Download or read book Zen in America written by Helen Tworkov and published by Kodansha. This book was released on 1994 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This expanded edition of the highly acclaimed investigation of Zen teaching in America, by the founder and editor of America's first Buddhist magazine, lays bare the issues at the heart of the Zen mission. Through in-depth portraits of five American Zen masters, Tworkov creates a trenchant sociological picture of an important strand of American spiritual life. 27 photos.
Download or read book Thank You and OK written by David Chadwick and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Chadwick, a Texas-raised wanderer, college dropout, bumbling social activist, and hobbyhorse musician, began his study under Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1966. In 1988 Chadwick flew to Japan to begin a four-year period of voluntary exile and remedial Zen education. In Thank You and OK! he recounts his experiences both inside and beyond the monastery walls and offers insightful portraits of the characters he knew in that world—the bickering monks, the patient abbot, the trotting housewives, the ominous insects, the bewildered bureaucrats, and the frustrating English-language students—as they worked inexorably toward initiating him into the mysterious ways of Japan. Whether you're interested in Japan, Buddhism, or exotic travel writing, this book is great fun. To learn more about the author, David Chadwick, visit www.cuke.com.
Download or read book A Glimpse of Nothingness written by Janwillem van de Wetering and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Glimpse of Nothingness, celebrated mystery novelist Janwillem van de Wetering offers a sequel to his earlier memoir, The Empty Mirror, which concerned the author's experiences at a Zen monastery in Japan in the middle 1960s. Originally published in 1975, A Glimpse of Nothingness chronicles van de Wetering's time at the Moon Springs Hermitage in Maine. The book offers a complete and compelling description of the Zen path pursued by one sensitive Westerner who began his quest by seeking for the sense of it all-and who eventually came to realize at least a part of it. The follow-up to this book is van de Wetering's Afterzen.
Download or read book One Bird One Stone written by and published by Renaissance Books. This book was released on 2002-04-20 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One Bird, One Stone is a distinctly American take on the ancient tradition and practice of Zen Buddhism. Drawn from the archives of major Zen centers in America and interviews with some of the most seminal figures of American Zen, including Philip Kapleau, Bernie Glassman, and Walter Nowick, One Bird, One Stone presents the notable encounters between teachers and students, the moments of insight and wisdom, the quotable quotes, and the humor of Zen as it has flowered in America over the last hundred-plus years.
Download or read book The Social Self in Zen and American Pragmatism written by Steve Odin and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1996-01-10 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thesis of this work is that in both modern Japanese philosophy and American pragmatism there has been a paradigm shift from a monological concept of self as an isolated "I" to a dialogical concept of the social self as an "I-Thou relation," including a communication model of self as an individual-society interaction. It is also shown that for both traditions all aesthetic, moral, and religious values are a function of the social self arising through communicative interaction between the individual and society. However, at the same time this work critically examines major ideological conflicts arising between the social self theories of modern Japanese philosophy and American pragmatism with respect to such problems as individualism versus collectivism, freedom versus determinism, liberalism versus communitarianism, and relativism versus objectivism.
Download or read book Two Shores of Zen an American Monk s Japan written by Jiryu Mark Rutschman-Byler and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2010-01-09 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a young American Buddhist monk can no longer bear the pop-psychology, sexual intrigue, and free-flowing peanut butter that he insists pollute his spiritual community, he sets out for Japan on an archetypal journey to find True Zen. Arriving at an austere Japanese monastery and meeting a fierce old Zen Master, he feels confirmed in his suspicion that the Western Buddhist approach is a spineless imitation of authentic spiritual effort. However, over the course of a year and a half of bitter initiations, relentless meditation and labor, intense cold, brutal discipline, insanity, overwhelming lust, and false breakthroughs, he grows disenchanted with the Asian model as well. Two Shores of Zen weaves together scenes from Japanese and American Zen to offer a timely, compelling contribution to the ongoing conversation about Western Buddhism's stark departures from Asian traditions. How far has Western Buddhism come from its roots, or indeed how far has it fallen? www.ShoresOfZen.com
Download or read book America Zen written by Ray McNiece and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an essential collection of contemporary American Zen poetry from thrity poets whose work is shared through biographical statement, Zen statement, photo, and five or more poems each. It's a book that can help you awaken to your natural self.
Download or read book Three Bowls written by Seppo Ed Farrey and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2000 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of the bestselling "Greens" and "Tassajara" cookbooks, eclectic and delicious vegetarian fare is offered by the nation's most traditional Zen Buddhist monastery. Two-color with calligraphy throughout.
Download or read book Taking the Path of Zen written by Robert Aitken and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-12-15 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a fine art to presenting complex ideas with simplicity and insight, in a manner that both guides and inspires. In Taking the Path of Zen Robert Aitken presents the practice, lifestyle, rationale, and ideology of Zen Buddhism with remarkable clarity. The foundation of Zen is the practice of zazen, or mediation, and Aitken Roshi insists that everything flows from the center. He discusses correct breathing, posture, routine, teacher-student relations, and koan study, as well as common problems and milestones encountered in the process. Throughout the book the author returns to zazen, offering further advice and more advanced techniques. The orientation extends to various religious attitudes and includes detailed discussions of the Three Treasures and the Ten Precepts of Zen Buddhism. Taking the Path of Zen will serve as orientation and guide for anyone who is drawn to the ways of Zen, from the simply curious to the serious Zen student.
