Dongshan's Five Ranks

Dongshan's Five Ranks PDF Author: Ross Bolleter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1614291314
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
The first in-depth English commentary on the Five Ranks—a core text of the Zen tradition that teaches what can't be taught—which contains new translations of all of the key texts of the Five Ranks cycle. We imagine ourselves and the universe to be distinct, but within us glimmers the suspicion that we are in fact intimately connected and inseparable from all that there is. The dawning and expansion of such awareness is called enlightenment. In his masterwork—a suite of dialectical works known collectively as the Five Ranks—Dongshan, a Zen master of Old China, approaches enlightenment from five angles, using paradox and poetry to lay out a multifaceted path whereby we might discover enlightenment within this very moment. Ross Bolleter Roshi assembles and provides commentary on all of the core texts of the Five Ranks, including the precursors that inspired it and works inspired by it. Approaching the Five Ranks from a rich and sophisticated koan perspective, Bolleter Roshi augments his explanations of the works with liberal doses of humor and storytelling, bringing this esteemed classic to life. Each part of the Five Ranks focuses differently on the relationship between the timeless realm of our essential natures and the contingent realm of life and death. They encourage us to transcend naive individualism and to bring our best qualities of compassion and wisdom intimately into our daily lives. In this regard, Dongshan’s Five Ranks lays out the path that every student of the Way must traverse on the journey to becoming a teacher.

Dongshan's Five Ranks

Dongshan's Five Ranks PDF Author: Ross Bolleter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1614291314
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book

Book Description
The first in-depth English commentary on the Five Ranks—a core text of the Zen tradition that teaches what can't be taught—which contains new translations of all of the key texts of the Five Ranks cycle. We imagine ourselves and the universe to be distinct, but within us glimmers the suspicion that we are in fact intimately connected and inseparable from all that there is. The dawning and expansion of such awareness is called enlightenment. In his masterwork—a suite of dialectical works known collectively as the Five Ranks—Dongshan, a Zen master of Old China, approaches enlightenment from five angles, using paradox and poetry to lay out a multifaceted path whereby we might discover enlightenment within this very moment. Ross Bolleter Roshi assembles and provides commentary on all of the core texts of the Five Ranks, including the precursors that inspired it and works inspired by it. Approaching the Five Ranks from a rich and sophisticated koan perspective, Bolleter Roshi augments his explanations of the works with liberal doses of humor and storytelling, bringing this esteemed classic to life. Each part of the Five Ranks focuses differently on the relationship between the timeless realm of our essential natures and the contingent realm of life and death. They encourage us to transcend naive individualism and to bring our best qualities of compassion and wisdom intimately into our daily lives. In this regard, Dongshan’s Five Ranks lays out the path that every student of the Way must traverse on the journey to becoming a teacher.

The Record of Tung-shan

The Record of Tung-shan PDF Author: William F. Powell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Zen Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 818

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Book Description


Taking the Path of Zen

Taking the Path of Zen PDF Author: Robert Aitken
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1466895233
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
There is a fine art to presenting complex ideas with simplicity and insight, in a manner that both guides and inspires. In Taking the Path of Zen Robert Aitken presents the practice, lifestyle, rationale, and ideology of Zen Buddhism with remarkable clarity. The foundation of Zen is the practice of zazen, or mediation, and Aitken Roshi insists that everything flows from the center. He discusses correct breathing, posture, routine, teacher-student relations, and koan study, as well as common problems and milestones encountered in the process. Throughout the book the author returns to zazen, offering further advice and more advanced techniques. The orientation extends to various religious attitudes and includes detailed discussions of the Three Treasures and the Ten Precepts of Zen Buddhism. Taking the Path of Zen will serve as orientation and guide for anyone who is drawn to the ways of Zen, from the simply curious to the serious Zen student.

The Record of Tung-shan

The Record of Tung-shan PDF Author: Tung-shan
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824843886
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
Tung-shan Lian-chien (807-869) was an active participant in what was perhaps the most creative and influential phase in the development of Ch’an Buddhism in China. He is regarded as the founder of the Ts'ao Tung lineage, one of the so-called Five Houses of Ch’an, and it was his approach to Buddhism and the house it gave rise to that attracted the interest of the great thirteenth-century Japanese monk Dogen during his stay in China. Dogen subsequently carried Tung-shan’s lineage back to Japan where it became known as Soto Zen, which remains one of the major Zen sects today. The discourse record translated in this volume represents a unique form of religious literature. Drawn from the dialogues of ninth-century and tenth-century Ch’an masters who lived mostly in the mountains and rural areas in and around modern Kiangsu Province, the discourse records present the reader not with philosophy or doctrine but rather with word portraits of some of China's more influential Ch’an masters. They allow us to glimpse the personalities and teaching styles of figures believed to be capable of manifesting the “pure mind” in their simplest words and actions. Few early Ch’an masters appear to have committed their teachings to writing, so that the discourse records are virtually the only tangible traces that remain of these seminal figures of Ch’an history.

