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I second Domyo Burk's "Zen Studies Podcast." I love it and find her very accessible. Here most recent two podcasts looking at Zen's relationship to our other deeply held convictions was wonderful. I think she has a real pastoral sensibility.
I am also reading her "Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living" It was recommended to me by a teacher at a Zen temple and I'm finding it one of the most complete, practical, and, most importantly, down-to-earth introductions to Zen I've encountered. Sadly, its out of print now....
If I had to recommend just a single text, I would say the Diamond Sutra is the one you should have to accompany the other texts you mentioned. I'm personally a fan of Thich Nhat Hahn's translation.
Everything's a little different for everyone. There's something to be said about getting beyond the distracting aspects of physical discomfort, but also something to be said for making it easier on yourself. I have Klippel Trenaunay Weber in my left leg that makes sitting cross-legged make me lose circulation VERY quickly. So now I prefer to sit in seiza so that it doesn't interfere with the circulation in my legs.
Double up on a zafu, then tighten your legs left and right of the cushion, after you've adjusted your hips and spine. If it works for you, you can get a small padded seiza bench for more convenience.
Saving Zen
The way that Zen is currently written and regarded in the zen sub "..fraudulent, plagiarist.." is in no way accurate to how Bielefeldt describes it. He writes that the Fukanzazengi was "modeled" after the Tso-ch'an. He does not use the words "fraud and plagiarist." Just because Dogen learned from Tsung-tse does not make him a "fraud." Indeed it makes him the exact opposite because that is what learned people are.. "intelligent."
Here is what this portion of the suggested reading section of this sub currently looks like:
- Japanese "Zen-Buddhism" is not Zen
Scholarship:
- Bielefeldt's Dogen's Manuals of Zen Meditation: Dogen didn't study Zen, Dogen invented Zazen prayer-meditation, Dogen was a fraud and a plagiarist.
Obviously this is littered with problems.
Here is what it ought to resemble:
- Zen
Dogen's Manual's of Zen Meditation by Carl Benefeldt: Belefeldt shares his perspective of Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen.
For the full book description check it here: https://www.amazon.com/Dogens-Manuals-Meditation-Carl-Bielefeldt/dp/0520068351
According to the Non-bigoted language rule of reddit the original way that section number 9 is written is completely unacceptable. To make it worse the mods support it!
We must stop this at once!
Repost this infinitely! Wooot!
>Also, you've trained in SFZC or related centers, right? I suspect (from what I've read before) that Dosho's criticism is directed towards lineages descending from Shunryu Suzuki, and so your examples are even more valid against his claim.
Yes, almost exclusively. My first practice experience was in residence at Green Gulch, and my current temple is in Suzuki's lineage. I have much more experience practicing in that lineage that outside of it.
Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of...I'm not sure criticisms is the right word, but concerns with American Soto Zen. Maybe those merit a post of their own, I don't know. And I certainly have criticisms of SFZC. But in fact, so does everyone that I've talked to about American Soto Zen. Jiryu even wrote a book about it!
I have no doubt that Dosho's met some people who are incurious, but I can't believe that's a sectarian thing. Like, I just don't buy that American Soto Zen students are, as a rule, less interested in the truth than, say, Sanbo Kyodan students.
Of books on Obaku zen, Jiang Wu and Helen Josephine Baroni have both written books on it:: https://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Rising-Sun-Chinese-Authenticity/dp/0199393133/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?dchild=1&keywords=jiang+wu+ming+zen&qid=1626301031&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmr0 ; https://www.amazon.com/s?k=helen+josephine+baroni&ref=nb_sb_noss
Cool find! Pretty inexpensive too I might have to snag a copy. I think Cleary translated a small part in Timeless Spring, I'd have to check.
I glanced through the intro & it mentions Yoel Hoffmann did a complete translation of this back in '77 called Every End Exposed: The 100 Koans of Master Kido - With the Answers of Hakuin - Zen
Haha, well, if you haven't given up entirely, Sheng Yen wrote a book (I think more likely a collection of talks from a retreat) on huatou.
https://www.amazon.com/Shattering-Great-Doubt-Practice-Huatou/dp/159030621X
I recommend two books. The first is Infinite Circle by Bernie Glassman and the second is Living by Vow by Shohaku Okumura. Both are larger works but contain extensive commentary on the Heart Sutra that I’ve found insightful and practical. Both are available on Kindle as well.
