Hi Guys,
I have a couple of book reviews ...
Kokuu reminded me of this book, which had been sitting on my kindle for awhile: Nothing Holy about It: The Zen of Being Just Who You Are by Tim Burkett . A little about Tim ...
The book is a series of many short essays, on a great variety of topics related to Soto Zen Practice, from someone who has practiced and taught for over half a century with some of the greats (Suzuki, Katagiri, Kobun Chino and others). Tim recounts little memories about all of them, especially Suzuki Roshi. From one reviewer:
There is an audio book, but it may be hard to follow as audio as Tim's ideas are sometimes tightly packed. If there is one comment I might make about the book, it is that he sometimes is a bit too "pop-psychology" in his presentation of Zen (something very common these days when so many Zen teachers are also trained psychologists). He has many very personal recommended little practices and tips based on his decades of experience. I cannot say that I agree with all of them, but then again, he was practicing Zen when I was still in diapers.
I am going to see if I can get him here as a guest teacher. (His student, Ben Connelly, came to Treeleaf as a guest teacher a couple of years ago).
===============
The second book that I will review is Bro. Brad Warner's "It Came from Beyond Zen!: More Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master: 2".
I first thought about giving the book total rave review as it is by Brad and about Dogen. In the book, Brad takes many classic Dogen writings from Shobogenzo and elsewhere, paraphrases in modern language with a lot of Bradian jokes and puns, and adds commentary. The book is a follow-up to Brad's earlier "Don't Be A Jerk," which I like a lot more for the originality of it (my review of that: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-r...SIN=1608683885 ). I said about that earlier book:
This time, I honestly had to give a more mixed review in case anyone would buy it and be a bit lost or disappointed. So, here goes:
I love this book ... but I fear that I will be one of the few. I was rolling on the floor laughing, but sometimes shaking my head at the missed opportunity of the whole thing. Everyone should read it, few will understand it. Like Brad himself, this book is brilliantly flawed, both great and (sometimes) just "give it a break" grating.
I want everyone to own it and appreciate it, but that might be a lot to ask. Brad has worked a tour de force, but created something equally frustrating and terrible and misleading. I think readers need to understand something about the book before delving in: I love this book because (1) I just like crazy stuff (2) I'm a long time student and lover of Dogen who is familiar with all the standard translations and thus ROFLs because I get Brad's really "inside baseball" Dogen jokes playing on those translations (3) I am a Brad fan who digs him and his sometimes acid (even if mellowed lately) sense of humor (4) I'm okay even if Dogen is sometimes twisted beyond recognition if the result is still amusing or interesting (5) I am a translator of Japanese too who thrills at pages of discussion regarding arcane Chinese character meanings (6) I like the Warner-Nishijima Way. Buy this book, savor this book, be ready to be swept away sometimes, but be prepared that unless you are all those things I listed, maybe this book will lose you quite often and you won't finish it or like it. I find many of the insights contained in the book original and unique, worth the whole price of admission, but also find much of the book shallow and head-achingly fluffy (Brad, the dorm room level philosophizing about God is not a plus, neither here nor elsewhere). He often simplifies and makes clear what is almost impossible to make clear, and at other times just dumbs things down to the point of dumb. Argggh. I think he sometimes gets Dogen like few others have, and I feel he sometimes messes up Dogen and Basic Buddhism 101 to the point that Brad should do his homework a lot better, instead of just saying silly stuff off the top of his head.
So, I love this book, but I would be lying simply to recommend it unconditionally just because I like it, and I am all over the board. Maybe it is like the cheap horror films on the cover, brilliant to extreme fans willing to overlook the messy production values.. I am such an extreme fan. For my rating, I will simply quote the cook (Tenzo) from Dogen's "Instructions for the Cook", one of the writings Brad tackles:
The Tenzo said, "One, two, three, four, five."
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH
I have a couple of book reviews ...
Kokuu reminded me of this book, which had been sitting on my kindle for awhile: Nothing Holy about It: The Zen of Being Just Who You Are by Tim Burkett . A little about Tim ...
Tim Burkett, began practicing in spring 1964 with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi ... Tim attended the maiden practice period at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in 1967. In 1970, Tim and his wife, Linda moved to Minnesota. He was an early member of MZMC [Minnesota Zen Meditation Center] and was ordained by Dainin Katagiri Roshi in 1978. Tim was president of MZMC from 1978 to 1983, recieved transmission from Karen Sunna in the Katagiri lineage in 2000, and succeeded Karen as guiding teacher in 2002. He is also a licensed Ph.D. psychologist and retired CEO of one of Minnesota's largest non-profit agencies.
