How Zen Became Zen

How Zen Became Zen PDF Author: Morten Schlutter
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824835085
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
How Zen Became Zen takes a novel approach to understanding one of the most crucial developments in Zen Buddhism: the dispute over the nature of enlightenment that erupted within the Chinese Chan (Zen) school in the twelfth century. The famous Linji (Rinzai) Chan master Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) railed against "heretical silent illumination Chan" and strongly advocated kanhua (koan) meditation as an antidote. In this fascinating study, Morten Schlütter shows that Dahui’s target was the Caodong (Soto) Chan tradition that had been revived and reinvented in the early twelfth century, and that silent meditation was an approach to practice and enlightenment that originated within this "new" Chan tradition. Schlütter has written a refreshingly accessible account of the intricacies of the dispute, which is still reverberating through modern Zen in both Asia and the West. Dahui and his opponents’ arguments for their respective positions come across in this book in as earnest and relevant a manner as they must have seemed almost nine hundred years ago. Although much of the book is devoted to illuminating the doctrinal and soteriological issues behind the enlightenment dispute, Schlütter makes the case that the dispute must be understood in the context of government policies toward Buddhism, economic factors, and social changes. He analyzes the remarkable ascent of Chan during the first centuries of the Song dynasty, when it became the dominant form of elite monastic Buddhism, and demonstrates that secular educated elites came to control the critical transmission from master to disciple ("procreation" as Schlütter terms it) in the Chan School.

How Zen Became Zen

How Zen Became Zen PDF Author: Morten Schlutter
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824835085
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
How Zen Became Zen takes a novel approach to understanding one of the most crucial developments in Zen Buddhism: the dispute over the nature of enlightenment that erupted within the Chinese Chan (Zen) school in the twelfth century. The famous Linji (Rinzai) Chan master Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) railed against "heretical silent illumination Chan" and strongly advocated kanhua (koan) meditation as an antidote. In this fascinating study, Morten Schlütter shows that Dahui’s target was the Caodong (Soto) Chan tradition that had been revived and reinvented in the early twelfth century, and that silent meditation was an approach to practice and enlightenment that originated within this "new" Chan tradition. Schlütter has written a refreshingly accessible account of the intricacies of the dispute, which is still reverberating through modern Zen in both Asia and the West. Dahui and his opponents’ arguments for their respective positions come across in this book in as earnest and relevant a manner as they must have seemed almost nine hundred years ago. Although much of the book is devoted to illuminating the doctrinal and soteriological issues behind the enlightenment dispute, Schlütter makes the case that the dispute must be understood in the context of government policies toward Buddhism, economic factors, and social changes. He analyzes the remarkable ascent of Chan during the first centuries of the Song dynasty, when it became the dominant form of elite monastic Buddhism, and demonstrates that secular educated elites came to control the critical transmission from master to disciple ("procreation" as Schlütter terms it) in the Chan School.

Yung-chia's Song of Enlightenment

Yung-chia's Song of Enlightenment PDF Author: Yung-Chia
Publisher: Empty Bowl Press
ISBN: 9781734187311
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Poetry. Translated by Red Pine. For over a thousand years the SONG OF ENLIGHTENMENT has been one of the most popular texts in all of Eastern Asia.

Song of Enlightenment

Song of Enlightenment PDF Author: Xuanjue
Publisher: Dharma Realm Buddhist Association
ISBN: 9780881391008
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description


The Book of Nothing

The Book of Nothing PDF Author: Sengcan
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ISBN: 9780740727252
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
"The Book of Nothing, " or "Hsin Hsin Ming, " was written in the sixth century by Sosan, the third Zen patriarch. Long cherished by seekers on the path as a study in spiritual perfection, it is presented here in a new translation that is both beautifully illustrated and highly readable.

