Zen means meditation in Japanese. In Zen Buddhism, the teachings of the Buddha are passed on from teacher to student. And Buddha taught how to meditate like this: sit still, completely relax, let one thought or another come to your mind, do not hold any of them. When you look at a pond of water, and if the water in the pond is calm, you can see the reflection of the moon. And if the water is turbulent, the reflection trembles and fluctuates. Seeing a calm moon is very difficult. Our brain works in much the same way. When he is restless, we cannot see the true picture of the world. Hence the name of the hero of the book - Still Water. “Zen in Short Pants” is a few short stories that help you get closer to meditation. Meditation perfects our ability to listen to our own intuition. There is no goal in meditation, but it often allows us to examine our habits, desires, ideas and fears. The stories of “Uncle Ryu and the Moon” and “A Heavy Burden” belong to Zen Buddhist literature of the distant past. The story “Farmer's Luck” has its roots in Taoism, whose history goes back several thousand years. There are many variations of each of these stories. I chose those that seemed most accessible to young readers. Illustrations by John Muth. For reading to adult children.