My Review
Zen Mind Beginners Mind fell in to my lap one rainy afternoon. It was the late fall of 2005 and nothing has been the same and nothing has been different since I read and reread it.
Make no mistake this is not some quick self help book, though it sure can be helpful. It really is nothing more then a little old Zen Master giving a bunch of lectures that don't solve anything but sure do point to a road that you just might find interesting.
It is quite difficult to write about a book that paints a picture that moves away from thinking about things in black and white, yes and no, or good and bad. I just need to remind myself that I'm talking with you about the book Zen Mind Beginners Mind and not trying to explain Zen.
Taking in mind the last sentence makes it all clear. Zen Mind Beginners Mind is a simple series of lectures that may help the reader to see reality a bit clearer (it did that for me). Zen Mind Beginners Mind is a simple series of lectures built around the idea, accept nothing till you verify it for yourself.
The idea of not accepting anything till you verify it yourself is one of the bright lights of Zen and creates a huge chasm between itself and other paths on spiritual journeys. Shunryu Suzuki is very clear in the book that Buddhism uses this as the foundation of everything that will come after it.
The lectures in Zen Mind Beginners Mind are all very short allowing the reader to digest a part before they move on. I have the audio version on my Mp3 player and will play it from time to time on long walks.
I highly recommend and encourage everyone new to Zen or to those who may have read Zen Mind Beginners Mind years ago, pick it up and read it or reread it for the first time.
Shunryu Suzuki
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; but in the expert's there are few."
The Spotlight is On "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library)
Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 11/25/2009)
A respected Zen master in Japan and founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, Shunryu Suzuki has blazed a path in American Buddhism like few others. He is the master who climbs down from the pages of the koan books and answers your questions face to face. If not face to face, you can at least find the answers as recorded in Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, a transcription of juicy excerpts from his lectures. From diverse topics such as transience of the world, sudden enlightenment, and the nuts and bolts of meditation, Suzuki always returns to the idea of beginner's mind, a recognition that our original nature is our true nature.
"When we have no thought of achievement,
no thought of self, we are
true beginners."
Rate it, if you dare...
Just A Thought
what ever we see is changing.
Shunryu Suzuki on Wikipedia
Shunryu Suzuki (?? ?? Suzuki Shunry?, dharma name Sh?gaku Shunry? ????) (May 18, 1904 - December 4, 1971) was a S?t? Zen roshi (priest) who popularized Zen Buddhism in the United States, particularly around San Francisco. Born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, Suzuki was occasionally mistaken for the Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki, to which Suzuki would reply, "No, hes the big Suzuki, I'm the little Suzuki."Chadwick'', xiii
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Table of Contents
a glance at what is in the book
Part 2 Right Attitude 5 Chapters
- Posture
- Breathing
- Control
- Mind Waves
- Mind Weeds
- The Marrow of Zen
- No Dualism
- Bowing
- Nothing Special
- Single-Minded Way
- Repetition
- Zen and Excitement
- Right Effort
- No Trace
A Few Books on Zen
Vote for your favorites, or add any I missed.
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library) by Shunryu Suzuki
"In the beginner's mind there are many possib more...1 point
Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen
Simple and outstanding. Highly recommended." more...0 points
The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment by Philip Kapleau Roshi
Through explorations of the three pillars of Zen-- more...0 points
Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality by Brad Warner
This is nor your average Zen book full of feel goo more...0 points
The Iron Flute: 100 Zen Koans by Ruth Strout McCandless, Genro Oryu, Fugai, Steve Hagen
Koans are the intellectually unsolvable problem-ri more...0 points
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Spotlight on Zen Flesh Zen Bones (Recommended)
Zen Flesh Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/25/2009)
The essence of Zen--as a way of life, a religion, an aesthetic--can be found in the works of the Zen canon. Reps draws short stories and vignettes from such classic works as The Gateless Gate and 101 Zen Stories to help listeners come closer to answering the question: What is Zen? Peter Coyote, a student of Zen for more than 20 years, is well suited as a narrator of these tales.
Zen Mind Guestbook
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Reply
- webnh webnh Oct 15, 2009 @ 9:16 am | in reply to aaimeep
- thanks for stopping by, Shunryu Suzuki was part of the Soto school. The Soto school emphasizes just sitting as practice with much less emphasis on using koans that you would find in the Rinzai school
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Reply
- aaimeep aaimeep Oct 15, 2009 @ 5:59 am
- Very nice!
What line of Zen is this part of - Rinzai or Soto? I have been trying to comprehend some of the differences between those styles. I am meditating with a 'stare-at-the-wall-Soto-group', but don't know much about it yet :).
Lensrolled this site to: http://www.squidoo.com/verdant-mountains
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Reply
- jacquelinestone jacquelinestone Jul 4, 2009 @ 4:25 pm
- Hi, Joseph.
I appreciate all the helpful Zen information you've gathered here. This is a great resource.
Going through my guest books, after a long time off of Squidoo, I saw that you blessed one of my lenses. Thank you so much for that.
I'm making a lens on SquidAngels. which of your lenses would you like shown on it?
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Reply
- Treasures-By-Brenda Treasures-By-Brenda Apr 14, 2009 @ 7:22 pm
- Nicely done lens; blessed by a SquidAngel.
Brenda
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Reply
- rydigga rydigga Apr 12, 2009 @ 9:14 am
- Hi,
Super lens. I've heard great things about this book, it was referenced a few times in a Ram Dass book that I've read. Thanks for sharing :)
Ryan
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Spotlight on Sit Down and Shut Up
Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/25/2009)
Warner, a Zen priest, author (Hardcore Zen) and former punk rock bassist, has a very distinctive voice. It may be off-putting to some to think about Buddha and a bunch of Zen masters, including esteemed 13th-century Japanese Zen master Dogen, as dudes riffing on "whiz-bang-with-cheese-on-top-enlightenment." But for the patient, curious and those for whom Warner's slash-the-crap style is their cup of green tea, this Zen punk book offers provocation and reward. Warner ambitiously presents something close to textual commentary on a key text by Dogen while teaching on anger, sex, loving-kindness, dependent arising and other familiar Buddhist themes.
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