Complete Enlightenment

Complete Enlightenment PDF Author: Chan Master Sheng Yen
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1570624003
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Complete Enlightenment is the first authoritative translation and commentary on The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment, a central text that shaped the development of East Asian Buddhism and Ch'an (Chinese Zen). The text is set in the form of a transcription of discussions between the Buddha and the twelve enlightened beings(bodhisattvas), who question him on all aspects of spiritual practice. This new translation preserves all the liveliness and nuance of the text in the original Chinese. The sutra's ancient wisdom is brought to life by the commentaries of Master Sheng-yen, one of the most revered living Buddhist masters in the Ch'an lineage. This is truly a manual for the spiritual journey toward complete enlightenment, providing the key to the deep, poetic, and practical meanings of the scripture.

The Sword of Wisdom

The Sword of Wisdom PDF Author: Shengyan
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
ISBN: 9781556434280
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
The Sword of Wisdom is a penetrating commentary on the Song of Enlightenment, a famous Chan text that speaks of proper methods and attitudes for practice. In this book, compiled from a series of lectures delivered during intensive meditation retreats, Master Sheng-yen gives valuable advice and guidance to those who are practicing Chan meditation. His lucid words offer fresh insight into a timeless philosophy that will be beneficial and inspiring to anyone who is interested in Buddhism.

Enlightenment in Dispute

Enlightenment in Dispute PDF Author: Jiang Wu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199895562
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 478

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Book Description
Enlightenment in Dispute is the first comprehensive study of the revival of Chan Buddhism in seventeenth-century China. Focusing on the evolution of a series of controversies about Chan enlightenment, Jiang Wu describes the process by which Chan reemerged as the most prominent Buddhist establishment of the time. He investigates the development of Chan Buddhism in the seventeenth century, focusing on controversies involving issues such as correct practice and lines of lineage. In this way, he shows how the Chan revival reshaped Chinese Buddhism in late imperial China. Situating these controversies alongside major events of the fateful Ming-Qing transition, Wu shows how the rise and fall of Chan Buddhism was conditioned by social changes in the seventeenth century.

Song of Mind

Song of Mind PDF Author: Master Sheng-Yen
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1590301404
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
"No words can explain enlightenment," says the seventh-century Zen classic Xin Ming, or "Song of Mind," yet, paradoxically, this poem is a masterpiece of expressing the inexpressible. In his commentary on it, Chan Master Sheng Yen takes a practical approach, opening up the language of the Xin Ming to show students how to approach meditation, how to deal with problems that arise in their spiritual practice, and how to accomplish the imperative task of integrating this practice into every aspect of one's life. "True understanding comes only with direct experience," according to Master Sheng Yen. "These lectures, the Buddhist sutras, songs, poems, and commentaries are useful only insofar as they encourage you to practice and incorporate the Dharma [teachings] into your daily life." The book takes the form of a week-long retreat with Master Sheng Yen, with each chapter in the form of an evening talk given on a particular section of the "Song of Mind" text—giving this book a far more intimate and accessible feel than most commentaries on Zen texts and creating a feeling of being right there with the master as he brings the text to life.

Yoka Daishi's Realizing the Way

Yoka Daishi's Realizing the Way PDF Author: Xuanjue
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780901032454
Category : Mahayana Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A translation of, and commentary upon, Song on the Realization of the Way, a key Zen text exploring Mahayana thought.

Faith in Mind

Faith in Mind PDF Author: Master Sheng-Yen
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834826178
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
The Supreme Way is not difficult If only you do not pick and choose. Neither love nor hate, And you will clearly understand. Be off by a hair, And you are as far from it as heaven and earth. These vivid lines begin one of the most beloved and commented upon of all Zen texts, the Hsin Hsin Ming ("Faith in Mind"), a sixth-century poem by the third Chan patriarch, Seng Ts’an. The Hsin Hsin Ming is a masterpiece of economy, expressing the profoundest truth of the enlightened mind in only a few short pages. Master Sheng Yen’s approach is unique among commentaries on the text: he views it as a supremely useful and practical guide to meditation practice. "I do not adopt a scholarly point of view or analytical approach," he says. "Rather, I use the poem as a taking-off point to inspire the practitioner and deal with issues that arise during the course of practice. True faith in mind is the belief grounded in realization that we have a fundamental, unmoving, and unchanging mind. This mind is precisely Buddha mind."