Zen Meditation in Plain English
Author: John Daishin Buksbazen, Peter Matthiessen
List Price: $12.95
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ISBN: 0861713168
Publisher: Wisdom Publications (April, 2002)
Sales Rank: 24,182
Average Customer Rating: 4.86 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
A Zen Tool Kit
This book has been a blessing for me. My organization provides a prison outreach program for inmates,who want to learn meditation,and this is the guide we will be putting in their hands. Daishin has provided the tools that any person, beginner or experienced practioner can use. His list of Frequently Asked Questions addresses those points that some people may feel shy in asking and his illustrations of sitting positions and exercises are most useful When you read the book, you feel he is talking directly to you. His use of quotes from his teacher, the late Maezumi Roshi,brings a deeper understanding of what Zen and the practice of meditation is all about. If you could only choose one book on meditation, I would advise you to give this one serious consideration.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Destined to be a Classic
You can always pretty much guarantee that if Wisdom Books publishes the book, it's guaranteed to be concise and helpful to followers of the "Way" ; and so it is in this book.
This book is destined to become in the future a classic guide for beginner's of Zen meditation. In loving and uncomplicated prose, John Daishin Buksbazen uncovers the actual core of Zen: the straightforward practice of following our breath and in so doing awakening to our life as the Buddha. Zen Meditation in Plain English offers a durable foundation for meditation, illuminating the significance of finding ourselves a good teacher practicing with a community of practitioners, while also giving us instruction on how to practice in the meantime on our own (or in addition to with others). John Daishan Buksbazen was another great student of the late Taizan Maezumi Roshi, one of the most prolific Zen masters of modern times. Don't miss this book! It's a must have for any beginner.
Rating: 4 out of 5
:"Getting Started" Manual for Zen Meditation
Zen has a built in feature that makes it a little difficult to fathom at first. Those who have been practicing a while have developed enough insight that they see things a different way and therefore communicate in a different way. This communication is defined by a lilting, flowery and (in my view) often opaque use of language. The rest of us have a hard time figuring out just what the heck they're talking about. Unfortunately, in order for we "have-nots" to get it, we need some useful instruction from the "haves". This communication gap, if you will, can interfere with the learning process.The title of this book implies an effort to bridge the gap and Buksbazen does a laudable job of delivering the goods. Don't expect an intellectual tour de force. That's not what it's about. Rather, this book is merely a short, simple, plainly-stated guide to getting started with "just sitting". The book is divided into three sections. The first provides a brief history of the Zen movement in Buddhism. The second, the heart of the book, provides some practical advice for the most basic form of Zen meditation, breath counting. The final section gives you some practical advice on continuing your practice within the "meditative community", an essential facet of meditative practice.
I especially appreciated the author's assurance that Zen is not as inaccessible as it might seem to us beginners. Don't worry, he says in effect, just start practicing and as you get better at settling your mind, you will begin to understand more and more. It will take some time and effort, but it will come. If you're looking for a book on different forms of meditation or a discourse on Zen practice, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for an easy "Getting Started:" manual, you might want to give this book a try.
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