Buddhism is not Zen. Mindfulness is not Zen. Zazen meditation is not Zen. Zen is a name that began with Bodhidharma and includes the Zen Patriarchs of China and the Masters that followed him, such as Huang Po and Joshu and the others in the Mumonkan, and even Tung Shan. They taught no practices, no means and no attainment. As Joshu said, "We are all Patriarchs now that Bodhidharma has come." The Zen conversation is characterized by several memes, one of which is the Four Statements of Zen. These memes have largely been abandoned by those who claim to be Zen Buddhists today. Other memes include Negation (no teaching, no attainment, no wisdom), Zen Dialogue or Dharma Combat, Conceptual Thought, and of course Sudden Enlightenment. The Sudden Enlightenment meme is one of the most ignored memes in Zen. The majority of those claiming to teach Zen Buddhism are preaching the Buddhist religion. They preach a path to inner peace, they preach mindfulness, and they put their faith in a practice called zazen sitting meditation. They claim this is Zen. What Zen Masters taught any of this? In contrast, even a brief review of the Zen Masters that we all agree are the beginning of the lineage, Huang Po, Joshu, Mumon, these old men teach no sitting meditation, no inner peace, and only a sudden enlightenment that does not rely on any means and cannot be attained through any effort. This book contrasts the writings of the old Zen Masters with those today who claim to be Zen Buddhists, but are not Zen.

Modern American Zen is in a deplorable state: Zen Masters are now pseudo-celebrities; Dharma Transmission has been co-opted as a branding technique; and worst of all, Zen has degenerated into a lifestyle identity whose primary aim is no longer Buddhahood, but rather the perpetuation of the Zen institution itself. Zen is more interested in establishing orthodoxy and orthopraxy than it is in helping people realize their Buddha Nature. Western Zen has become just as consumer-driven and celebrity-obsessed as the rest of American culture. And the worst part is that no one in the Zen community even seems to notice. Or to care. Brand-Name Zen takes a bold and daring look at the current decadence of modern Western Zen. It poses very important questions regarding the entire Western Zen institution, such as what is the true function of Dharma Transmission? How has zazen become the signature Zen "pose"? How have koans been appropriated as a means to establish and maintain authoritarian power structures? Brand-Name Zen offers an invaluable mirror for Western Zen to evaluate itself. It is a must read for any serious Zen student.

Sokei-an translated the Record of Lin-chi (Lin-chi lu) from 1931 to 1933, in his first series of lectures. He felt that Americans needed original Chinese Zen source materials, translated and commented upon by a Zen master, and there were no such materials in those early days. Sokei-an was the first Zen master to translate the Record of Lin-chi and to give a commentary in English to Western students. The real historic value of Sokei-an's Lin-chi is in his commentary with its manifestation of Lin-chi's Zen.

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.

Blossoming: Dharma Diary Poems Volume II picks up where The Universe for Breakfast, (Volume I) left off, continuing an exploration through mindfulness and realisations into the beauty of Presence. Joy Magezis is an ordained member of the Core Community of the Order of Interbeing, established by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. This collection includes poems about her practice with the Sangha both in Britain and Plum Village, France. An Usui Reiki Master, Joy explores experiences teaching and practicing Reiki. As a long-time socially engaged activist, she writes about movements for Peace and Justice. And her Jewish cultural roots are reflected in this volume. Of The Universe for Breakfast, Here & Now said: 'These poems beautifully reflect her Buddhist commitment and world view, her struggles and their resolution or acceptance...The author does not shy away from addressing political inequalities and brutalities, but she also has an eye or ear for the beauty of the sun, a bird song, dew drops. I found the poems very nourishing...' Joy's poetry has appeared in The Mindfulness Bell, Here & Now, Visions of the City Magazine and in the anthology Summer Times in the Algarve. Her classic Women's Studies text and her novels have been published in various languages.

Varvann er rent i en smaragdstrom manelyset hvitt pa Frostfjell tanker tier og anden blir klar tomhet i sikte og verden blir taus Diktene til Hanshan, Shih-te og Feng-kan kan leses pa mange ulike niva, som zen-refleksjoner over utfordringer langs Veien, som livet til en politisk flyktning som har forlatt alt til fordel for et liv i fjellheimen, eller som en menneskelig lengsel etter et enklere liv i harmoni med naturen. Hanshan ble kjent i Vesten gjennom beat-generasjonens skribenter. Gary Snyder oversatte et utvalg av diktene og pa engelsk ble Hanshan kjent som Cold Mountain. Videre dedikerte Jack Kerouacs Dharma Bums til denne hemmelighetsfulle dikterens minne. Siden etterkrigstiden har Cold Mountain eller Frostfjell fasinert og inspirert zennister, taoister, terapeuter, bohemer og fjellentusiaster i Europa og Amerika med sine gatefulle og innsiktsfulle dikt. I denne boken utgis alle diktene for forste gang pa norsk.

Author H. Grevemberg, a Senior Dharma Teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen, gives a startling account of the path of Zen in a muscular prose in the tradition of Henry Miller and Hunter S. Thompson. "The American spirit of self-reliance goes hand in hand with the mystical tradition of Zen - yet it hasn't found its own bare wire. The best revolution, and the domain of the Zen adept, is an inner one." The Zen Revolution reads like a novel, each compelling chapter revealing another nuance; the whole gamut, from origin to fiery culmination. Delving into both the spiritual and worldly aspects with equal candor, The Zen Revolution takes on the basic question of existence, perhaps the most important question we face. There's a new adventure in every chapter, leading to an eventual breakthrough - something nearly unheard of in the Zen literature of the West.