Zen Under the Gun

Zen Under the Gun
Author:
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2010-01-13
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0861715926

This book, from one of the pioneering and preeminent translators of Zen for the West, presents a selection of Zen lessons from four teachers in four successive generations. More than just a book on Zen philosophy, "Zen Under the Gun" spans the turbulent period in Chinese history from the last generation of the Song dynasty (overthrown by the Mongols in 1279) to the first generation of the Ming dynasty (which drove out the Mongols, and proclaimed its own reign in 1368). These four Zen masters were all eminent public teachers, and their teaching words reflect the state of China and the art of Zen in their time.

Instant Zen

Instant Zen
Author:
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 161
Release: 1994-10-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1556431937

Instant Zen presents the teachings of Foyan, a twelfth-century Chinese Zen master recognized as one of the greatest masters of the Song dynasty Zen renaissance in China. Returning to the uncomplicated genuineness of the original and classical Zen masters, Foyan offers many simple exercises in attention and thought designed to lead to the awakening of Zen insight into the real nature of the self. These succinct teachings emphasize independence and autonomy, and show us how to open our own eyes and stand on our own two feet, to see directly without delusion and act on truth without confusion. Translator Thomas Cleary provides an incisive introduction and extensive references from traditional Zen sources, placing the work in both historical and contemporary contexts. Newcomers to Zen will find this book a useful and sophisticated introduction to authentic inner Zen practices from an impeccable source, without cultural exoticism or religious cultism. Instant Zen sheds new light on this vital tradition, making available the immediacy of Zen practice and unveiling our innate potential for conscious awakening.

Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit

Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit
Author: Robert Kennedy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2021-06-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1635579910

A new revised edition of the classic title on Zen and Christian living. Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit is a study of the intersection between Zen Buddhism and Christianity. Robert Kennedy explores how Zen can help us to live deeper lives and how we can return from a study of Zen to a more profound understanding of Christian living and practice. "What I looked for in Zen," says the author, "was not a new faith, but a new way of being Catholic that grew out of my own lived experience and would not be blown away by authority or by changing theological fashion." Kennedy is unique in being competent in both Catholic and Zen practice and who responds to people who are drawn to this form of prayer and life. This is a refreshingly simple but also most beautiful book.

The Zen Gun

The Zen Gun
Author: Barrington J. Bayley
Publisher: Gateway
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2013-07-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0575102144

Pout, the chimera, half-man, half-ape, was incorporated into one of the plants or vice versa. He was jammed into a squatting position, while the stems, entering at his buttocks, merged with his legs, his arms and his torso, emerging at knees, elbows, and through his abdomen and thorax. A large, yellow-petalled flower seemed to frame his face. It was his face that rivetted Ikematsu's attention, while the chimera squirmed in dumb distress, glaring with huge piteous eyes. For in that face, set into it as if set in pudding, was the zen gun. The gun was his face, or a part of it. The barrel pointed straight out in place of a nose... the stock merged with and disappeared into Pout's pendulous mouth. Ikematsu leaned toward the chimera. "How you loved your toy! Now it is truly yours!"

Come and Take It

Come and Take It
Author: Cody Wilson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2017-06-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476778272

Cody Wilson, a self-described crypto-anarchist and rogue thinker, combines the story of the production of the first ever 3D printable gun with a philosophical manifesto that gets to the heart of the twenty-first century debate over the freedom of information and ideas. Reminiscent of Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman, Cody Wilson has written a philosophical guide through the digital revolution. Deflecting interference from the State Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the story of Defense Distributed -- where Wilson's employees work against all odds to defend liberty and the right to access arms through the production of 3D printed firearms -- takes us across continents, into dusty warehouses and high rise condominiums, through television studios, to the Texas desert, and beyond.

Zen City

Zen City
Author: Eliot Fintushel
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2016-06-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1785353519

The world of ZEN CITY is a world of passionate desires: the desire for power, the desire for order, and the desire for self-transcendence. ZEN CITY is a story about the struggle and violence of people who see themselves as striving for the ultimate. Along the way, ZEN CITY presents a sly critique of the practice and perversions of imported spirituality in twentieth-century America.

Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record

Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record
Author: Thomas Cleary
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2002-12-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834828839

The Blue Cliff Record is a classic text of Zen Buddhism, designed to assist in the activation of dormant human potential. The core of this extraordinary work is a collection of one hundred traditional citations and stories, selected for their ability to bring about insight and enlightenment. These vignettes are known as gongan in Chinese and koan in Japanese. Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record is a fresh translation featuring newly translated commentary from two of the greatest Zen masters of early modern Japan, Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768) of the Rinzai sect of Zen and Tenkei Denson (1648–1735) of the Soto sect of Zen. This translation and commentary on The Blue Cliff Record sheds new light on the meaning of this central Zen text.

The Gun

The Gun
Author: Fuminori Nakamura
Publisher: Soho Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2016-01-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1616955910

A Tokyo college student’s discovery and eventual obsession with a stolen handgun awakens something dark inside him. On a nighttime walk along a Tokyo riverbank, a young man named Nishikawa stumbles on a dead body, beside which lies a gun. From the moment Nishikawa decides to take the gun, the world around him blurs. Knowing he possesses the weapon brings an intoxicating sense of purpose to his dull university life. But soon Nishikawa’s personal entanglements become unexpectedly complicated: he finds himself romantically involved with two women while his biological father, whom he’s never met, lies dying in a hospital. Through it all, he can’t stop thinking about the gun—and the four bullets loaded in its chamber. As he spirals into obsession, his focus is consumed by one idea: that possessing the gun is no longer enough—he must fire it.

The Dude and the Zen Master

The Dude and the Zen Master
Author: Jeff Bridges
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2013-01-08
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1101600756

The perfect gift for fans of The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges's "The Dude", and anyone who could use more Zen in their lives. Zen Master Bernie Glassman compares Jeff Bridges’s iconic role in The Big Lebowski to a Lamed-Vavnik: one of the men in Jewish mysticism who are “simple and unassuming,” and “so good that on account of them God lets the world go on.” Jeff puts it another way. “The wonderful thing about the Dude is that he’d always rather hug it out than slug it out.” For more than a decade, Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges and his Buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue and remarkable humanism in a book that reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world.

The Zen of Listening

The Zen of Listening
Author: Rebecca Z Shafir
Publisher: Quest Books
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2012-12-20
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0835630072

TV, radio, traffic, telephones, pagers - our minds are bombarded daily by constant noise and clutter. No wonder so many people find it increasingly difficult to listen and comprehend. Simple pieces of information such as names go "in one ear and out the other." Poor listening may have tragic consequences such as the Challenger disaster and the Potomac River crash of 1982, or it can result in smaller tragedies such as lost promotions, stalled marriages, and troubled children. Rebecca Shafir assures us that we can transform every aspect of our lives, simply by relearning how to listen. The Zen of Listening is grounded in the Zen concept of mindfulness, a simple yet profound way of learning how to filter our distractions and be totally in the present. Rather than a list of tricks, this book is an all-encompassing approach allowing you to transform your life. Readers will be amazed at how simply learning to focus intently on a speaker improves the relationship, increases attention span, and helps develop negotiating skills. Learn the great barricades of misunderstanding, find out how to listen to ourselves, discover how to listen under stress, and boost our memory. This is a fun and practical guide filled with simple strategies to use immediately to enjoy our personal and professional lives to the fullest.