Great Doubt

Download or read book Shattering the Great Doubt written by Sheng Yen and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2009-05-12 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Huatou is a skillful method for breaking through the prison of mental habits into the spacious mind of enlightenment. The huatou is a confounding question much like a Zen koan. Typical ones are "What is wu [nothingness]?" or "What was my original face before birth-and-death?" But a huatou is unlike a koan in that the aim is not to come up with an answer. The practice is simple: ask yourself your huatou relentlessly, in meditation as well as in every other activity. Don't give up on it; don't try to think your way to an answer. Resolve to live with the sensation of doubt that arises, and it will pervade your entire existence with a sense of profound wonder, ultimately leading to the shattering of the sense of an independent self. Master Sheng Yen brings the traditional practice to life in this practical guide based on talks he gave during a series of huatou retreats. He teaches the method in detail, giving advice for dealing with the typical pitfalls and problems that arise, and answering retreat participants' questions as they experience the practice themselves. He then offers commentary on four classic huatou texts, grounding his instructions in the teaching of the great Chan masters.

Download or read book Great Doubt written by Yuanlai and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-07-26 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intro -- Title -- Table of Contents -- Foreword by Brad Warner -- Introduction -- TRANSLATION -- Exhortations for Those Who Don't Rouse Doubt -- Exhortations for Those Who Rouse Doubt -- COMMENTARY -- A Commentary on Exhortations for Those Who Don't Rouse Doubt -- A Commentary on Exhortations for Those Who Rouse Doubt -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author -- Also Available from Wisdom Publications -- About Wisdom Publications -- Copyright

Download or read book Great Doubt written by Boshan and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-07-26 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening. “In this brief but remarkably thorough book, Boshan puts into words what it means to truly doubt. Not just to be skeptical—but to push all the way to the very foundations. Anyone interested in Zen can learn a whole lot from this little book.” —from the foreword by Brad Warner, author of Hardcore Zen “Great doubt and great faith are foundations of Zen practice. This great gift of a book provides essential checkpoints along the path.” —Grace Schireson, author of Zen Women “Upbeat, insightful, and inspiring teachings—a rich resource for all Buddhist practitioners.”—Richard M. Jaffe, Duke University, author of Neither Monk nor Layman “Boshan addresses the reader directly with vivid metaphors and stern (sometimes humorous) admonishments. He pulls no punches… These concise texts, not previously available in their entirety in English, offer classic wisdom for those exploring the Zen paths.”—Publishers Weekly “A classic Chinese text with clear—and inspiring—commentaries”—Thomas Yuho Kirchner, translator of Entangling Vines

Download or read book Shattering the Great Doubt written by Chan Master Sheng Yen and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2009-05-12 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Huatou is a skillful method for breaking through the prison of mental habits into the spacious mind of enlightenment. The huatou is a confounding question much like a Zen koan. Typical ones are "What is wu [nothingness]?" or "What was my original face before birth-and-death?" But a huatou is unlike a koan in that the aim is not to come up with an answer. The practice is simple: ask yourself your huatou relentlessly, in meditation as well as in every other activity. Don't give up on it; don't try to think your way to an answer. Resolve to live with the sensation of doubt that arises, and it will pervade your entire existence with a sense of profound wonder, ultimately leading to the shattering of the sense of an independent self. Master Sheng Yen brings the traditional practice to life in this practical guide based on talks he gave during a series of huatou retreats. He teaches the method in detail, giving advice for dealing with the typical pitfalls and problems that arise, and answering retreat participants' questions as they experience the practice themselves. He then offers commentary on four classic huatou texts, grounding his instructions in the teaching of the great Chan masters.

Download or read book What the Ancestors Knew written by Joanne P. Miller and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-11-30 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is intended to engender debate. Its subject, faith in a modern Buddhist context, almost always carries with it the widespread but erroneous assumption that it is completely unimportant to the Buddhist path. Without really knowing what it is and how it differs from theistic versions, faith has been given a bad name. Moreover, naivety regarding the colonial orientalist agenda and bias of early Zen exegetes in the West has allowed modern Zennists to accept, almost unquestioningly, the view that faith and knowledge occupy opposite ends of the practice spectrum. As a result, trusted and authentic sources of authority, Zen ancestors and sutras, have often been prevented from speaking about a doctrinally sound and legitimate tool of realization mentioned in a stunningly large amount of sutras. It has also resulted in an erroneous and often condescending view of “faith schools” of Buddhism. Now is the perfect time in Zen’s journey in the West to reassess and address these shortcomings.

Download or read book Zen Master Who? written by James Ishmael Ford and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-10-20 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surprisingly little has been written about how Zen came to North America. "Zen Master Who?" does that and much more. Author James Ishmael Ford, a renowned Zen master in two lineages, traces the tradition's history in Asia, looking at some of its most important figures -- the Buddha himself, and the handful of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese masters who gave the Zen school its shape. It also outlines the challenges that occurred as Zen became integrated into western consciousness, and the state of Zen in North America today. The author includes profiles of modern Zen teachers and institutions, including D. T. Suzuki and Alan Watts, and such topics as the emergence of liberal Buddhism, and Christians, Jews, and Zen. This engaging, accessible book is aimed at anyone interested in this tradition but who may not know how to start. Most importantly, it clarifies a great and ancient tradition for the contemporary seeker.

Download or read book Critical Sermons of the Zen Tradition written by Shin'ichi Hisamatsu and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2002-11-30 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together two giants of the history of Zen: Linji (Japanese, Rinzai) and Hisamatsu Shin'ichi. Linji is looked upon as the founder of the Rinzai sect in Japan. Hisamatsu was a leading twentieth century master/thinker who lived in Kyoto and was a tremendous influence on the development of the Kyoto school of Japanese philosophy. The translators and editors have translated and annotated twenty-two of Hisamatsu's Zen teisho (Dharma talks, in effect, sermons for Zen practitioners) of a classical Zen text, the Record of Linji, the recorded sayings of the Chinese founder of Rinzai Zen.