Critical Acclaim for Conflict and Zen“The storytelling is brisk, conversational, and polished…readers who enjoy probing, encouraging tales of Zen discovery will find much here that heartens, challenges, and inspires growth. Viner’s work has significant power…helping show how to take the next step, even when there is no path to follow…Inspiring stories of connection, quiet strength, and facing conflict with Zen presence.” —
Publishers Weekly“An enlightening book about conflict… The writing is spare yet evocative, philosophical yet accessible.” —
Kirkus ReviewsConflict isn’t the enemyMost of us meet conflict with control, avoidance, or quick fixes.
Conflict and Zen: Stories of Presence in Heated Moments offers another way, one rooted in Zen, mindfulness, and the quiet strength of deep listening.
At its heart, this book asks a radical question: What if the problem is not conflict itself, but how we meet it?
A Fresh Approach to Conflict, Mindfulness, and CommunicationIn a marketplace filled with books on negotiation, communication skills, and conflict management, this collection stands apart. It doesn’t offer formulas or scripted dialogue. Instead, it draws from Zen, meditation practices, and real human encounters, inviting you to pause and face difficulty with clarity.
Through simple stories, you’ll discover how conflict can become:- A doorway to deeper connection
- A spark for personal transformation
- A call to be fully present, even in heated moments
What You’ll Find InsideThis book contains forty-five contemplative stories set in courtyards, kitchens, train platforms, and hospital rooms. Each story reveals how presence, mindfulness, and compassion can shift even the most difficult moments. Drawing on decades of experience in conflict resolution and contemplative practice, the author shows that conflict is not just a crisis to manage—it is a mirror reflecting our assumptions and habits. The path forward is not about fixing the problem but shifting how we see it.
This is not a book of case studies or how-to lessons. It is an invitation to show up differently, to meet difficulty with openness, clarity, and courage.
Conflict and Zen is more than a book -- it is a journey into stillness, clarity, and the wisdom of meeting life exactly as it unfolds.
The author brings an unusual synthesis of anthropological knowledge, international business expertise, and contemplative depth to the exploration of conflict and presence. As a social anthropologist, he conducted fieldwork in tribal villages in North Sumatra. Subsequently, he lived in a fishing village on the East Coast of Malaysia studying conflict between ethnic Malay and ethnic Chinese fishermen. His work focused on different types of interpersonal conflict that occurred in traditional societies.For over two decades, Viner has served as a professor at Endicott College, where he has taught thousands of students the art of conflict resolution and negotiation. His earlier books, Inside Japan's Financial Markets (The Economist Books and Dow Jones-Irwin/McGraw Hill) and The Financial Samurai (Kogan Page and Dow Jones-Irwin/McGraw Hill) were translated into Japanese and German. Years living and working in Japan, where his engagement with Zen began, combined with anthropological fieldwork in Southeast Asia, provided him with insight into how presence transcends cultural boundaries.
