Zen Pathways

Zen Pathways
Author: Bret W. Davis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2022-01-10
Genre: Zen Buddhism
ISBN: 0197573681

Preface: Why Write or Read this Book? -- 1. What Really is Zen? Recovering the Beginner's Open Mind -- 2. Previewing the Path of Zen: Know Thyself, Forget Thyself, Open Thyself -- 3. Zen Meditation as a Practice of Clearing the Heart-Mind -- 4. How to Practice Zen Meditation: Attending to Place, Body, Breath, and Mind -- 5. The Buddha's First and Last Lesson: The Middle Way of Knowing What Suffices -- 6. The Buddha's Strong Medicine: Embracing Impermanence -- 7. The True Self is Egoless -- 8. We are One: Loving Others as Yourself -- 9. But We Are Not the Same: Taking Turns as the Center of the Universe -- 10. Who or What is the Buddha? -- 11. Mind is Buddha: So, if You Encounter the Buddha, Kill Him! -- 12. Dying to Live: Zen, Pure Land Buddhism, and Christianity -- 13. Zen as Trans-Mysticism: Everyday Even Mind is the Way -- 14. Engaged Zen: From Inner to Outer Peace -- 15. The Dharma of Karma: We Reap What We Sow -- 16. Zen and Morality: Following Rules to Where There Are No Rules -- 17. Being in the Zone of Zen: The Natural Freedom of No-Mind -- 18. Zen Lessons from Nature: Samu and the Giving Leaves -- 19. Zen and Art: Cultivating Naturalness -- 20. Zen and Language: The Middle Way Between Silence and Speech -- 21. Between Zen and Philosophy: Commuting with the Kyoto School -- 22. Sōtō and Rinzai Zen Practice: Just Sitting and Working with Kōans -- 23. Death and Rebirth--Or, Nirvana Here and Now -- 24. Reviewing the Path of Zen: The Ten Oxherding Pictures -- Endnotes -- Discussion Questions -- Index.

Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy

Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy
Author: Carl Olson
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2000-08-24
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780791446539

Carl Olson is Professor of Religious Studies at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. His previous books include The Indian Renouncer and Postmodern Poison: A Cross-Cultural Encounter and The Theology and Philosophy of Eliade: A Search for the Centre.

Zen Training

Zen Training
Author: Katsuki Sekida
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2005-09-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 083482583X

This pioneering guide to zazen—Zen-style seated meditation—provides practical instructions on how to begin or elevate your practice and progress along the Zen path Zen Training is a comprehensive handbook for zazen, seated meditation practice, and an authoritative presentation of the Zen path. The book marked a turning point in Zen literature in its critical reevaluation of the enlightenment experience, which the author believes has often been emphasized at the expense of other important aspects of Zen training. In addition, Zen Training goes beyond the first flashes of enlightenment to explore how one lives as well as trains in Zen. The author also draws many significant parallels between Zen and Western philosophy and psychology, comparing traditional Zen concepts with the theories of being and cognition of such thinkers as Heidegger and Husserl.

Momma Zen

Momma Zen
Author: Karen Maezen Miller
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2007-11-13
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0834824892

Combining humor, honesty, and plainspoken advice, Momma Zen distills the doubts and frustrations of motherhood into vignettes of Zen wisdom Drawing on her experience as a first-time mother and her years of Zen meditation and study, Karen Miller explores how the daily challenges of parenthood can become the most profound spiritual journey of our lives. Her compelling and wise memoir follows the timeline of early motherhood from pregnancy through toddlerhood. Momma Zen takes readers on a transformative journey, charting a mother’s growth beyond naive expectations and disorientation to finding fulfillment in ordinary tasks, developing greater self-awareness and acceptance—to the gradual discovery of "maternal bliss," a state of abiding happiness and ease that is available to us all. In her gentle and reassuring voice, Karen Miller convinces us that ancient and authentic spiritual lessons can be as familiar as a lullaby, as ordinary as pureed peas, and as frequent as a sleepless night. She offers encouragement for the hard days, consolation for the long haul, and the lightheartedness every new mom needs to face the crooked path of motherhood straight on.

