Painting Peace

“Is the human race condemned to destroy itself with its own weapons of mass destruction? Kazuaki Tanahashi’s persuasive answer is no, but to go from a death-driven society to a society that protects life requires re-envisioning the future so that we can learn to live peacefully in the present moment. Using stories, poems and his own calligraphy, Tanahashi’s Painting Peace contributes to that conversion.”—Jim Forest, author of The Root of War Is Fear: Thomas Merton’s Advice to Peacemakers and All Is Grace: A Biography of Dorothy Day

“This gorgeous book reflects a miraculous life of courage, humor, compassion, and wisdom. It is about peace, art, and a weave of remarkable relationships and endeavors that have shaped my good friend Kaz Tanahashi’s life and vision.”—Joan Halifax, author of Being with Dying 
 
“Kaz Tanahashi recounts adventures from a lifetime of activism and art. A maker of monumental works of calligraphy that incorporate but far transcend tradition and founder of international activist organizations like Plutonium Free Future and World Without Armies, Kaz is legendary. With unassuming yet indomitable energy, he has used his imagination to confront global problems like disarmament and climate change. His simple, clear, positive, non-hectoring tone (no doubt a result of his lifetime study and groundbreaking translations of Zen Master Dogen) will give you the feeling that a Ten Millennium Human Future is possible if only we will roll up our sleeves and get to work manifesting our vision of a peaceful world. This book could not have come at a better time.”—Norman Fischer, author of What Is Zen? Plain Talk for a Beginner’s Mind

“Inspiring, fascinating, tenacious and creative, these stories from Kaz’s life as an artist, scholar, and activist, offer the reader so many ways to enter the sphere of compassionate social responsibility. It’s as if Kaz is sitting with the reader, coaching us to experience the potential and joy of creative problem solving in the world of peace and environmental activism. There are brushes built, panels convened, operas composed, songs and poems written. Reading this is like taking a long–a life-long–pilgrimage with a wise compassionate man, an artist who drinks in the joys and sorrows of the world.”—Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, author of Most Intimate: A Zen Approach to Life’s Challenges