The others have already told the necessary things - let me say unnecessary.
- Gain - or rather what is it for - learn to control your mind and body. Feel that they are one. Learn to concentrate, focus, clean your mind, give yourself mental discipline.
- We speak about the goal - but the road is also nice. Zazen is very simple and minimalistic so you can do it anywhere - just a quiet place, or maybe a park, a garden + a pillow + something to measure your time. And you are ready to go. It calms you down, wakes you up and gives you good mindset.
- For the best posture - full lotos - you have to stretch your body (your hips) and exercise - which is good by itself. Don't force anything - check on youtube how to stretch properly.
- Zafu - pillow - for a beginner - relatively hard/dense and possibly high (if you are not stretched - and you will be trying half-lotus etc). I have bought this one for my friend lately - check further they should have much more color options.
I personally haven't dealt much with this issue, but I have known others that have, especially those with a strong scientific, intellectual bent. For such people, tackling the problem head-on in an intellectual fashion combined with quieting and simplifying the mind seems to work well. Nagarjuna's a great starting point. If you're not very familiar with his work, I'd suggest this book. His philosophical work forms the basis for Mahayana and Vajrayana and offers a strong argument against nihilism, all-be-it an oddly comforting one. There are also a number of contemplative practices that accompany the text. Greg Goode also is a good accompaniment to a study of this text. It's a much more freestyle, but very fun, accessible, and direct.
At a seshin this past fall I was turned on to these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093WQN9DD/ref=emc_b_5_mob_t
It’s a telescoping stool! I too am a larger individual with some flexibility challenges. This has allowed me to sit seiza style for hours at a time. I have spent a lot of money on benches and cushions trying to find some way to sit on the floor- but nothing has worked as well as this stool. It’s height is adjustable as well, so as you get more flexible you can lower the stool to your new comfort level. It packs flat too!
It’s been a unique challenge to find meditation furniture that fits a body like mine. I hope you find what you’re looking for!
This does not have anything to do with weight. I had this problem when I was 19 and extremely thin.
Its really hard to work with someone on zazen posture over the internet so if you have a local Zen center I would recommend stopping in there and have someone help you with you posture.
If that is not an option, the key think to know is that for most people, if you sit only on the front 1/3 of the zafu, this can avoid the sensation of the legs falling asleep.
I personally have huge problems with legs falling asleep so I sat so far forward on the zafu that it caused me lower back and hip problems from thousands of hours of sitting like that. Now I have permanent damage.
What I do know, is I sit on very soft cushions. I made one myself.
I went to Ikea and bought a bunch of these:
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/justina-chair-pad-gray-70307836/
I cut off the straps and tags from the back and stacked them up. You can add or subtract cushions until you find a height that works for you. Once you have found that height, you can bind them together with two ribbons or wrap them in cloth. I used a stretchy jersey-cloth pillowcase to enclose mine.
It has been a game changer for me. I sometimes feel like a dork carrying this giant cushion around with me, but my back had gotten to the point where I could sit a single session without extreme pain and my legs falling asleep was getting worse. Now I can sit a 7 day meditation retreat with almost no pain.
You can also try a seiza bench too. This have become more and more popular at zen centers over the years.
Here is one I like:
https://smile.amazon.com/Meditation-Bench-Acacia-Wood-Black/dp/B01N97LSYE
I used this for a while. It fixed the problem with my legs falling asleep, but I was still having neve damage in my back so I switched again to my soft cushion solution.
The top two sections in this list would be good:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/wiki/booklist
Also, this is a good one:
https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Plain-Simple-Practice-Being/dp/0804851182
I light incense and sit. I have 30 minute and 45 minute. That's about it.
If you really needed a noiseless timer, here is the watch I use as a soccer referee with vibration alert.
You're in a good spot. Zen is taking off in Brazil. Contact the Temple to ask about retreats and/or Weekend stay-overs. Most important is your initial meditation training. See if they are online at all.
