Introduction
In addition to his scientific work, Venerable Dr. Douglas Myeong’il Gentile is also a Zen monk, and the Guiding Teacher for the Ames Buddhist Mahasangha.
He has published several books and audio books about Buddhism and the intersection of Buddhist philosophy and psychological science.
Books
Description: The ancient and scientific secrets to getting unstuck from negative habits.
Everyone gets stuck in habitual patterns, including emotional, behavioral, and relational habits. We have the same arguments repeatedly with our parents, partners,
and children despite wanting to stop. Often by the time we realize we’re stuck, we no longer know how to get unstuck. The secret to finding freedom is to understand karma
and free will.
Why is it useful to understand karma and free will correctly? If you misunderstand karma, you’re more likely to get stuck. And if you misunderstand free will, you’re more likely to stay stuck.
Joining Western psychological science and traditional Buddhism, experimental psychologist and Zen monk Ven. Dr. Douglas Gentile describes how our minds can be simultaneously our greatest weakness and greatest asset. We are controlled by both external forces and internal habits of mind, while simultaneously believing ourselves to be ‘free’. This conundrum can be solved by seeing where our biases begin, how our natural ability to learn traps us, and how we unintentionally undermine the progress we intend to make. This book can help you find freedom from negative habits, relationship patterns, and feelings.
“If you are interested in the intersection of Buddhism and Psychology, then this book is a must have. The author does a wonderful job of explaining Karma in a way that makes it interesting and understandable. Karma takes on clear meaning within the understanding of how our experiences and situations can lock us in to particular habits, and where free will can break us out of those habits in which we can get stuck in our relationships with others and our selves.” – John R.
“Great read. Perfect for anyone suffering from the human condition. I gained a new understanding of karma and where free will truly exists in our lives. Using Buddhist philosophy and modern psychology, the author shares relatable real-life examples to illustrate how we can cultivate a life of more freedom (and less suffering). I came away with a stronger sense of agency and an intention to trust that each moment will be workable.” – Amazon customer
Description: “I went to a 28-day program at Woljeongsa Temple, in the mountains of Pyeongchang, South Korea. Very quickly things went wrong. How do we work with difficult situations?”
Everyone gets stuck in habitual patterns, including emotional, behavioral, and relational habits. We have the same arguments repeatedly with our parents, partners,
and children despite wanting to stop. Often by the time we realize we’re stuck, we no longer know how to get unstuck. The secret to finding freedom is to understand karma
and free will.
Why is it useful to understand karma and free will correctly? If you misunderstand karma, you’re more likely to get stuck. And if you misunderstand free will, you’re more likely to stay stuck.
Joining Western psychological science and traditional Buddhism, experimental psychologist and Zen monk Ven. Dr. Douglas Gentile describes how our minds can be simultaneously our greatest weakness and greatest asset. We are controlled by both external forces and internal habits of mind, while simultaneously believing ourselves to be ‘free’. This conundrum can be solved by seeing where our biases begin, how our natural ability to learn traps us, and how we unintentionally undermine the progress we intend to make. This book can help you find freedom from negative habits, relationship patterns, and feelings.
“Lessons Learned at a Buddhist Monastery: Hwadu Slogans is a very inspirational book. Dr. Gentile took a very frightening health issue and turned it into a teaching moment. He writes the way he speaks so the book flows and is a quick read.“I’m not Buddhist, but I can use the slogans from the book to help me have a better outlook on life. For example, “You have no choice” helps me focus on the options I have instead of the possibilities I wished I had. “It has nothing to do with me” makes me double think when I am about to engage in gossip or say something that is unnecessary. “Try with 100 percent” states that if you do best it will be correct, even if it’s not “right”. This slogan is especially helpful as I tend to always second guess myself.“I found that after reading Lessons Learned at a Buddhist Monastery: Hwadu Slogans the wisdoms helped me with challenges I have at home or when I am teaching my students with disabilities and have a roadblock…I highly recommend this book!” – Tonya H.
“I don’t know of any books quite like this one. It’s insightful and illuminating, and it’s a pleasure to read. Ven. Dr. Gentile’s explanation of hwadu slogans and their usefulness makes perfect sense in its comparison with another group of “pithy” training slogans, the lojongs, which are no doubt familiar to many Buddhist practitioners. Unlike the lojongs, though, hwadu slogans are even more precise and don’t require any particular Buddhist knowledge, and that is what makes this book so wonderful and practical. The author’s narrative of his experience at Woljeongsa Temple, along with images and the poems he wrote while there, are a heartfelt and vivid frame for how the hwadu slogans can be used by anyone in any moment. “Only Go Straight” now comes to me with a clarity that stops my spinning thoughts and grounds me in my practice. Details, anecdotes and historical context of the hwadu slogans round out the author’s very personal connections to his lineage and teachers.” – Faith W.
Audiobooks
Description: Explore the transformative power of Buddhist philosophy with Dr. Douglas Gentile, renowned psychologist, celebrated professor, and Zen Buddhist monk.
Buddhism is a philosophy and set of practices designed to help us achieve inner peace and balance. It is a practical approach to working with our own habits of mind. Nonetheless, many of its core ideas seem mystical or inconceivable. In 19 revelatory audio lectures, Dr. Douglas Gentile aligns core Buddhist concepts such as karma, non-duality, and Nirvana with modern psychological science, making them easy to understand and use in our own lives.