Download or read book American Dharma written by Ann Gleig and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-26 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past couple of decades have witnessed Buddhist communities both continuing the modernization of Buddhism and questioning some of its limitations. In this fascinating portrait of a rapidly changing religious landscape, Ann Gleig illuminates the aspirations and struggles of younger North American Buddhists during a period she identifies as a distinct stage in the assimilation of Buddhism to the West. She observes both the emergence of new innovative forms of deinstitutionalized Buddhism that blur the boundaries between the religious and secular, and a revalorization of traditional elements of Buddhism such as ethics and community that were discarded in the modernization process. Based on extensive ethnographic and textual research, the book ranges from mindfulness debates in the Vipassana network to the sex scandals in American Zen, while exploring issues around racial diversity and social justice, the impact of new technologies, and generational differences between baby boomer, Gen X, and millennial teachers.
Download or read book Zen Confidential written by Shozan Jack Haubner and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-05-14 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A screenwriter and stand-up comic’s hilarious and profound account of his journey into Zen monkhood—featuring a foreword by Leonard Cohen Shozan Jack Haubner is the David Sedaris of Zen Buddhism: a brilliant humorist and analyst of human foibles, whose hilarity is informed by the profound insights that have dawned on him—as he's stumbled and fallen into spirituall practice. Raised in a truly strange family of Mel-Gibson-esque Catholic extremists, he went on to study philosophy (becoming very un-Catholic in the process) and to pursue a career as a screenwriter and stand-up comic in the clubs of L.A. How he went from life in the fast lane to life on the stationary meditation cushion is the subject of this laugh-out-loud funny account of his experiences. Whether he’s dealing with the pranks of a juvenile delinquent assistant in the monastery kitchen or experiencing profound compassion in the presence of his spiritual teacher, Haubner’s voice is one you'll be compelled to listen to. Not only because it’s highly entertaining, but because of its remarkable insight into the human condition.
Download or read book Zen Mind Beginner s Mind written by Shunryu Suzuki and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2020-06-02 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named one of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century (Spirituality & Practice) A 50th Anniversary edition of the bestselling Zen classic on meditation, maintaining a curious and open mind, and living with simplicity. "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. It is an instant teaching on the first page--and that's just the beginning. In the fifty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern spiritual classics, much beloved, much reread, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics--from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality--in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page.
Download or read book Zen Buddhism written by Daisetz T. Suzuki and published by Harmony. This book was released on 1996-07-01 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No other figure in history has played a bigger part in opening the West to Buddhism than the eminent Zen author, D.T. Suzuki, and in this reissue of his best work readers are given the very heart of Zen teaching. Zen Buddhism, which sold more than 125,000 as an Anchor paperback after its publication in 1956, includes a basic historical background as well as a thorough overview of the techniques for Zen practice. Concepts and terminology such as satori, zazen, and koans, as well as the various elements of this philosophy are all given clear explanations. But while Suzuki takes nothing for granted in the reader's understanding of the fundamentals, he does not give a merely rudimentary overview. Each of the essays included here, particularly those on the unconscious mind and the relation of Zen to Western philosophy, go far beyond other sources for their penetrating insights and timeless wisdom. What is most important about D.T. Suzuki's work, however--and what comes across so powerfully in these selections--is his unparalleled ability to communicate the experiential aspect of Zen. The intensity here with which Zen philosophy comes to life is without parallel in the canon of Buddhist literature. Suzuki stands apart from all teachers before or since because of his exceptional ability to eloquently capture in words the seemingly inexpressible essence of Zen.
Download or read book Afterzen written by Janwillem van de Wetering and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2001-03-08 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Afterzen, van de Wetering provides unorthodox solutions to a collection of classical koans found in Walter Nowick's The Wisteria Triangle. Van de Wetering gives them his own distinctive touch of humor, down to earth reality, and tough spirituality in the context of meeting and adventures with personalities "collaged from bits and pieces of teachers and fellow students who kindly came my way." In this third book of the trilogy, van de Wetering is at his accessible, honest, funny, and genuinely spiritual best.
Download or read book Essential Zen written by Kazuaki Tanahashi and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1994 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best collection of Zen wisdom and wit since Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, this lively introduction to Zen Buddhism has it all. Koans, sayings, poems, and stories by Eastern and American Zen teachers and students capture the delightful, challenging, mystifying, mind-stopping, outrageous, and scandalous heart of Zen. 6 illustrations.
Download or read book The Zen Art Book written by Stephen Addiss and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2009 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "When a Zen master puts brush to paper, the resulting image is an expression of the quality of his or her mind. It is thus a teaching, intended to compassionately stop us in our tracks and to compel us to consider ultimate truth. Here, forty masterpieces of painting and calligraphy by renowned masters such as Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768) and Gibon Sengai (1750–1837) are reproduced along with commentary that illuminates both the art and its teaching. The authors’ essays provide an excellent introduction to both the aesthetic and didactic aspects of this art that can be profound, perplexing, serious, humorous, and breathtakingly beautiful—often all within the same simple piece."--Publisher description.
Download or read book Zen beyond Mindfulness written by Jules Shuzen Harris and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An effective new approach to Buddhist practice that combines the rigor of traditional meditation and study with the psychological support necessary for practice in modern life. Zen teacher Jules Shuzen Harris argues that contemporary American Buddhists face two primary challenges: (1) “spiritual bypassing,” which means avoiding or repressing psychological problems in favor of “pretend Enlightenment,” and (2) settling for secularized forms of Buddhism or mindfulness that have lost touch with the deeper philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the religion. Drawing on his decades of experience as a Zen practitioner, teacher, and psychotherapist, Harris writes that both of these challenges can be met through the combination of a committed meditation practice, a deep study of Buddhist psychological models, and tools from a psychotherapeutic method known as “Mind-Body Bridging.” Using this unique approach, students can do the real work of awakening without either denying their embodied emotional life or missing out on the rich array of insights offered by Buddhist psychology and the Zen practice tradition.
