The story of the Buddha has been an inspiration to countless numbers of people. His experience under the Bodhi tree showed him that freedom from suffering is possible in this lifetime. What did the Buddha do? How did he do it? What did he attain?
With Zen, there is really only one way
to find out. We need to experience it for ourselves. In my case, the journey started with meditation and poring through a great many books. While some books were useful, many of the books on Zen were really not that helpful. It turns out waking up is beyond
words, and many of the books I read were trying to explain Zen. The books that stuck with me had a common thread. They pointed to the way to the true self and how to attain it.
After practicing on my own, with much
benefit, for around 15 years, I ran into a keen eyed Zen master. Koan study (Zen
paradoxes, discussed in the book) with Ven. Wonji was added to the mix and much of what I had experienced began to gel. As a result of all this, the title of Zen Teacher was conferred upon me in the Five Mountain Zen Order.
This book is an attempt to distill the
essence of what I have found useful along the way. The ultimate goals being to aid in helping beings to Wake Up, to find what the Buddha found, and to be relieved of suffering here and now.
Topics addressed include:
Topics addressed include:
- What is Zen?
- Meditation
- Skillful Means
- Koan Practice
- Living Zen
- Precepts
- Proper use of the mind
- How Zen can help in our everyday lives
- ...and many more
The book had a good run, but it is no longer being offered. Eventually, parts of it will be posted as blog entries as it is updated.