Rather than prescribing a belief system, Buddhism points out that fixed beliefs often get in the way of seeing the world clearly. Buddha himself said not to believe anything he said, but instead to put it into practice for yourself and see how it works for you.
Through Buddhism, we can learn to cultivate more positive habits of mind and emotion. This allows us to be happier, kinder, more open, and more available to those around us and to weather the storm when things aren’t going our way.
Buddhist practices can benefit anyone and can be used in conjunction with other religious practices. Whether or not you think of yourself as “Buddhist,” the practices and ideas explored in this series can improve your life.
“Author is the narrator; his presentation is like listening to a friend or private teacher (mentioned by another reviewer). If you are just listening for information on Buddhism, you will learn a lot. If you are listening for personal growth, you will find this book truly helpful and inspiring.” – Penny
“This is an excellent book. Reading it has helped me understand complex, difficult concepts that I have been struggling with for many years.” – Amazon customer
“If you’re curious and want personal, relatable and practical application about the Buddhist practice this would be a fantastic resource. Douglas’ voice – SO soothing, so clear. I am actually going BACK through and taking notes. This is more than just about Buddhism. Douglas is very clear that this is his take on Buddhism. He uses personal stories, makes it clear when it’s his opinion, and there is nothing pushy or conversion-y.” Kimberly B.
Description: Are you curious about meditation but feel like you don’t have time to practice it? Have you tried meditating once or twice but worried that you weren’t “doing it right”?
The good news is that anyone can reap the rewards of meditation in as little as five minutes per day, and there’s no wrong way to do it. In this audio course, award-winning psychology professor and Zen monk Douglas Gentile helps you “learn by doing,” guiding you in meditation practices designed to make you happier and wiser. An expert on the intersection of Buddhist philosophy and Western psychological science, he helps you replace unhelpful habits with positive patterns of thoughts and emotions.
Dr. Gentile debunks common myths about meditation and explores meditation techniques that can help you break out of negative patterns and habits. Throughout the course, he walks you through practices focused on three integral concepts of meditation:
- Explore dimensions of mindfulness such as breath, feeling, functions of thought, space of mind, and awareness.
- Cultivate self-compassion and “loving-kindness” toward those around you.
- Familiarization and Cultivation. Learn a new approach to overcoming negativity through joy, spaciousness, the Buddhist practice of Tonglen, and other effective tools.
Whether you wish to understand the philosophy behind meditation, to integrate meditation into your daily schedule, or to be more open to your life and relationships, you will find Dr. Gentile’s lectures captivating and enriching.
“Personally, I’ve tried meditating many times.
“It didn’t work. Not because I’m some dummy who’s bad at it, but because it was explained to me in the wrong way. Meditation isn’t about turning your brain to a blank page. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s about finding a new page filled with meaning and learning how to appreciate it.
“Gentile’s method is fascinating. This book was great.” – Anonymous
“Having tried all sorts of meditation guides and not really getting anywhere, I was feeling pretty burnt out on the idea of meditation. This was new, though. First of all, I realized that one of the reasons I was always unsuccessful at meditation was that I stressed out so much about getting it right. As in exactly right. This author reassured me that there are many different ways to get it “right”, and also that the idea is actually NOT to stop your brain from producing thoughts at all. This is such an accessible guide, and for me a real relief. Before I got the title, I researched the author a bit, and I found that he’s not only a Zen Buddhist monk but also a professor of developmental psychology at Iowa State. I really like that he brings both “art” and science to this work. Highly recommend.” – Maya
Background
Given that he studies how mass media influence people, Dr. Gentile is amused that one of the TV shows he loved the most as a child was Kung Fu, a show about a Zen monk. Did this influence his direction?
He began studying Buddhism in about 1989, but most of that practice was solitary until 2005 when the Mindfulness & Meditation group started in Ames (which grew to become the Ames Buddhist Mahasangha). He completed a three-year secular Buddhist studies certificate with the multi-lineage Interdependence Project (which existed between 2007 and 2025). He completed a year-long meditation teacher training, also with the IDP. He studied personally with Ethan Nichtern (Shambhala lineage; founder of the IDP) and Dosho Port (Soto Zen) before finding his root teacher, Most Ven. Wonji Dharma of the Five Mountain Zen Order, with whom he trained until Ven. Wonji’s death at the end of 2021. Ven. Wonji gave him the Dharma name Cheolsoeng (徹誠). He completed seminary at Buddha Dharma University in 2018 and was granted Inga (full teaching authority) by Ven. Wonji Dharma in May, 2021. He sometimes teaches at the Pure Land Temple of Iowa and also taught at the Interdependence Project (until it closed in 2025). He received the transmission name Myeong’il (明日) in 2024 from his current teacher, Most. Ven. Myohye Do’an.
The Five Mountain Zen Order was an American Zen order with both Korean and Vietnamese lineage roots. The Korean lineage was passed through the Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn, and the Vietnamese through Zen Master Thích Thiên-Ân. Both of these masters worked to Americanize their Zen, and we are now about four or five generations into that experiment. Part of their brilliance was to adapt the traditions such that the Dharma could take root and grow in new soil. This included understanding that most American communities would not support monastics as they do in Asia, and by allowing both married and celibate monastics. The Five Mountain Zen Order continued the experiment in adaptation by allowing precepts ceremonies and teacher-student interactions to be both in-person and online. The Five Mountain Zen Order closed in 2022, after its founder Ven. Wonji Dharma passed. The Ames Buddhist Mahasangha is one of several sanghas that carries on this tradition.