Inside the Grass Hut

Inside the Grass Hut PDF Author: Ben Connelly
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
ISBN: 9781614291213
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Enter the mind and practice of Zen: apply the insights of one of Zen's classic poems to your life--here and now. Shitou Xiqian's "Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage" is a remarkably accessible work of profound depth; in thirty-two lines Shitou expresses the breadth of the entire Buddhist tradition with simple, vivid imagery. Ben Connelly's Inside the Grass Hut unpacks the timeless poem and applies it to contemporary life. His book delivers a wealth of information on the context and content of this eighth-century work, as well as directly evokes the poem's themes of simple living, calm, and a deep sense of connection to all things. Each pithy chapter focuses on a single line of the poem, letting the reader immerse himself thoroughly in each line and then come up for air before moving on to the next. Line by line, Connelly shows how the poem draws on and expresses elements from the thousand years of Buddhist thought that preceded it, expands on the poem's depiction of a life of simple practice in nature, and tells stories of the way these teachings manifest in modern life. Connelly, like Shitou before him, proves himself adept at taking profound and complex themes from Zen and laying them out in a practical and understandable way. Eminently readable, thoroughly illuminating, Inside the Grass Hut shows the reader a path of wholehearted engagement -- with the poem, and with the world. Destined to become a trusted, dog-eared companion.

Inside the Grass Hut

Inside the Grass Hut PDF Author: Ben Connelly
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1614291446
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Enter the mind and practice of Zen: apply the insights of one of Zen's classic poems to your life--here and now. Destined to become a trusted, dog-eared companion. Shitou Xiqian’s “Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage” is a remarkably accessible work of profound depth; in thirty-two lines Shitou expresses the breadth of the entire Buddhist tradition with simple, vivid imagery. Ben Connelly’s Inside the Grass Hut unpacks the timeless poem and applies it to contemporary life. His book delivers a wealth of information on the context and content of this eighth-century work, as well as directly evokes the poem’s themes of simple living, calm, and a deep sense of connection to all things. Each pithy chapter focuses on a single line of the poem, letting the reader immerse himself thoroughly in each line and then come up for air before moving on to the next. Line by line, Connelly shows how the poem draws on and expresses elements from the thousand years of Buddhist thought that preceded it, expands on the poem’s depiction of a life of simple practice in nature, and tells stories of the way these teachings manifest in modern life. Connelly, like Shitou before him, proves himself adept at taking profound and complex themes from Zen and laying them out in a practical and understandable way. Eminently readable, thoroughly illuminating, Inside the Grass Hut shows the reader a path of wholehearted engagement—with the poem, and with the world. Destined to become a trusted, dog-eared companion.

Inside the Grass Hut

Inside the Grass Hut PDF Author: Ben Connelly
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
ISBN: 9781614291213
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
Enter the mind and practice of Zen: apply the insights of one of Zen's classic poems to your life--here and now. Shitou Xiqian's "Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage" is a remarkably accessible work of profound depth; in thirty-two lines Shitou expresses the breadth of the entire Buddhist tradition with simple, vivid imagery. Ben Connelly's Inside the Grass Hut unpacks the timeless poem and applies it to contemporary life. His book delivers a wealth of information on the context and content of this eighth-century work, as well as directly evokes the poem's themes of simple living, calm, and a deep sense of connection to all things. Each pithy chapter focuses on a single line of the poem, letting the reader immerse himself thoroughly in each line and then come up for air before moving on to the next. Line by line, Connelly shows how the poem draws on and expresses elements from the thousand years of Buddhist thought that preceded it, expands on the poem's depiction of a life of simple practice in nature, and tells stories of the way these teachings manifest in modern life. Connelly, like Shitou before him, proves himself adept at taking profound and complex themes from Zen and laying them out in a practical and understandable way. Eminently readable, thoroughly illuminating, Inside the Grass Hut shows the reader a path of wholehearted engagement -- with the poem, and with the world. Destined to become a trusted, dog-eared companion.

Zen Questions

Zen Questions PDF Author: Taigen Dan Leighton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861717082
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Whether speaking of student or master, Zen hinges on the question. Zen practice does not necessarily focus on the answers, but on finding a space in which we may sustain uncertainty and remain present and upright in the middle of investigations. Zen Questions begins by exploring "The World of Zazen,"--the foundational practice of the Zen school--presenting it as an attitude of sustained inquiry that offers us an entryway into true repose and joy. From there, Leighton draws deeply on his own experience as a Zen scholar and teacher to invite us into the creativity of Zen awareness and practice. He explores the poetic mind of Dogen with the poetry of Rumi, Mary Oliver, Gary Snyder, and even "the American Dharma Bard" Bob Dylan. What's more, Leighton uncovers surprising resonances between the writings of America's Founding Fathers--including Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin--and the liberating ideals at the heart of Zen.

The Grass Hut

The Grass Hut PDF Author: Leland William Howard
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1449002587
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 550

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Book Description


Mindfulness and Intimacy

Mindfulness and Intimacy PDF Author: Ben Connelly
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1614295166
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Go beyond mere mindfulness—and deepen your connection to your self, the people in your life, and the world around you. Mindfulness is an ancient and powerful practice of awareness and nonjudgmental discernment that can help us ground ourselves in the present moment, with the world and our lives just as they are. But there’s a risk: by focusing our attention on something (or someone), we might always see it as something other, as separate from ourselves. To close up this distance, mindfulness has traditionally been paired with a focus on intimacy, community, and interdependence. In this book, Ben Connelly shows us how to bring these two practices together—bringing warm hearts to our clear seeing. Helpful meditations and exercises show how mindfulness and intimacy can together enrich our empathetic engagement with ourselves and the word around us—with our values, with the environment, and with the people in our lives, in all their distinct manifestations of race and religion, sexuality and gender, culture and class—and lead to a truly engaged, compassionate, and joy-filled life.

