Today we’re in China and Japan. Why are we anywhere? Just scroll down past the China and Japan recommendations for the reasons behind the ‘East Pray Love’ special….

Now we skip Bali — a tourist destination, not that there’s anything wrong with that — in favor of two important Asian cultures.

CHINA

The Shun Lee Cookbook: Good Chinese cooking is as satisfying as it is healthful. It’s ecologically correct: heavy on vegetables and proteins like tofu, skimpy on meat and fish. And, in those proportions, it’s as kind to your wallet as it is to your heart and gut. The thing is, we don’t know how to cook it. Three cheers, then, to Michael Tong, whose restaurants have delighted New Yorkers and the city’s visitors for three decades. In his cookbook, he hasn’t exactly reproduced the recipes he uses in his restaurants. He’s done something more useful — in modifying his recipes for home cooks, he’s explained the basic principles of Chinese cooking.

The Good Earth: Pearl S. Buck’s page-turner of a novel won the Pulitzer Prize. And the Nobel. "The Good Earth" was even annointed by Oprah. It’s a love story, and a passionate one at that, but the love is named right in the title — this is a novel about one man’s romance with the earth. Wang Lung is a simple peasant, young in the late 19th century but living much as his ancestors did. As China modernizes and his life “improves,” his relationships — with his wife, his kids, his mistresses — must also  change. For the better?

Manufactured Landscapes: a documentary — or a horror movie? Edward Burtynsky likes big subjects, and there’s none bigger than  China, an agrarian country transforming itself, at warp speed, into an industrial powerhouse. That means: a factory that produces 20 million flat-irons a year. The third largest aluminum recycling yard in the world. A dam so big — the largest ever conceived, by 50% — that 1.1 million people had to disassemble their homes and evacuate 13 villages so the thing could be built. And a chilling opening scene: a 7-minute tracking shot of workers in a single factory.

JAPAN

My Neighbor Totoro: No matter how old you are, no matter how sophisticated you may think you are, this is a fantastic film experience, an 86-minute swath of animated gorgeousness with a message as beautiful as its images. And the trick of it is…..there’s no trick. This is a movie rooted in the very ordinary. Well, not quite.  There are dust sprites. A Cat Bus. And, of course, the charming Totoro.

Deep River: This novel — a plot point in the final season of “Lost” — begins in a hospital room, where Isobe’s cancer-ridden wife is preparing herself for death. It’s a bitter moment: Isobe never really noticed her while she was alive, and revealing his feelings now is impossible for him. Approaching death, though, the bland woman who obediently made his dinner and cleaned his clothes finds her voice. And her pronouncements are stunning. “The tree [outside her hospital room] spoke,” she tells her husband. “It said that life never ends.” And more: “I’ll be reborn somewhere in the this world. Look for me…. promise….” And he’s off…..

Everyday Harumi: Harumi Kurihara is almost unknown in America, but in Japan, she’s a household name — literally. Like: 52 shops in department stores. Like: 12 cafes and restaurants. Like: books and books. Just don’t think of her as “the Martha Stewart of Japan.” Her most recent book  was created for Western home cooks. It capitalizes on our attraction for Japanese food — its lightness, its scant use of meat, fat and dairy products, its smaller portions, its creative use of vegetables. Even better, it’s not for purists. This is a cookbook for housewives, both literal and metaphorical. That is, it’s for busy people who have little time to cook but who are too proud, cost-conscious and health-minded to order take-out.

Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide: If someone told me I could have a healing experience without the practitioner even touching me, I’d look for the exit. But I have been treated — at a distance and hands on — by Pamela Miles, probably the foremost Reiki master in America. And I have felt a difference after you couldn’t chalk up to a “placebo effect.” What is Reiki? Here’s another surprise. It’s not ancient. It originated with Mikao Usui, most likely in 1922. That year, he went to a Japanese sacred site to fast and meditate. He got a bonus: subtle vibrations above his head. He felt healed. More, he felt he had the power to heal. And, in short order, he taught 2,000 Japanese how to use this power.

Coffinman: In Japan, there’s no job lower than washing corpses and putting them in coffins. This was, as Shinmon Aoki wryly tells us, not his dream job. He had dropped out of college, opened a coffee shop and pub, and soon found himself running a hangout for poets and artists. A well-known novelist encouraged him to write; he got his first story published in a classy magazine. Soon he was neglecting his business — he filed for bankruptcy as his wife was giving birth. There wasn’t even money for baby food. So when he saw a want ad — "for ceremonies to start a new life" — he jumped at the job. Only when he started work did he see the stack of coffins. As memoir, this book is fascinating. As philosophy, it’s refreshing. As spirituality, it’s lovely and reassuring.

Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki: Shunryu Suzuki was once asked to summarize Buddhism in a sentence. The audience laughed at the impossibility of that challenge. But the Zen master had a ready answer. “Easy,” he said. “Everything changes.” Easy was the way he was. Or seemed to be. He didn’t tell neophytes they needed to learn much before setting out on the Zen path. "In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities," he explained. "In the expert’s mind, there are few." And, later, he was equally committed to the importance of whatever you were feeling, in the moment you were feeling it. There were no hard and fast truths. For him, the secret of Zen was: "Not always so." Which is just another way to say "Everything changes.” A fascinating,mind-splitting book.

To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki: This slim volume gives us the flavor of this revered teacher through stories that portray his wisdom, humor, and grounded spirituality.  A sample: "Each of you is perfect the way you are," Suzuki said in an impromptu talk one day while his students were meditating, "and you can use a little improvement." Another: A woman told Suzuki she found it difficult to mix Zen practice with the demands of being a housewife. "I feel I’m trying to climb a ladder. But for every step upward, I slip backward two steps." "Forget the ladder," Suzuki told her. "In Zen everything is right here on the ground."

Pure Heart Enlightened Mind: Maura O’Halloran went to the Toshoji Temple in Tokyo in 1979 for training under its distinguished teacher, Go Roshi. It’s an impossible discipline: 20 hours of sitting at a time, begging in freezing weather, endless chores . She loved it. By 1982, she was enlightened. Maura was the last person on earth to brag about her accomplishments, but it’s quite clear — she reached a level of feeling and thinking that a great many of us would give a lot to have. "Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind" is a collection of Maura’s journals and letters. They give an amazing insight into the process of Zen training. But that’s not the reason to read this book. The real attraction is that it speaks to the most essential spiritual concerns — it slices a layer of dullness from your brain and helps you see clearly.

Katsura: Katsura was built as a residence for Prince Hachijo no Miya Toshihito (1579-1629). But “residence” doesn’t convey the high esthetic quality of this retreat. It looks as if the buildings have been set in an exquisite natural park. In fact, there is nothing natural about Katsura — everything about the place is as carefully staged as a play. Streams were re-routed, landscapes shaped. Tea houses that look almost raw in their simplicity are made from the rarest of timber. Here’s how extreme the planning went: Most palaces face south, but Katsura faces southeast. Why? So residents and their privileged guests could enjoy a better view of the rising moon. This is one totally integrated fairyland.

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