You should read a book or two for inspiration. Opening The Hand of Thought is my go-to beginning book.
Hey I just read that too. (Great book.)
I don't recall how much there is on Vietnam in this book, but I did enjoy it for the historical perspective provided:
https://smile.amazon.com/Circle-Way-Concise-History-Buddha/dp/1611805783/
I found "The Method of No-Method" by Ven. Sheng Yen short and concise at explaining Silent Illumination in plain words.
Zen's Chinese Heritage by Andy Ferguson: https://www.amazon.com/Zens-Chinese-Heritage-Masters-Teachings/dp/0861716175
Also...
- Instant Zen by Foyan
- The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma (a compilation)
- The Blue Cliff Record
- The Book of Serenity
- The Gateless Gate
- Bankei Zen (tr. Peter Haskel)
- Mud and Water: Collected Teachings of Bassui
- Yunmen: Life and Essential Sayings
- Sun-face Buddha: Teachings of Mazu
These are the pants I use to workout in. Yet, these are the most comfortable pair of pants I own and I think they would be perfect for meditation because of how comfortable the fit is.
​
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z1MCB7R?ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details&th=1&psc=1
This recently published children's book is by Kosho Uchiyama student, Shohaku Okumura. Squabbling Squashes
Nan Huai Chin has a commentary on the diamond sutra. I haven't read it yet, but I've read other books of his and found them pretty good.
A very good book is "Buddhism Plain and Simple" - https://www.amazon.com/Buddhism-Plain-Simple-Practice-Being/dp/0767903323
A good book on Buddhism from a Secular perspective is "Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening" - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J3526Y6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
As for Zen in particular:
In "the west" there are basically two styles of Zen: One which views practice as an organic opening up to buddha nature and one that views that its important to have an "awakening" (AKA Kensho) experience which is then followed by gradual integration of the kensho wisdom into daily life. The kensho/integration camp typically makes use of formal koan practice whereas the "organic cultivation" camp makes more use of "just sitting" style practice.
Here is my recommended reading list from the two perspectives:
-- Organic Cultivation --
- Everyday Zen - Joko Beck
- Nothing Special - Joko Beck
- What is Zen? - Norman Fischer
- Zen Mind, Beginners Mind - Shunryu Suzuki
- Opening the Hand of Thought - Kōshō Uchiyama
-- Kensho/Integration --
- Novice to Master - Soko Morinaga Roshi
- Three Pillars of Zen - Philip Kapleau
- The Rinzai Zen Way - Meido Moore
- The Authentic Gate - Yamada Koun
- One Blade of Grass (Zen Memoir) - Henry Shukman
- The Undying Lamp of Zen - Tōrei Enji
I recommend The Heart of The Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
One more thing:
Check out this book:
"What Is Zen?: Plain Talk for a Beginner's Mind" by Norman Fischer and Susan Moon.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01BMYXTUA
It is a great introduction to western Soto practice.
You might be interested in this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Householder-Koans-Waking-Attachments/dp/194862608X
The Book of Householder Koans is a collection of koans created by 21st century Zen practitioners living a lay life in the West. The koans deal with the challenges of relationships, raising children, work, money, love, loss, old age, and death, and come from practitioners across three continents, and with commentaries by two Western female teachers.
[*Zen has no business with reading*](https://quotefancy.com/quote/1521301/D-T-Suzuki-Zen-has-no-business-with-ideas) <== link
This book has helped me a LOT in understanding the lotus sutra and what it says.
Contemporary Sanbo Zen has very high standards in certifying teachers. I would trust anyone who has been through that process to have experienced legitimate Awakening and to have actualized it in their life.
The School was started by Yasutani Roshi and places a premium on a clear kensho experience as a starting point into a koan curriculum influenced by a similar system in Rinzai Zen. It can be an intense process and one that is potentially fraught with dangers for those with some unresolved anxiety or trauma injury. In my (hopefully somewhat educated) opinion, someone in that situation would probably be better off starting off with a more mindfulness-oriented practice.
