A Primer of Soto Zen

A Primer of Soto Zen
Author: Dōgen
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1979-06-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780824803575

Zen was popularized in the West largely through the writings of Dr. D.T. Suzuki, who followed the school of Rinzai Zen. Although it remains relatively unknown in the West, Soto Zen eventually attracted the greatest number of followers in Japan. With its gentle, more intellectual approach, Soto Zen relies on deep meditation (zazen) rather than the "sudden," direct method (using koan) of Rinzai Zen, in striving for enlightenment. The Shobogenzo Zuimonki consists largely of brief talks, horatatory remarks, and instructional and cautionary comments by the Soto Zen Master Dogen (1200-1253). Translated, shobogenzo means "the eye of the true law." Roughly translated, zuimonki means "easy for the ears to understand," or "simplified."

Opening the Hand of Thought

Opening the Hand of Thought
Author: Kosho Uchiyama
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2005-06-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0861719778

For over thirty years, Opening the Hand of Thought has offered an introduction to Zen Buddhism and meditation unmatched in clarity and power. This is the revised edition of Kosho Uchiyama's singularly incisive classic. This new edition contains even more useful material: new prefaces, an index, and extended endnotes, in addition to a revised glossary. As Jisho Warner writes in her preface, Opening the Hand of Thought "goes directly to the heart of Zen practice... showing how Zen Buddhism can be a deep and life-sustaining activity." She goes on to say, "Uchiyama looks at what a person is, what a self is, how to develop a true self not separate from all things, one that can settle in peace in the midst of life." By turns humorous, philosophical, and personal, Opening the Hand of Thought is above all a great book for the Buddhist practitioner. It's a perfect follow-up for the reader who has read Zen Meditation in Plain English and is especially useful for those who have not yet encountered a Zen teacher.

Hardcore Zen

Hardcore Zen
Author: Brad Warner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2015-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1614293163

Zen, plain and simple, with no BS. This is not your typical Zen book. Brad Warner, a young punk who grew up to be a Zen master, spares no one. This bold new approach to the "Why?" of Zen Buddhism is as strongly grounded in the tradition of Zen as it is utterly revolutionary. Warner's voice is hilarious, and he calls on the wisdom of everyone from punk and pop culture icons to the Buddha himself to make sure his points come through loud and clear. As it prods readers to question everything, Hardcore Zen is both an approach and a departure, leaving behind the soft and lyrical for the gritty and stark perspective of a new generation. This new edition will feature an afterword from the author.

Women Living Zen

Women Living Zen
Author: Paula Kane Robinson Arai
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 266
Release: 1999-08-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 019512393X

Although many Buddhists have made concessions to contradictory religious and social expectations during the twentieth century, these Zen nuns spent much of the century advancing their traditional monastic values by fighting for and winning reforms of the sect's misogynist regulations."--BOOK JACKET.

Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen

Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen
Author: Brad Warner
Publisher: New World Library
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2019-10-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1608686019

The night Brad Warner learns that his childhood friend Marky has died, Warner is about to speak to a group of Zen students in Hamburg, Germany. It's the last thing he feels like doing. What he wants to do instead is tell his friend everything he never said, to explain Zen and what he does for a living and why he spends his time "Sitting. Sitting. Sitting. Meditating my life away as it all passes by. Lighting candles and incense. Bowing to nothing." So, as he continues his teaching tour through Europe, he writes to his friend all the things he wishes he had said. Simply and humorously, he reflects on why Zen provided him a lifeline in a difficult world. He explores grief, attachment, and the afterlife. He writes to Marky, "I'm not all that interested in Buddhism. I'm much more interested in what is true," and then proceeds to poke and prod at that truth. The result for readers is a singular and winning meditation on Zen — and a unique tribute to both a life lost and the one Warner has found.

Crooked Cucumber

Crooked Cucumber
Author: David Chadwick
Publisher: Harmony
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2000-02-08
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0767901053

Shunryu Suzuki is known to countless readers as the author of the modern spiritual classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. This most influential teacher comes vividly to life in Crooked Cucumber, the first full biography of any Zen master to be published in the West. To make up his intimate and engrossing narrative, David Chadwick draws on Suzuki's own words and the memories of his students, friends, and family. Interspersed with previously unpublished passages from Suzuki's talks, Crooked Cucumber evokes a down-to-earth life of the spirit. Along with Suzuki we can find a way to "practice with mountains, trees, and stones and to find ourselves in this big world."

Dogen's Manuals of Zen Meditation

Dogen's Manuals of Zen Meditation
Author: Carl Bielefeldt
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 1990-08-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 052090978X

Zen Buddhism is perhaps best known for its emphasis on meditation, and probably no figure in the history of Zen is more closely associated with meditation practice than the thirteenth-century Japanese master Dogen, founder of the Soto school. This study examines the historical and religious character of the practice as it is described in Dogen's own meditation texts, introducing new materials and original perspectives on one of the most influential spiritual traditions of East Asian civilization. The Soto version of Zen meditation is known as "just sitting," a practice in which, through the cultivation of the subtle state of "nonthinking," the meditator is said to be brought into perfect accord with the higher consciousness of the "Buddha mind" inherent in all beings. This study examines the historical and religious character of the practice as it is described in Dogen's own meditation texts, introducing new materials and original perspectives on one of the most influential spiritual traditions of East Asian civilization.

The Original Frontier

The Original Frontier
Author: Michael Elliston
Publisher: Schiffer + ORM
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2021-02-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1507302177

A practical and accessible manual for integrating Zen practice into everyday life without disrupting your routine. Throw open the gate to the original frontier of your creative mind discovered by Buddha, handed down to successive generations through India, China, and Japan, and now to America, in this age of increasing uncertainty. This always contemporary practice holds the key to surviving, and thriving, in trying times. Zen priest Michael Elliston’s refreshing approach lays out the irreducibly simple method of Zen meditation in easily accessible terms and digestible bites. He covers everything from how Zen differs from popular meditations to designing a contemporary Zen life, and effective workarounds for all your excuses. Based on sound principles of direct sensory immersion, simply sitting still enough for long enough, this user’s manual for Zen is presented step by step, encompassing personal dimensions of practice, as well as social implications for yourself and others. Zen enables you to embrace ambiguity in daily life, and to enjoy benefits to your health and happiness.

Dokusan with Dōgen

Dokusan with Dōgen
Author: Barbara Verkuilen
Publisher: Firethroat Press LLC
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2011
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0983097216