My Review
In 1953 an American business man goes to Japan to find out what Zen is all about. if you think that premise sounds like it might have been ripped from a dime store detective novel your right.
Philip Kapleau takes us on a journey into Zen using a descriptive narrative full of color and intrigue. He populates the first part of the book with his own doubts that can seem a bit silly to someone reading this book 50 years after it was written. But when you settle in, the doubts mirror our own as we search for answers in life. Kapleau is all too human while at the same time possessing a gigantic internal courage.
Kapleau uses numerous meetings (called dokusan ) between the Zen teacher and the pupil to showcase the struggles and the successes each of us may go through on a journey of meditation (Zazen). The stories are unusal in that writings like these are rare in Zen and usually not showcased for public consumption.
Kapleau repeats lectures by one of his teachers Haku'un Yasutani and he introduces the reader to may historical figures from Zen. The book is an easy read but not for those who have a passing interest in Zen. If you are deeply curious about Zen then I highy recomend this book as an entry to the world and teachings of Zen.
The Three Pillars Of Zen
The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 10/07/2008)
"The Three Pillars of Zen heralded the end of armchair Buddhism. With this practical guide to Zen meditation, Roshi Kapleau ushered in the first wave of American zazen practitioners. It was extraordinarily inspiring. It still is."--Helen Tworkov, founding editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and author of Zen in America
Dogen saw Zazen as " the gateway to total liberation"
Rate it, if you dare...
In what is seen there must be just the seen
In what is heard there must be just the heard
In what is sensed there must be just the sensed
In what is thought there must be just the thought
Buddha
Philip Kapleau Roshi's official site
- Rochester Zen Center
- Philip Kapleau Roshi's official site
Philip Kapleau Roshi on Wikipedia
Philip Kapleau (1912 - 2004) was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States and became a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Soto and Rinzai schools. These distinctions are primarily ones of form, since adepts in all schools of Zen aspire to complete enlightenment, known in Sanskrit as "anuttara samyak sambodhi."
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Three Pillars Guestbook
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gmarlett
Another interesting book for my list. Great lens, welcome to the Squidoo All-Stars Group! Posted September 05, 2008 |
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jacquelinestone
Hi, Sonia. Posted September 04, 2008 |
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RebelZen
hey this looks like a great book, will have to check it out Posted August 11, 2008 |
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tdove
Wow this stuff really makes you think. Posted January 02, 2008 |
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