As far as my direct experience Ive worked a bit with a teacher in Diamon Sangha which is very similar to Sanbo in style and spirit (it broke off from Sanbo in the late 70s or early 80s). Ive also had some interaction with Henry Shukman who is a north American Sanbo lineage holder. His memoir (https://www.amazon.com/One-Blade-Grass-Finding-Memoir-ebook/dp/B07N8ZGFQB) is a good look at what Sanbo Zen can be like. You can also check out Three Pillars of Zen (https://www.amazon.com/Three-Pillars-Zen-Roshi-Kapleau-ebook/dp/B00H129592) which is a collection of Yasutani's teachings.
You're bringing in examples of things that aren't meditation. The point was about the nature of meditation. So once again you're strawmanning.
Shikantaza might be an "expression" of both (I don't really know what that means) but that doesn't mean it suddenly has an objective. It absolutely does not, and if you introduce an objective, you're not doing shikantaza.
Brad Warner has a chapter in Sit Down and Shut Up (I believe that's the one) called "Goal/No Goal" where he addresses the issue and argues that meditation has no goal. Adyashanti discusses it too in several of his books including True Meditation (and defines it that way), and Alan Watts discusses it as well when he talks about the "point of meditation" is always arrived at in the moment. You can also find a great discussion in "the method of no method" by Sheng Yen. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590305752/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_M3T60PDH24VW563C7Z04
You can have the final word if you'd like.
I recommend this book (he says as he posts a link to Amazon, whose business practices and treatment of workers is questionable at best)...
https://www.amazon.com/Engaged-Spiritual-Life-Transforming-Ourselves/dp/0807077259
It is Buddhist in general, not Zen-specific, but it's very practical and has good discussion and consideration of the impacts of the Precepts on different scales, from personal relationships up to the broader world.
Absolutely check out Domyo Burk’s podcast. Found it when I was looking for a kind of “daily Zen” resource & while not a daily episode type of podcast, it definitely proves thought provoking and relatable. Burk has that down to earth teacher vibe that makes listening to teachings enjoyable.
If you’re interested in daily journaling, I suggest looking at Bonnie Myotai Treace’s A Year of Zen. Unlike most journal books out there, Treace’s isn’t “Pick 3 Goals and Crush Them This Week” type of writing. Some of the entries may clearly reflect concepts from Zen teachings while others encourage exploring emotions and thoughts. It also helps that the book itself is beautifully illustrated. Like Burk, Treace’s approach provides depth and accessibility. Hope these recommendations help!
I've read this translation of the work and I loved it. Reading through it it felt cut from the same cloth as Zen, Shantideva being an adherent of Madhyamaka.
The verse structure is dense and to the point. The translation I read was clear and punchy, inspiring material. I definitely recommend it.
If you want some zen teachings on the afterlife, the book The Zen of Living and Dying: A Practical and Spiritual Guide is one source of such information.
Cheri Huber has written brilliant books in plain English about Zen, specifically for teens. I would start here personally. The book is called There's Nothing Wrong With You (for teens) and it's easy to read.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0963625594/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_WGW0SBBPMJWH255J27FY
a.Huangbo
b.Huang Bo
c.Xyiun
d.Huangpo
User here Chintogkong has $5 translation on Amazon, I like personally Blofeld traslation, this one has original Chinese text also and comments from contemporary Korean zen master.
Sigh. This simply isn't true. Maybe the emphasis hasn't been on magic, but divination, healing, communication with spirits, etc. has been a part of most Buddhist schools since the beginning. Of course, most modern Westernized Buddhists downplay such things, but that doesn't change their historical importance & current reality in Asia.
https://www.amazon.com/Buddhist-Magic-Divination-Healing-Enchantment/dp/1611808251
The quality of the teachers is generally very high. The school in general is very much focused on kensho and a formal koan curriculum.
Check out the following book. It's a spiritual autobiography of one of the teachers in the school:
https://www.amazon.com/One-Blade-Grass-Finding-Memoir/dp/1640092625
Also if you have read three pillars of Zen, it's based on the teachings of the founder of the school.
If you have not read it I would recommend it.