Nietzsche and Zen

Nietzsche and Zen
Author: André van der Braak
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2011-08-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 073916550X

In Nietzsche and Zen: Self-Overcoming Without a Self, André van der Braak engages Nietzsche in a dialogue with four representatives of the Buddhist Zen tradition: Nagarjuna (c. 150-250), Linji (d. 860), Dogen (1200-1253), and Nishitani (1900-1990).In doing so, he reveals Nietzsche's thought as a philosophy of continuous self-overcoming, in which even the notion of "self" has been overcome. Van der Braak begins by analyzing Nietzsche's relationship to Buddhism and status as a transcultural thinker,recalling research on Nietzsche and Zen to date and setting out the basic argument of the study. He continues by examining the practices of self-overcoming in Nietzsche and Zen, comparing Nietzsche's radical skepticism with that of Nagarjuna and comparingNietzsche's approach to truth to Linji's. Nietzsche's methods of self-overcoming are compared to Dogen's zazen, or sitting meditation practice, and Dogen's notion of forgetting the self. These comparisons and others build van der Braak's case for acriticism of Nietzsche informed by the ideas of Zen Buddhism and a criticism of Zen Buddhism seen through the Western lens of Nietzsche - coalescing into one world philosophy. This treatment, focusing on one of the most fruitful areas of research withincontemporary comparative and intercultural philosophy, will be useful to Nietzsche scholars, continental philosophers, and comparative philosophers.

The Path of Aliveness

The Path of Aliveness
Author: Christian Dillo
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2022-05-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834844206

Find a sense of nourishment and embodied aliveness in every aspect of your life with this fresh and accessible guide to Zen practice. Buddhism aims for the development of a flexible mind and skillful responsiveness—whether toward problems in one’s personal life or broader issues like the ecological crisis. But in a culture now saturated with cliches about mindfulness and unrealistic fantasies about happiness, what does it truly mean to walk this path? The key practice is that of embodied aliveness. In The Path of Aliveness, Zen and Taoist Qigong teacher Christian Dillo offers a path of meaningful transformation tailored to our times. Through potent conceptual work and practical examples, he shows how to carefully examine the interrelationship between our senses, body energy, thoughts, and emotions so that we can transform our lives in the direction of less suffering and more freedom, wisdom, and compassion. This secular reconstruction respectfully plumbs Buddhist tradition—including classic teachings such as the foundations of mindfulness meditation, the four noble truths, and the practice of loving kindness—while encouraging practitioners to rely on their own embodied experience for maintaining an alive and engaged presence no matter the circumstances.

Zen Camera

Zen Camera
Author: David Ulrich
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2018-02-13
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0399580336

Zen Camera is an unprecedented photography practice that guides you to the creativity at your fingertips, calling for nothing more than your vision and any camera, even the one embedded in your phone. David Ulrich draws on the principles of Zen practice as well as forty years of teaching photography to offer six profound lessons for developing your self-expression. Doing for photography what The Artist’s Way and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain did for their respective crafts, Zen Camera encourages you to build a visual journaling practice called your Daily Record in which photography can become a path of self-discovery. Beautifully illustrated with 83 photographs, its insights into the nature of seeing, art, and personal growth allow you to create photographs that are beautiful, meaningful, and uniquely your own. You’ll ultimately learn to change the way you interact with technology—transforming it into a way to uncover your innate power of attention and mindfulness, to see creatively, and to live authentically.

Zen

Zen
Author: Osho
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2016-07-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1250130603

In Zen: The Path of Paradox, Osho suggests Zen as a possible bridge between East and West, and between the scientific and the spiritual. “Without science, the East has lost much; without meditation, the West has lost much. I am trying to bring together East and West, because together they will create the whole.” Osho encourages the reader to throw off the accumulated “knowing” of a lifetime—to let go of physical, mental, and emotional tensions, to relax into the flow of an extraordinary discourse and become receptive to the present moment and the potential within. Osho challenges readers to examine and break free of the conditioned belief systems and prejudices that limit their capacity to enjoy life in all its richness. He has been described by the Sunday Times of London as one of the “1000 Makers of the 20th Century” and by Sunday Mid-Day (India) as one of the ten people—along with Gandhi, Nehru, and Buddha—who have changed the destiny of India. Since his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world.

Zig Zag Zen

Zig Zag Zen
Author: Allan Hunt Badiner
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2002-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780811832861

Buddhism and psychedelic experimentation share a common concern: the liberation of the mind. Zig Zag Zen launches the first serious inquiry into the moral, ethical, doctrinal, and transcendental considerations created by the intersection of Buddhism and psychedelics. With a foreword by renowned Buddhist scholar Stephen Batchelor and a preface by historian of religion Huston Smith, along with numerous essays and interviews, Zig Zag Zen is a provocative and thoughtful exploration of altered states of consciousness and the potential for transformation. Accompanying each essay is a work of visionary art selected by artist Alex Grey, such as a vividly graphic work by Robert Venosa, a contemporary thangka painting by Robert Beer, and an exercise in emptiness in the form of an enso by a 17th-century Zen abbot. Packed with enlightening entries and art that lie outside the scope of mainstream anthologies, Zig Zag Zen offers eye-opening insights into alternate methods of inner exploration.