Entering Zen

Entering Zen
Author: Ben Howard
Publisher:
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2011-04-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780977095674

"The seventy-five essays in this collection first appeared as columns in the Alfred Sun, the community newspaper of Alfred, New York. Part memoir, part almanac, and part primer on meditation, Entering Zen is addressed to anyone who might wish to take up the practice of meditation, or deepen an existing practice, or explore the nuances and complexities of the Zen tradition."--Cover, p.4.

Entering the Mind of Buddha

Entering the Mind of Buddha
Author: Tenshin Reb Anderson
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2019-12-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834842459

An inspiring guide to the practice of the Buddhist paramitas or "perfections" from respected American Zen master Reb Anderson. The six paramitas—generosity, ethical discipline, patience, heroic effort, concentration, and wisdom—are among the core teachings of Buddhism across all its schools. For newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike, they are foundational practices to enter and realize the mind of Buddha. In this sincere and powerful book, Zen teacher Reb Anderson offers teachings and practice stories that elucidate and open up each paramita. Taken together, the six “perfections” form an integrated and complete path—the path of the heroic bodhisattva who vows to practice ceaselessly for the welfare and liberation of all beings.

Simple Zen

Simple Zen
Author: C.Alexander Simpkins
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2016-02-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1462918255

Simple Zen is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to Zen's history, themes, and uses in our modern Western world. Beginning with a history of Zen from the time of its origin to the present, the book goes on to outline the themes and practices associated with Zen, such as koans, meditation, enlightenment, and ethics. The final section of the book, entitled "Living Zen," addresses the ways in which Zen can help us to realize a deeper, fuller life though such artistic activities as poetry, brush painting, the martial arts, tea ceremony, and flower arrangement.

Ten to Zen

Ten to Zen
Author: Owen O'Kane
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2019-10-08
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1452182868

This all-levels meditation guide presents a simple 10-minute practice to reduce anxiety and promote well-being. Drawing on his 20 years as a clinical therapist, author Owen O'Kane offers a unique combination of therapeutic and mindfulness techniques for managing stress, improving mental clarity, and putting an end to unhelpful thought patterns. With step-by-step instructions for each minute of the practice and easy-to-follow exercises for developing a daily meditation routine, Ten to Zen is an empowering handbook for finding peace, clarity, and joy—anytime and anywhere. All it takes is 10 minutes.

The Zen Leader

The Zen Leader
Author: Ginny Whitelaw
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2012-04-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1601636040

A guide to using pressure to be a better leader through principles of Zen Buddhism. Leaders today face nearly impossible tasks. Forced to do more with less, expand globally, innovate quickly, inspire broadly and—oh, yes—balance work and family. How can one manage all this pressure? The Zen Leader does not encourage you simply to “be peaceful.” Neither does it suggest you work harder, faster, or ignore the pressure. Quite the opposite: it’s about using the pressure to propel “flips” in consciousness that create transformational leaders, leaders who create the future with joy and enthusiasm, rather than drive themselves and their people to exhaustion. The Zen Leader guides you through ten “flips” that take you from barely managing to mastering change—not by doing more, zoning out, or pretending you have all the answers. Chapter by chapter, you’ll learn how to make the “flips” that reframe your life, your leadership, and your world. Discover how you can get out of your own way and realize the Zen Leader in you. Praise for The Zen Leader “The Zen Leader provides a calm and reassuring voice—telling us what is important about leadership and about ourselves. She distills leadership to its essence, and offers simple, easily understandable tools for any current or aspiring leader to understand, use, and build on his or her own natural gifts.” —David Dotlich, chairman of Pivot and coauthor of Why CEOs Fail; Head, Heart, and Guts; and other books on leadership “The chapter entitled “From Controlling to Connecting” will change how you interact with others, and will enrich your life. You will see the vision of what you want our world to be and help strengthen the business connections we all need.” —Blythe McGarvie, author of Shaking the Globe “Before you can effectively lead others, you must be able to control yourself first. Dr. Whitelaw invites us on a journey of self-discovery using easy-to-follow exercises. By learning to experience for yourself the power of a unified mind and body, you will begin to taste your full potential.” —David Shaner, author of The Seven Arts of Change

The Backward Step

The Backward Step
Author: Ben Howard
Publisher:
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2014
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780977095612

Published originally as biweekly columns, the fifty essays in this collection bring the age-old practice of Zen to bear upon contemporary life. Whether their immediate subject be shoveling snow or baking bread, the virtues of solitude or the emotional dimension of social media, these lucid, graceful essays explore the manifold ways by which we might take the backward step, shifting our orientation from ego-centered thinking to selfless awareness. Wise and true, writes Roshi Joan Halifax of The Backward Step, this wonderful book transmits the essence of practice realization.