Sitting with Koans

Sitting with Koans PDF Author: John Daido Loori
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861717643
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
The Zen tradition has just two main meditative practices: shikantaza, or "just sitting"; and introspection guided by the powerful Zen teaching stories called koans. Following in the tradition of The Art of Just Sitting (endorsed as a "A book we have needed for a long, long time"), this new anthology from John Daido Loori illuminates the subtle practice of koan study from many different points of view. Includes writings by: Robert Aitken William Bodiford Robert Buswell Roko Sherry Chayat Francis Dojun Cook Eihei Dogen Heinrich Dumoulin Hakuin Ekaku Victor Sogen Hori Keizan Jokin Philip Kapleau Chung-fen Ming-Pen Taizan Maezumi Dennis Genpo Merzel Soen Nakagawa Ruth Fuller Sasaki Sokei-an Sasaki Nyogen Senzaki Zenkei Shibayama Eido Shimano Philip Yampolsky Hakuun Yasutani Wayne Yokoyama Katsushiro Yoshizawa

Cultivating the Empty Field

Cultivating the Empty Field PDF Author: Taigen Dan Leighton
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 146291652X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
Cultivating the Empty Field is a modern translation of the core of Chinese Ch'an master Hongzhi's Extensive Record. First to articulate the meditation method known to contemporary Zen practitioners as shikantaza ("just sitting") Chinese Zen master Hongzhi is one of the most influential poets in all of Zen literature. This translation of Hongzhi's poetry, the only such volume available in English, treats readers to his profound wisdom and beautiful literary gift. In addition to dozens of Hongshi's religious poems, translator Daniel Leighton offers an extended introduction, placing the master's work in its historical context , as well as lineage charts and other information about the Chinese influence on Japanese Soto Zen. Both spiritual literature and meditation instruction, Cultivating the Empty Field is sure to inspire and delight.

The True Dharma Eye

The True Dharma Eye PDF Author: John Daido Loori
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 9780834823112
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
A collection of three hundred koans compiled by Eihei Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of Soto Zen in Japan, this book presents readers with a uniquely contemporary perspective on his profound teachings and their relevance for modern Western practitioners of Zen. Following the traditional format for koan collections, John Daido Loori Roshi, an American Zen master, has added his own commentary and accompanying verse for each of Dogen’s koans. Zen students and scholars will find The True Dharma Eye to be a source of deep insight into the mind of one of the world’s greatest religious thinkers, as well as the practice of koan study itself.

The Art of Just Sitting

The Art of Just Sitting PDF Author: John Daido Loori
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861719492
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
Shikantaza--or "just sitting"--is one of the simplest, most subtle forms of meditation, and one of the most easily misunderstood. This peerless volume brings together a wealth of writings, from the Buddha himself to Bodhidharma and Dogen and many of modern Zen Buddhism's most influential masters, all pointing directly to the heart of this powerful practice. Edited by one of America's pre-eminent Zen teachers, this book is a rich resource for wisdom seekers and scholars alike.

The Flower Ornament Scripture

The Flower Ornament Scripture PDF Author: Thomas Cleary
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834824094
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1656

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Book Description
Known in Chinese as Hua-yen and in Japanese as Kegon-kyo, the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, is held in the highest regard and studied by Buddhists of all traditions. Through its structure and symbolism, as well as through its concisely stated principles, it conveys a vast range of Buddhist teachings. This one-volume edition contains Thomas Cleary's definitive translation of all thirty-nine books of the sutra, along with an introduction, a glossary, and Cleary's translation of Li Tongxuan's seventh-century guide to the final book, the Gandavyuha, "Entry into the Realm of Reality."

Mountains and Rivers : Zen Teachings on the San Sui Kyo of Dogen Zenji

Mountains and Rivers : Zen Teachings on the San Sui Kyo of Dogen Zenji PDF Author: Dōgen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781895082128
Category : Zen Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description