Christian Zen is a ground breaking book for all Christians seeking to deepen and broaden their inner lives. Providing concrete guidelines for a way of Christian meditation that incorporates Eastern insights, it is a helpful book that can open new spiritual vistas and reveal profound, often undreamed-of dimensions of the Christian faith.

This work is Storlie's memoir of growing up through the upheavals of the 1960s, a portrait of a generation that turned away from traditional culture and embraced a world of drug-induced states of consciousness, alternative lifestyles, and Eastern spirituality. It begins in Berkeley, experimenting among friends with Zen meditation and LSD. But when chemical enlightenment failed to ignite, Storlie retreated to the wilderness where he realized the importance of meditation practice. For many years Storlie studied under Shunryu Suzuki and Dainin Katagiri, both Zen masters. His intimate portraits of these men combine with accounts of three decades on the Dharma trail, to provide a vivid account of one man's search for meaning in modern America.

Throughout Zen history, stories and anecdotes of Zen masters and their students have been used as teaching devices to exemplify the enlightened spirit. Unlike many of the baffling dialogues between Zen masters preserved in the koan literature, the stories retold here are penetratingly simple but with a richness and subtlety that make them worth reading again and again. This collection includes more than one hundred such stories--many appearing here in English for the first time--drawn from a wide variety of sources and involving some of the best-known Zen masters, such as Hakuin, Bankei, and Shosan. Also presented are stories and anecdotes involving famous Zen artists and poets, such as Sengai and Basho.

The author, one of the foremost writers in the history of religions, intended this book to be the starting point for those searching for a personal religious experience and begins with an examination of the nature of mystical states and their differentiation from drug-induced states. He proceeds to the question of whether there is religious experience to either state. He offers those impatient with a traditional Christianity alternate routes to explore, by examining Zen, the Upanishads, Huxley, Bonhoeffer, Leary, Jung, Teilhard de Chardin, and commenting upon each with his ascerbic wit. This reprint of the 1972 American edition published by Pantheon contains a new foreword by one of Zaehner's former Oxford students, William L. Newell.

Written by the author of The Zen Book and Zen Cards, Zen Life is a compilation of 108 Zen stories and aphorisms, ancient and modern, which are meant to be opened at random and consulted for their wisdom and insights.

A compelling history of the contradictory, often militaristic, role of Zen Buddhism, this book meticulously documents the close and previously unknown support of a supposedly peaceful religion for Japanese militarism throughout World War II. Drawing on the writings and speeches of leading Zen masters and scholars, Brian Victoria shows that Zen served as a powerful foundation for the fanatical and suicidal spirit displayed by the imperial Japanese military. At the same time, the author recounts the dramatic and tragic stories of the handful of Buddhist organizations and individuals that dared to oppose Japan's march to war. He follows this history up through recent apologies by several Zen sects for their support of the war and the way support for militarism was transformed into 'corporate Zen' in postwar Japan. The second edition includes a substantive new chapter on the roots of Zen militarism and an epilogue that explores the potentially volatile mix of religion and war. With the increasing interest in Buddhism in the West, this book is as timely as it is certain to be controversial.

The radical challenge of Zen Buddhism is to drop all assumptions and prejudices and experience the truth directly. American Zen teacher Dennis Genpo Merzel brings new life to this ancient wisdom through his commentaries on a classic Chinese Zen scripture, "Verses on Faith-Mind".

