can order the book.

Some of Albert Low's books have been translated into French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. In the French side of the website there is the complete list of the books that have been translated into French. For the other translations please see below , under the title 'translations' you will find the complete list of translations done for each title.

To browse the books either click on the book in the "library" above or scroll down.

What More Do You Want?

Zen Questions Zen Answers

"Zen teacher Albert Low has written a book, quite unlike the usual Zen book. He collected questions from his students about Zen practice and wrote the book as responses to these questions. From the quality of these questions, you can tell the strength of commitment, sincerity and sheer human curiosity his students bring to the practice of Zen. In return, Low gives a longtime teacher's advice on all aspects of Zen practice. The great majority of Zen books are introductory and directed to the new student. Rarely do you find books like this that deal with advanced practice. On the way, Low's advice on Zen practice remind us that Zen practice is not psychotherapy but a genuinely spiritual practice. The book includes a powerful and moving account of his own kensh? experience. An authentic Zen book."
Professor Victor Hori, McGill University

The questions all come from Zen students: some have practiced for many years; others have just started. The answers come from over sixty years intense spiritual search, fifty years of dedicated Zen practice and thirty-five years teaching. This book is unique, both in its conception and in the way practical advice and teaching is given, teaching that would be invaluable for all Zen students and particularly important for those who want to practice but who cannot find an authentic teacher.

From Back Cover:

' People are often drawn to the practice of Zen because they feel that something is missing from their lives. In turning to Zen, they acknowledge that this "something" lies not in externals, but in a distorted sense of self. By recognizing this, they can let the distorted view go. The journey to this awakening begins with questioning, and questions continue to be part of the path until their awakening is attained.

In this fascinating book, renowned Zen master Albert Low addresses questions his students have posed about the practice of Zen, such as: Why do we practice? How do we distinguish between true and false practice? What is awakening? ... and so many more.

Low also presents four teishostalks on a text or koan that enhance meditation practiceon zazen (seated meditation), on pain and suffering, and on the very nature of Zen practice itself.

Finally, in an article originally published in 1975, Low shares an experience of satori, a glimpse into Buddha nature. All readers, novice and longtime practitioners alike, will encounter in this book new answersand new questionsto the what, why and how of Zen practice.'

Available at the Montreal Zen Center and through Amazon.com. It is also available as an ebook.

$10 + postage

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I am, Therefore i think
A Worldview for the Twenty-First Century

Our times cry out for a new worldview; at present, our conception of the world leaves us without coherence, meaning, purpose or value. In 'I am, therefore I think', the author, Dr. Albert Low, presents a new worldview empowering us to act in a different, more constructive, less competitive and obsessed way.

Drawing on his life's experience for inspiration, Low merges Western thought with Zen Buddhism to create a new worldview. In 'I am, therefore i think', he:

-gives an overview of why a new world view is needed;
-provides a practical example of ambiguity at work in our relations with each other;
-presents an example of dynamic unity and the dynamic center at work in the corporate world and shows how dynamic unity might be measured;
-develops the notion of the dynamic center and gives examples of its importance in life;
-shows the connection of the dynamic center with schizophrenia;
-discusses how this new worldview enables us to legitimately study feelings in animals;
-discusses creativity in human beings and relates human creativity to creativity in nature.
-shows how our religion and spirituality are natural consequences of life's creative drive.

'I am, therefore I think' shows how a new worldview would restore meaning and purpose and help us on the way to a genuine spiritual life.

$25 + postage

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What Am I? The Heart Sutra for Everyone.

What strange things the Prajnaparamita Hridaya says! A young Buddhist acolyte put his finger on this strangeness when he complained to his teacher, “I have an eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind, so why does the Prajnaparamita Hridaya say that I do not?” His teacher admitted that he did not know, but said, “I must send you to a Zen master; he will know.” If, however, one were to go to a Zen master with this question he might well reply, “To answer that question you must first know what was your face before your parents were born!” or, to put the question in a more familiar form, “What am I?”

The sutra is possibly the most familiar of all the sutras and is chanted regularly in Zen temples and monasteries, but for most it is opaque and impenetrable. Dr Albert Low uses his vast experience, coming from years of practice and teaching, to guide the reader through the difficult terrain of the Prajnaparamita Hridaya, the Heart Sutra, using non-technical language, a variety of stories and many references to the Zen koans. In this way he encourages the reader to use the mind in a new, creative way.

$20 + postage

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A new and very topical book by Albert Low called Conflict and Creativity at Work has just been published.

The book gives original answers to the following questions:

1) Human beings are naturally creative; what does this mean and what is the connection between creativity and conflict?

2) How are creativity and conflict expressed in work, and why is work necessary for our mental health?

3) How has the corporate system emerged out of human creativity?

4) How can the company organization promote creativity through the judicious use of conflict?

5) What exactly is meant by the expression ‘an ethical corporation?’

"Albert Low has spent a lifetime searching for the foundations of harmony and creative satisfaction in common human endeavors--inside and outside the corporation. His questions are timely for all executives to consider."

Kathryn Cason, Co-founder and President, Requisite Organization International Institute (ROII).

"Great management calls for fundamental and keen awareness, of the sort that is easy to recognize and very hard to teach. Albert Low, in an easy-going, straightforward, low-key and respectful way, provides that education in the context of corporate purpose. This is an erudite book, not opaque or academic, but thoughtful and intent on getting its readers through the looking glass of personal and organizational change. "

Art Kleiner, Editor-in-chief, strategy+business. Author, The Age of Heretics

Please click here to read more endorsements.

To read more please click on the book cover...

$35 + postage

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The Origin of Human Nature

Albert Low talks about this book on YouTube.

Click here to view.

The Origin of Human Nature offers an original and fertile way to integrate spiritual and scientific views of human evolution. It offers a new and refreshing alternative to the way we think about our origins: random mutation (mechanistic neo-Darwinism), Genesis (God did it all personally), and Intelligent Design (God personally does what we can’t otherwise account for). The result is an invigorating perspective on how our best qualities – our capacity for love, our appreciation of beauty, our altruistic capability, our creativity and intelligence – have come into being and evolved.

To read more please click on the book cover...

$30 + postage

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