Momma Zen

Momma Zen PDF Author: Karen Maezen Miller
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834824892
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Combining humor, honesty, and plainspoken advice, Momma Zen distills the doubts and frustrations of parenting into vignettes of Zen wisdom. Drawing on her experience as a first-time mother, and on her years of Zen meditation and study, Miller explores how the daily challenges of parenthood can become the most profound spiritual journey of our lives. This compelling and wise memoir follows the timeline of early motherhood from pregnancy through toddlerhood. Momma Zen takes readers on a transformative journey, charting a mother’s growth beyond naive expectations and disorientation to finding fulfillment in ordinary tasks, developing greater self-awareness and acceptance—to the gradual discovery of "maternal bliss," a state of abiding happiness and ease that is available to us all. In her gentle and reassuring voice, Karen Miller convinces us that ancient and authentic spiritual lessons can be as familiar as a lullaby, as ordinary as pureed peas, and as frequent as a sleepless night. She offers encouragement for the hard days, consolation for the long haul, and the lightheartedness every new mom needs to face the crooked path of motherhood straight on.

Ruminations in a Grass Hut

Ruminations in a Grass Hut PDF Author: Ralph D Sawyer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
Standing at the end of a continuous literate tradition that dates back to Sun-tzu's Art of War, the expansive Ming dynasty Ruminations in a Grass Hut (Ts'ao-lu Ching-lüeh or Cao-lu Jinglüe) not only represents the final formulation of China's indigenous military tactics and highly sophisticated concepts, it remains the subject of conscious PRC study in the quest to develop "military science with unique Chinese characteristics." The book consists of 152 individualized discussions upon subjects as diverse as defense against foreign peoples, spies and military intelligence, assessment, logistics, vacuity and substance, deception, unorthodox warfare, and command and control, all loosely organized into twelve thematic sections. In a sort of modified casebook approach, several battles drawn from the great sweep of China's military history are cited in each chapter to illustrate the subject in application. In themselves, the 600 illustrations provide an extensive introduction to China's historic practice of warfare, as well as a window on its evolution as chariots gave way to cavalry, dagger-axes to swords and sabers, and finally even its powerful bows and crossbows to cannon and muskets in the early Ming. Ralph D. Sawyer, the translator, is a historical scholar and strategic consultant who specializes in Chinese military and intelligence issues. His analytical writings include Ancient Chinese Warfare; Conquest and Domination in Early China: Rise and Demise of the Western Chou; The Tao of Spycraft: Intelligence Theory and Practice in Traditional China; The Tao of Deception: Unorthodox Warfare in Historic and Modern China; Lever of Power: Military Deception in China and the West; and Fire and Water: The Art of Incendiary and Aquatic Warfare in China. His translations, all of which feature extensive historical introductions and detailed notes, include the Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, Sun-tzu's Art of War, Sun Pin Military Methods, One Hundred Unorthodox Strategies: Battle and Tactics of Chinese Warfare, The Tao of War: The Martial Tao Te Ching, Strategies for the Human Realm: Crux of the T'ai-pai Yin-ching, and Zhuge Liang: Strategy, Achievements, and Writings.

Zen Fables for Today

Zen Fables for Today PDF Author: R Mclean
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0380795612
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Americans are fascinated by Eastern traditions, and Zen Buddhism in particular. But for the newcomer to Zen, many of the texts available are academic, complex, and intimidating. ZEN FABLES FOR TODAY is the reader's Zen 101, a collection of charming and enlightening fables containing understandable wisdom for contemporary readers.

Mindfulness in the Garden

Mindfulness in the Garden PDF Author: Zachiah Murray
Publisher: Parallax Press
ISBN: 1937006158
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Mindfulness in the Garden offers simple mindfulness verses (gathas) composed to connect the mind and body and to bring the reader/gardener’s awareness to the details of the present moment as they work in the garden. These gathas are signposts leading to nature, to the present, and ultimately to one’s self through the love and understanding they evoke. The gathas offered with each gardening activity serves to water the seeds of mindfulness within us, and softening and preparing the ground for our ability to be present. Mindfulness in the Garden values weeds as important messengers seeking to bring into close communion our spiritual nature with that of the environment. It likens spiritual practice to cultivating a garden and inspires each person to accept themselves and start where they are, weeds and all. Through the practice of mindful gardening, we invite not only the thriving of the natural world but also the flowering and beauty of the pure land of our true self to emerge. Features black and white botanical illustrations throughout. Introduction by Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Present Moment Wonderful Moment Foreword by Wendy Johnson,author of Gardening at the Dragon's Gate

One Robe, One Bowl

One Robe, One Bowl PDF Author: John Stevens
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834824965
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
The hermit-monk Ryokan, long beloved in Japan both for his poetry and for his character, belongs in the tradition of the great Zen eccentrics of China and Japan. His reclusive life and celebration of nature and the natural life also bring to mind his younger American contemporary, Thoreau. Ryokan's poetry is that of the mature Zen master, its deceptive simplicity revealing an art that surpasses artifice. Although Ryokan was born in eighteenth-century Japan, his extraordinary poems, capturing in a few luminous phrases both the beauty and the pathos of human life, reach far beyond time and place to touch the springs of humanity.