The book would be well worth the price if all it did was bring the reader up close and personal with Suzuki Roshi. But it does so much more. "Nothing Holy" also provides a simple, yet profound, guide to Tim's own teachings. As the Guiding Teacher at Minnesota Zen Center, Tim applies the principles he learned from Suzuki and the other great teacher in his life, Dainin Katagari, as well as his own insights gained as a psychologist and social worker. His book captures those teachings in a practical, step by step approach to Zen that is kind, compassionate and grounded in the belief that true Zen is about gently and fully embracing the life you have right in front of you. The author maintains throughout that there is "nothing holy" about the Zen he learned from Suzuki Roshi. While it may not be holy, there is certainly something very valuable, satisfying, and enjoyable about it. The same can be said for Mr Burkett's wonderful guide to the Zen of being just who you are.
There is an audio book, but it may be hard to follow as audio as Tim's ideas are sometimes tightly packed. If there is one comment I might make about the book, it is that he sometimes is a bit too "pop-psychology" in his presentation of Zen (something very common these days when so many Zen teachers are also trained psychologists). He has many very personal recommended little practices and tips based on his decades of experience. I cannot say that I agree with all of them, but then again, he was practicing Zen when I was still in diapers.
I am going to see if I can get him here as a guest teacher. (His student, Ben Connelly, came to Treeleaf as a guest teacher a couple of years ago).
===============
The second book that I will review is Bro. Brad Warner's "It Came from Beyond Zen!: More Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master: 2".
I first thought about giving the book total rave review as it is by Brad and about Dogen. In the book, Brad takes many classic Dogen writings from Shobogenzo and elsewhere, paraphrases in modern language with a lot of Bradian jokes and puns, and adds commentary. The book is a follow-up to Brad's earlier "Don't Be A Jerk," which I like a lot more for the originality of it (my review of that: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-r...SIN=1608683885 ). I said about that earlier book:
I am pretty impressed and tickled by the whole thing. This book is just a brilliant interpretation. As he says, it is not meant as a line by line rewriting, and more of a quick thumb nail glimpse with a good bit of humor and fairly free interpretation. Nonetheless, Brad manages to convey the heart and sense of each passage. Just wonderful, a takes a kind of genius to pull this off. I think what he has done is just a blast and really funny too, while still being poignant and amazing.
I think it still helps that I am already pretty familiar with the standard English translations that he is playing off though, so It may still be a little hard to follow for folks not so familiar with Dogen pretty well (and hard to follow anyway even if you are because, well, Dogen is Dogen even when Bradicized).
I think it still helps that I am already pretty familiar with the standard English translations that he is playing off though, so It may still be a little hard to follow for folks not so familiar with Dogen pretty well (and hard to follow anyway even if you are because, well, Dogen is Dogen even when Bradicized).
I love this book ... but I fear that I will be one of the few. I was rolling on the floor laughing, but sometimes shaking my head at the missed opportunity of the whole thing. Everyone should read it, few will understand it. Like Brad himself, this book is brilliantly flawed, both great and (sometimes) just "give it a break" grating.
I want everyone to own it and appreciate it, but that might be a lot to ask. Brad has worked a tour de force, but created something equally frustrating and terrible and misleading. I think readers need to understand something about the book before delving in: I love this book because (1) I just like crazy stuff (2) I'm a long time student and lover of Dogen who is familiar with all the standard translations and thus ROFLs because I get Brad's really "inside baseball" Dogen jokes playing on those translations (3) I am a Brad fan who digs him and his sometimes acid (even if mellowed lately) sense of humor (4) I'm okay even if Dogen is sometimes twisted beyond recognition if the result is still amusing or interesting (5) I am a translator of Japanese too who thrills at pages of discussion regarding arcane Chinese character meanings (6) I like the Warner-Nishijima Way. Buy this book, savor this book, be ready to be swept away sometimes, but be prepared that unless you are all those things I listed, maybe this book will lose you quite often and you won't finish it or like it. I find many of the insights contained in the book original and unique, worth the whole price of admission, but also find much of the book shallow and head-achingly fluffy (Brad, the dorm room level philosophizing about God is not a plus, neither here nor elsewhere). He often simplifies and makes clear what is almost impossible to make clear, and at other times just dumbs things down to the point of dumb. Argggh. I think he sometimes gets Dogen like few others have, and I feel he sometimes messes up Dogen and Basic Buddhism 101 to the point that Brad should do his homework a lot better, instead of just saying silly stuff off the top of his head.
So, I love this book, but I would be lying simply to recommend it unconditionally just because I like it, and I am all over the board. Maybe it is like the cheap horror films on the cover, brilliant to extreme fans willing to overlook the messy production values.. I am such an extreme fan. For my rating, I will simply quote the cook (Tenzo) from Dogen's "Instructions for the Cook", one of the writings Brad tackles:
The Tenzo said, "One, two, three, four, five."
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH
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