The first book of this two-volume set consists largely of an annotated translation of the Record of the Transmission of Illumination (Denkoroku) by Zen Master Keizan Jokin (1264-1325), presented together with the original Japanese text on which the English translation is based. That text is the recension of the Denkoroku published in Shuten Hensan Iinkai, ed., Taiso Keizan Zenji senjutsu Denkoroku (Tokyo: Sotoshu Shumucho, 2005). The Shumucho edition of the Denkoroku includes some items of Front Matter from earlier published editions, which are included in the English translations. Volume 1 also contains an Introduction that addresses such matters as the life of Keizan, the contents of the Denkoroku, the provenance of that work, and the textual history of its various recensions. In addition, Volume 1 includes a Bibliography that lists many works of modern Japanese- and English-language scholarship that are relevant to the academic study of the Denkoroku. The second volume contains a Glossary in two parts. Part One explains all of the Buddhist technical terms and Zen sayings that appear in the annotated translation of the Shumucho edition of the Denkoroku, found in Volume 1. Part Two treats all of the people, places, and texts that are named in that annotated translation. The Glossary also contains a wealth of material pertaining to the study of Chinese Chan, Japanese Zen, and East Asian Buddhist traditions at large, providing a broader historical context for understanding Keizan's Denkoroku. Published in association with Sotoshu Shumucho, Tokyo.

This title explains how to live your life genuinely, honestly, and happily in the face of the inevitable difficulties that arise. Ezra Bayda is the kind of Zen teacher whose teaching works for just about anyone - you don't need to practice Zen to get it. In this book he focuses on how to live a life of honesty, integrity, and compassion - providing practical advice for doing that in the midst of the difficulties that are 100 percent certain to arise. It's not only possible to live an authentic life in the midst of them - it's the only place an authentic life can ever be lived

Attention, self-consciousness, insight, wisdom, emotional maturity: how Zen teachings can illuminate the way our brains function and vice-versa. When neurology researcher James Austin began Zen training, he found that his medical education was inadequate. During the past three decades, he has been at the cutting edge of both Zen and neuroscience, constantly discovering new examples of how these two large fields each illuminate the other. Now, in Selfless Insight, Austin arrives at a fresh synthesis, one that invokes the latest brain research to explain the basis for meditative states and clarifies what Zen awakening implies for our understanding of consciousness. Austin, author of the widely read Zen and the Brain, reminds us why Zen meditation is not only mindfully attentive but evolves to become increasingly selfless and intuitive. Meditators are gradually learning how to replace over-emotionality with calm, clear objective comprehension. In this new book, Austin discusses how meditation trains our attention, reprogramming it toward subtle forms of awareness that are more openly mindful. He explains how our maladaptive notions of self are rooted in interactive brain functions. And he describes how, after the extraordinary, deep states of kensho-satori strike off the roots of the self, a flash of transforming insight-wisdom leads toward ways of living more harmoniously and selflessly. Selfless Insight is the capstone to Austin's journey both as a creative neuroscientist and as a Zen practitioner. His quest has spanned an era of unprecedented progress in brain research and has helped define the exciting new field of contemplative neuroscience.

Many books have been published in recent years on happiness. Ezra Bayda, a remarkably down-to-earth Zen teacher, believes that the happiness "boom" has been largely a bust for readers. Why? Because it's precisely the pursuit of happiness that keeps us trapped in cycles of dissatisfaction and suffering.
In "Beyond Happiness," Bayda draws on Zen teachings to question our conventional notions about what happiness is and where we can find it. Most of us seek happiness in things that are external to us. We imagine that getting more money, a better relationship, or going on a nice vacation will finally make us happy. But Bayda shows us that the deepest and most lasting form of happiness does not rely on external circumstance at all. Bayda offers Zen insights and practices that point readers toward the true sources of lasting happiness: mindfulness, compassion, gratitude, and generosity.

A rare and vivid narrative of a Buddhist nun's training and spiritual awakening. In this engagingly written account, Martine Batchelor relays the challenges a new ordinand faces in adapting to Buddhist monastic life: the spicy food, the rigorous daily schedule, the distinctive clothes and undergarments, and the cultural misunderstandings inevitable between a French woman and her Korean colleagues. She reveals as well the genuine pleasures that derive from solitude, meditative training, and communion with the deeply religious - whom the Buddhists call ""good friends."" Batchelor has also recorded the oral history/autobiography of her teacher, the eminent nun Son'gyong Sunim, leader of the Zen meditation hall at Naewonsa. It is a profoundly moving, often light-hearted story that offers insight into the challenges facing a woman on the path to enlightenment at the beginning of the twentieth century. Original English translations of eleven of Son'gyong Sunim's poems on Buddhist themes make a graceful and thought-provoking coda to the two women's narratives. Western readers only familiar with Buddhist ideas of female inferiority will be surprised by the degree of spiritual equality and authority enjoyed by nuns in Korea. While American writings on Buddhism increasingly emphasize the therapeutic, self-help, and comforting aspects of Buddhist thought, Batchelor's text offers a bracing and timely reminder of the strict discipline required in traditional Buddhism.