I have found practicing lojongs to be extremely helpful for this due to their pragmatism. It is truly almost like a manual. It definitely takes some time to understand what the aim is as well as time for your mental habits to change but it is well worth the effort in my experience. this is the most exhaustive text I’ve found on Lojongs I highly recommend it, but there are plenty of others that have been written more recently. this book gives a great overview of lojong practice and talks a lot about bodhicitta
Again, these are Tibetan Buddhist resources, so in reading them the tone and means by which they communicate are pretty different than most zen texts I have encountered.
I'm kind of curious about your motivation in asking this question. Most schools of Buddhism share overlapping sets of practices taken from the vast corpus of techniques: sitting meditation, chanting, mudra, concentration/insight meditation, etc.
From Zen's own point of view, it is ekayana, the universal vehicle - able to choose whatever skillful means are appropriate to help one see the Buddha Nature and to deepen/integrate that insight. So it's perhaps a mistake to look for a sort of "special sauce" in Zen. Imho, the unique approach in most Zen lineages are their shared emphasis on approaching liberative insight as directly as possible, using a variety of means.
That being said, Rinzai Zen in particular places a special emphasis on awakening through the body. There is energy work, somatic practice (martial arts, fine arts), and an amazing variety of techniques of Direct Pointing. As Meido Moore puts it in the linked book above:
> "Direct pointing at the human mind" refers generally to the ways in which Zen students are made to turn around the light of their own awareness to arrive at kensho. This activity - the arrange of the student's conditions in order to enter awakening - constitutes the primary initial task of a Zen teacher.
I recommend "Opening the Hand of Thought" https://www.amazon.com/Opening-Hand-Thought-Foundations-Buddhist-ebook/dp/B003XKN696/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=opening+the+hand+of+thought&qid=1604061691&sr=8-1
by Kosho Uchiyama. His background in Christian Ministry and Soto Zen Buddhism is an interesting insight into the differences in Zen and Buddhism, and Religion and Philosophy.
Zen: The Authentic Gate is a wonderful description of the practice, history, and debates in Zen. Perfect for beginners and advanced Zen Buddhists.
I think emptiness can also be seen as another word for dependent origination; nothing exists independently with clear edges. Hua yen and T'ien tai seem to talk about that.
Here's a cool quote from Emptiness and Omnipresence by Brook Ziporyn:
>Whatever you think, whatever you can think, about any individual thing, is necessarily wrong. Why? Because the very first premise is wrong: the premise that there is a thing here at all, in the way we think of things.
>
>How do we think of a "thing"? As persisting through time, as underlying and possessing its characteristics, as having definite borders, as arising and perishing at one time and place, being any one way rather than another on its own power, from its own side.
>
>What is a thing? A thing is whatever has the power to exclude another thing.
Only $4.45 on Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Three-Hundred-Mile-Tiger-Translation-Commentary-Sokei-ebook/dp/B0792K58S1/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Sample at Google Books: https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=RTGGAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false
Hey
You should be able to pick up a copy on amazon (ugh) for £14.99
Master Dogen's Shobogenzo: Volume 1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1419638203/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3KfuEbPSGS1KQ
I’d also recommend ...
Master Dogen's Shinji Shobogenzo: 301 Koan Stories https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0952300265/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_OMfuEbA4FDT8D
The translation for this chapter is very dubious. It’s unclear how he renders “pāpa” to be “mischief.” The chapter is titled Pāpavagga, which translations to “A chapter (about) sin” or literally “sin” + “chapter of a book”. Pāpa can also be rendered as “evil”, which is how Acharya Buddharakkhita’s translation renders it. This translation is the closest to the original Pāli. I think, but could be wrong, that this translation is from the apocryphal Gil Fronsdal liberal interpretation which objects more of his relativistic worldview than is an honest translation of the Buddha’s words.
Having come to and from Soto Zen tradition, I’ve seen honest seekers falter in not ascertaining the meaning of the Buddha’s words due to lack of knowledge in Pāli. I would highly recommend the translation above over the one in the You Tube video here, which is very watered down and inaccurate.
Sure thing. Kind of a big pocket, though...
https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Bodhisattvas-Way-Life-Altruism/dp/0948006889
It's probably twice the height of a book you might consider pocket-sized. I think of it that way because it's pretty durable, bendy, and not wider than a back pocket or a jacket pocket.