Anyone else struggle with the language of Zen Buddhism books?

[Kokuu]

Hi all

Some books do seem deliberately obtuse, either becuse they are written by academics, or else the author has forgotten what it is like to be a beginner and see things from that perspective.

Some of my favourite Zen books are simply written. Two of these are Everyday Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck, and Most Intimate by Pat Enkyo O'Hara, which rarely seems to get a mention but is a lovely little book about many aspects of life. Books which speak about the author's own experience and are more biographical can be lovely too.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is often mentioned as a simple Zen book, maybe because it has 'beginner' in the title but it is quite deep.

Although brother Brad sometimes gets a lot of criticism (some of which is justified, some less so), I like that he writes his books in modern language, with modern examples, even with his translations of Dogen. The fact is that people will pick up his books and learn about Dogen who would not read something by Steven Heine or even Shohaku Okumura.

And, as he says, Jundo does a great job of explaining Dogen's thinking is The Zen Master's Dance.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[nsanford]

Hi all

Some books do seem deliberately obtuse, either becuse they are written by academics, or else the author has forgotten what it is like to be a beginner and see things from that perspective.

Some of my favourite Zen books are simply written. Two of these are Everyday Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck, and Most Intimate by Pat Enkyo O'Hara, which rarely seems to get a mention but is a lovely little book about many aspects of life. Books which speak about the author's own experience and are more biographical can be lovely too.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is often mentioned as a simple Zen book, maybe because it has 'beginner' in the title but it is quite deep.

Although brother Brad sometimes gets a lot of criticism (some of which is justified, some less so), I like that he writes his books in modern language, with modern examples, even with his translations of Dogen. The fact is that people will pick up his books and learn about Dogen who would not read something by Steven Heine or even Shohaku Okumura.

And, as he says, Jundo does a great job of explaining Dogen's thinking is The Zen Master's Dance.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

Hello all,

Beginner here.

My journey began not with Buddhism books but with "physics" books. I had read some Buddhist books prior, never really for deep comprehension, but I retained a bit. Because most here have likely read some Buddhism, it will be easy to see fantastic parallels in books by Robert Lanza and Bob Berman called Biocentrism and Beyond Biocentrism. From there, I went back to my Buddhist books to see if what I was thinking actually lined up. It helped me place this practice in the center of my life despite a life-long 'science is truth' and 'only that which can be empirically proven is worth spending time on' worldview. If you're interested in the parallels, you will have to go create that reality for yourself.

Gassho
Nick
ST/lah

[Taigen]

It is not just Zen.

Oh, undoubtedly not. It is perhaps more accurate to say, for me anyway, that Zen has its own "brand" of difficult. Coming from a Christian tradition, it took some time to wrap my head around the idea that many of these texts are not trying to communicate in a "rational" or "logical" sense, but a more "experiential" or "devotional" mode. Some Christian writing does this too, but that tends to be the writing of mystics, not theologians, which is where I spent most of my time. I'm generalizing, but it was a distinction that was helpful for me to make along the way.

This is also true, and folks often expect all Zen books to be saying the exact same thing. Some may be by Rinzai masters or mixed Soto-Rinzai folks emphasizing Kensho and Koan Introspection Zazen, while even Soto teachers have their own approaches. It is something like expecting all musicians who pick up a guitar to play exactly the same, whether a folks singer or heavy metal guy or a jazz person. It is the same universe, strung the same, with the same notes and keys ... but their are different approaches.

One of the challenging aspects of coming into Zen without much instruction was the realizing the existence of the two schools and separating out what each was trying to teach. Also realizing the degree to which koan study has been romanticized in the West, particularly in certain eras of history, was eye-opening. It did help me learn though that I preferred, both philosophically and practically, the Soto approach, and narrow down my reading and exploration somewhat, and ultimately led me here!

Gassho,
Taigen
satlah

[Jundo]

My journey began not with Buddhism books but with "physics" books. I had read some Buddhist books prior, never really for deep comprehension, but I retained a bit. Because most here have likely read some Buddhism, it will be easy to see fantastic parallels in books by Robert Lanza and Bob Berman called Biocentrism and Beyond Biocentrism. ...

Off topic ... But if you dig the Lanza books, Nick, you might resonate with some excerpts from the book I am currently writing, which I call ...

.

ULTRA-FINE TUNING

The improbable, implausible, nearly impossible twists and turns
of physics, chemistry, biology, evolution, human history and more,
from the Big Bang to your own Birth.

.
I don't consider it precisely a Buddhist book, but neither is it not.
.

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/the-buddhism-of-the-future-forum-building-the-future-buddha/jundo-s-unlikely-hunches/540684-hunches-excerpts-from-chapters-13-14-of-my-new-book

.

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/the-buddhism-of-the-future-forum-building-the-future-buddha/jundo-s-unlikely-hunches/543130-excerpts-from-chapters-15-of-my-new-book-n-i-natural-intelligence

The Lanza books are also focused on trying to explain some of the "anthropic coincidences," although I take it a little further.

Gassho, J
stlah
.
PS - Nick, would you do me a favor and add a "human face" photo to your posts? It helps us keep things a bit more human and "see each other" around here. Thank you. Write me if not sure how.