Homer's "Odyssey "holds a timeless allure. It is an ancient story for every generation: the struggle of a man on a long and difficult voyage longing to return to love and family. Odysseus's strivings to overcome both divine and earthly obstacles and to control his own impulsive nature hold valuable lessons for us as we confront the challenges of daily life. "Sailing Home "breathes fresh air into a classic we thought we knew, revealing its profound guidance for the modern seeker.
Dividing the book into three parts--"Setting Forth," "Disaster," and "Return"--Fischer charts the course of Odysseus's familiar wanderings. Readers come to see this ancient hero as a flawed human being who shares their own struggles and temptations, such as yielding to desire or fear or greed, and making peace with family. Featuring thoughtful meditations, illuminating anecdotes from Fischer's and his students' lives, and stories from many wisdom traditions including Buddhist, Judaic, and Christian, "Sailing""Home "shows the way to greater purpose in our own lives. The book's literary dimension expands its appeal beyond the Buddhist market to a wider spiritual audience and to anyone interested in the teachings of myth and story.

Sharing thirty years' experience as a Zen practitioner and teacher, Hamilton offers a variety of practical tools for Zen training to a wide audience. By practising to "untrain our inner parrot", we learn to quiet down - and not take so seriously - ongoing habitual mental chatter. In addition to helpful techniques for learning Zen practice, the author also presents what's at the heart of Zen - waking up to one's daily experience - in a clear, accessible, lighthearted, and humorous style. It's a usable manual for exploring and establishing a beginning sitting practice and includes simple instructions to clarify and elucidate the basics such as: how to develop physical, mental, and emotional awareness of one's mind and actions; how to experience "open" awareness - the objectivity of observing oneself in practice while allowing for a sense of spaciously accommodating whatever occurs; and how to understand and experience the esoteric Zen concept of full-empty awareness - a full appreciation of the primordial nature of all, which is the result of meditation.

Zen rituals--such as chanting, bowing, lighting incense before the Buddha statue--are ways of recognizing the sacredness in all of life. A ritual is simply a deliberate and focused moment that symbolizes the care with which we should be approaching all of life, and practicing the Zen liturgy is a way of cultivating this quality of attention in order to bring it to everything we do. Here, John Daido Loori demystifies the details of the Zen rituals and highlights their deeper meaning and purpose. We humans are all creatures of ritual, he teaches, whether we recognize it or not. Even if we don't make ritual part of some religious observance, we still fall into ritual behavior, whether it be our daily grooming sequence or the way we have our morning coffee and paper. We run through our personal rituals unconsciously most of the time, but there is great value to introducing meaningful symbolic rituals into our lives and to performing them deliberately and mindfully--because the way we do ritual affects the way we live the rest of our lives. The book includes instructions for a simple Zen home liturgy, as it is practiced by students of the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen.

"The sacred radiance of our original nature never darkens.
It has shined forth since beginningless time.
Do you wish to enter the gate that leads to this?
Simply do not give rise to conceptual thinking."
Zen Master So Sahn (1520-1604) is a towering figure in the history of Korean Zen. In this treasure-text, he presents in simple yet beautiful language the core principles and teachings of Zen. Each section opens with a quotation--drawn from classical scriptures, teachings, and anecdotes--followed by the author's commentary and verse. Originally written in Chinese, the text was translated into Korean in the mid-twentieth century by the celebrated Korean monk Boep Joeng. An American Zen monk, Hyon Gak, has translated it into English.

