Overview

A tribute to the power of spiritual practice, creative expression, and true self-acceptance I Opened the Gate Laughing is the story of one woman’s journey to creative freedom through gardening and the teachings of Zen. Born in Japan, Mayumi Oda comes back to the practice of Buddhism at beautiful Green Gulch Farm retreat center in Northern California, where she finds a new tranquility and creative spirit through her pen, her brush, and her trowel to overcome the constraints of a traditional upbringing and the sadness of the end of a marriage. This enchanting book is a meditation on the search for inner peace and reawakening. awash with luscious prints and watercolors, beautifully designed, and filled with vivid stories and verse. I Opened the Gate Laughing is a resource for anyone seeking a slower pace, a sacred space, and a garden path.

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9781613322321

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Reviews

"""[Mayumi's work] is a revelation of the glory of her determined artistry, filled with all the kindness, beauty and power that flows from the indomitable feminine, divine as nature, of nature, in nature, gentle and nurturing and ferocious in the defense of life.""--Robert A. F. Thurman, Jey Tsongkhapa Professor of Buddhology Emeritus, Columbia University, author of Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life ""Mayumi Oda's action for life on earth, whether it's praying, sobbing, organizing, protesting, or farming is as transformative and captivating as her magnificent creation of eclectic, bold, and enchanting celestial/terrestrial femininity. Her goddess paintings are colorful, sensuous, and deeply spiritual.""--Kazuaki Tanahashi, author of Moon in Dewdrop and Painting Peace: Art in a Time of Global Crisis ""Mayumi Oda's passion and wisdom infuse her art with radical compassion. Her work has touched the lives of countless people around the world. An extraordinary woman, her work is a plunge into courage and beauty.""--Richard Baker, Abbot of Crestone Mountain Zen Center and Zen Buddhistisches Zentrum Schwarzwald ""Mayumi Oda's pure, persevering, and fiercely loving heart and hands. She models ways to walk in beauty and with grace for everyone who feels called by the emergence of the feminine in this time when restoring balance and equilibrium to the human-nature experiment is so urgent and timely.""--Nina Simons, cofounder of Bioneers ""Mayumi's heart surpasses all measures of courage in her devotion to the earth.""--Paul Hawken, author of Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World ""Mayumi's vivid original images of women as goddesses show us a new way to think about Zen Buddhism and, actually, about life.""--John Tarrant, Director of Pacific Zen Institute, author of The Light Inside the Dark ""The images and conjunctions of Mayumi's art arise from the resources and 'recesses' (as she says) of her Japanese culture, and from her own creativity, feminism, eroticism, wisdom, and compassion.""--Joan Halifax, Abbot of Upaya Zen Center, author of Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet ""The subject that flows naturally from [Mayumi's] brush is a searing vision of the emancipated woman, the woman as goddess, the woman in all her Romanesque nakedness, bound between the miraculous realms of earth, sea, and sky. At Mayumi's hand, Woman takes her place beneath a universe of stars that both dwarf and glorify her, root her in an earthly context while expanding her metaphorically into a sublime connection with the cosmos.""--Emily Nathan, author of My Tiny Atlas: Our World Through Your Eyes"

"""Mayumi Oda’s passion and wisdom infuse her art with radical compassion. Her work has touched the lives of countless people around the world. An extraordinary woman, her work is a plunge into courage and beauty."" -- Richard Baker, Abbot of Crestone Mountain Zen Center and Zen Buddhistisches Zentrum Schwarzwald ""The images and conjunctions of Mayumi’s art arise from the resources and ‘recesses’ (as she says) of her Japanese culture, and from her own creativity, feminism, eroticism, wisdom, and compassion."" -- Joan Halifax, Abbot of Upaya Zen Center, author of Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet ""The subject that flows naturally from [Mayumi’s] brush is a searing vision of the emancipated woman, the woman as goddess, the woman in all her Romanesque nakedness, bound between the miraculous realms of earth, sea, and sky. At Mayumi’s hand, Woman takes her place beneath a universe of stars that both dwarf and glorify her, root her in an earthly context while expanding her metaphorically into a sublime connection with the cosmos."" -- Emily Nathan, author of My Tiny Atlas: Our World Through Your Eyes ""Mayumi’s vivid original images of women as goddesses show us a new way to think about Zen Buddhism and, actually, about life."" -- John Tarrant, Director of Pacific Zen Institute, author of The Light Inside the Dark ""Mayumi’s heart surpasses all measures of courage in her devotion to the earth."" -- Paul Hawken, author of Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World ""Mayumi Oda’s action for life on earth, whether it’s praying, sobbing, organizing, protesting, or farming is as transformative and captivating as her magnificent creation of eclectic, bold, and enchanting celestial/terrestrial femininity. Her goddess paintings are colorful, sensuous, and deeply spiritual."" -- Kazuaki Tanahashi, author of Moon in Dewdrop and Painting Peace: Art in a Time of Global Crisis ""Mayumi Oda’s pure, persevering, and fiercely loving heart and hands. She models ways to walk in beauty and with grace for everyone who feels called by the emergence of the feminine in this time when restoring balance and equilibrium to the human-nature experiment is so urgent and timely."" -- Nina Simons, cofounder of Bioneers ""[Mayumi’s work] is a revelation of the glory of her determined artistry, filled with all the kindness, beauty and power that flows from the indomitable feminine, divine as nature, of nature, in nature, gentle and nurturing and ferocious in the defense of life."" -- Robert A. F. Thurman, Jey Tsongkhapa Professor of Buddhology Emeritus, Columbia University, author of Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life"

Author Information

Mayumi Oda, known to many as the “Matisse of Japan,” has exhibited over 50 one-woman shows throughout the world. Her artwork is part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Yale University Art Gallery; the Library of Congress; and many others. She has authored books about her own creative life, including Sarasvati’s Gift, Goddesses, and I Opened the Gate Laughing. She has also illustrated several books for notable authors, including the esteemed Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. In addition to her work as an artist, Oda has spent many years of her life as a global activist participating in anti-nuclear campaigns worldwide. She founded Plutonium Free Future in 1992, launched the WASH (World Atomic Safety Holiday) Campaign in 1999.

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