Zen and the Brain

Zen and the Brain
Author: James H. Austin
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 876
Release: 1999-06-04
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780262260350

A neuroscientist and Zen practitioner interweaves the latest research on the brain with his personal narrative of Zen. Aldous Huxley called humankind's basic trend toward spiritual growth the "perennial philosophy." In the view of James Austin, the trend implies a "perennial psychophysiology"—because awakening, or enlightenment, occurs only when the human brain undergoes substantial changes. What are the peak experiences of enlightenment? How could these states profoundly enhance, and yet simplify, the workings of the brain? Zen and the Brain presents the latest evidence. In this book Zen Buddhism becomes the opening wedge for an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of consciousness. In order to understand which brain mechanisms produce Zen states, one needs some understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain. Austin, both a neurologist and a Zen practitioner, interweaves the most recent brain research with the personal narrative of his Zen experiences. The science is both inclusive and rigorous; the Zen sections are clear and evocative. Along the way, Austin examines such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs, and the social consequences of the advanced stage of ongoing enlightenment.

Zen Odyssey

Zen Odyssey
Author: Janica Anderson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2018-01-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1614292744

Explore two lives—and a relationship—that profoundly shaped American Zen. Ruth Fuller Sasaki and Sokei-an Shigetsu Sasaki: two pioneers of Zen in the West. Ruth was an American with a privileged life, even during the height of the Great Depression, before she went to Japan and met D. T. Suzuki. Sokei-an was one of the first Zen priests to come to America; he brought the gift of the Dharma to the United States but in 1942 was put in an internment camp. One made his way to the West and the other would find her way to the East, but together they created the First Zen Institute of America and helped birth a new generation of Zen practitioners: among them, Alan Watts, Gary Snyder, and Burton Watson. They were married less than a year before Sokei-an died, but Ruth would go on to helm trailblazing translations in his honor and to become the first foreigner to be the priest of a Rinzai Zen temple in Japan. With lyrical prose, authors Steven Schwartz and Janica Anderson bring Ruth and Sokei-an to life. Two dozen intimate photographs photos show us two people who aren’t mere historical figures, but flesh and blood people, walking their paths.

Zen Sand

Zen Sand
Author: Victor Sogen Hori
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 785
Release: 2003-02-28
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0824865677

Zen Sand is a classic collection of verses aimed at aiding practitioners of kôan meditation to negotiate the difficult relationship between insight and language. As such it represents a major contribution to both Western Zen practice and English-language Zen scholarship. In Japan the traditional Rinzai Zen kôan curriculum includes the use of jakugo, or "capping phrases." Once a monk has successfully replied to a kôan, the Zen master orders the search for a classical verse to express the monk’s insight into the kôan. Special collections of these jakugo were compiled as handbooks to aid in that search. Until now, Zen students in the West, lacking this important resource, have been severely limited in carrying out this practice. Zen Sand combines and translates two standard jakugo handbooks and opens the way for incorporating this important tradition fully into Western Zen practice. For the scholar, Zen Sand provides a detailed description of the jakugo practice and its place in the overall kôan curriculum, as well as a brief history of the Zen phrase book. This volume also contributes to the understanding of East Asian culture in a broader sense.

Being Upright

Being Upright
Author: Tenshin Reb Anderson
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2016-08-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 193048559X

Written in the tradition of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, this insightful Zen guide explores how we can apply the Sixteen Bodhisattva precepts to our daily lives Being Upright takes us beyond the conventional interpretation of ethical precepts to the ultimate meaning that informs them. Reb Anderson first introduces us to the fundamental ideas of Zen Buddhist practice. Who was Shakyamuni Buddha and what was his central teaching? What does it mean to be a bodhisattva and take the bodhisattva vow? Why should we confess and acknowledge our ancient twisted karma? What is the significance of taking refuge in Buddha, dharma, and sangha? The author explores the ten basic precepts, including not killing, not stealing, not lying, not misusing sexuality, and not using intoxicants. A gifted storyteller, Anderson takes us to the heart of situations, where moral judgments are not easy and we do not have all the answers. With wisdom and compassion, he teaches us how to confront the emotional and ethical turmoil of our lives.