"Wanting Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake" presents never-before published teaching stories by one of the most important Zen masters of our time. Born in Korea, Seung Sahn came to the United States in 1972 and soon established the Kwan Um School of Zen, with centres in Providence, Cambridge, New Haven, New York, Los Angeles and Berkeley. Today there are more than fifty centres of the Kwan Um School throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. In his teaching, Zen Master Seung Sahn emphasized sitting meditation, koan study and compassionate action. He was known for his powerful teaching style, which was direct, surprising and often humorous. For example, Seung Sahn proclaimed to his students, "Enlightenment is a big mistake," meaning that in order to wake up they had to let go of all their preconceptions and ideas - including and especially those about enlightenment. He taught that Zen is not about achieving a goal, but about dwelling in the realm "before thought" and helping others. Zen Master Seung Sahn passed away in 2004, but one of his closest American students has assembled a new collection of teachings stories, dialogues and excerpts from the master's talks.;"Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake" will be cherished by students of the Kwan Um School and by the many Zen students of other schools who enjoyed his popular earlier collection of teaching stories, "Dropping Ashes on the Buddha" (Grove, 1976), and his book on Zen philosophy and practice, "Compass of Zen" (Shambhala, 1997).

Offering an insight into the beauty and mystery of Zen, this collection of conversations includes many beautiful stories that highlight important points with absorbing clarity. Full of absurdities and humor, this book deals with sudden enlightenment--that supreme moment when people cease struggling to understand with their minds and jump wholeheartedly into the abyss--learning to love themselves as the first step toward loving the universe as a whole. Ofrece una perspectiva profunda del Zen, incluyendo historias que personifican los puntos mas importantes de manera interesante. Lleno de humor absurdo, este libro se trata de la ilustracion repentina--ese momento supremo donde dejamos de luchar con nuestras propias mentes y nos adentramos enteramente a lo desconocido, aprendiendo a amarnos a nosotros mismos.

Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi, one of the most highly regarded American Zen teachers, demystifies the experience of enlightenment, teaching that it is none other than the awakening to our true nature, which is ever present and inherent in all of us. Through the practice of meditation, one is able to turn the light of inquiry inward and discover this for oneself. Genpo Roshi lays out this journey of discovery for us-from the first tentative glimpses of Buddha Mind to the full flowering of realized life.
Always practical and down-to-earth, Genpo Roshi shows that following the Buddha Way does not require us to leave behind our ordinary lives. Instead it is a process of integration, learning to flow freely between the many dimensions of our lives so that our existence becomes more meaningful and joyous, and so that we are able to carry the wisdom and compassion we have realized into daily life.

Jizo is an important bodhisattva or "saint" of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Most prominent today in Japanese Zen, Jizo is understood to be the protector of those journeying through the physical and spiritual realms. This bodhisattva is closely associated with children, believed to be their guardian before birth, throughout childhood, and after death.
Here, an American Zen master offers an engaging and informative overview of the history of this important figure and conveys the practices and rituals connected with him, including a simple ceremony for remembering children who have died. Inspired by her own personal experience with Jizo practice, Bays explains how the Buddhist teachings on Jizo can bring peace to those confronted with suffering and loss.

Here is the first major collection of the teachings of Taizan Maezumi Roshi (1931-1995), one of the first Japanese Zen masters to bring Zen to the West and founding abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles and Zen Mountain Center in Idyllwild, California. These short, inspiring readings illuminate Zen practice in simple, eloquent language. Topics include zazen and Zen koans, how to appreciate your life as the life of the Buddha, and the essential matter of life and death.
"Appreciate Your Life " conveys Maezumi Roshi's unique spirit and teaching style, as well as his timeless insights into the practice of Zen. Never satisfied with merely conveying ideas, his "teisho, " the Zen talks he gave weekly and during retreats, evoked personal questions from his students. Maezumi Roshi insisted that his students address these questions in their own lives. As he often said, "Be intimate with your life."
The readings are not teachings or instructions in the traditional sense. They are transcriptions of the master's teisho, living presentations of his direct experience of Zen realization. These teisho are crystalline offerings of Zen insight intended to reach beyond the student's intellect to her or his deepest essence.