This book has been indispensable to me as I have sought to teach myself zazen. I don’t have a teacher, so the intense clinics in shikantaza contained This book has been indispensable to me as I have sought to teach myself zazen. I don’t have a teacher, so the intense clinics in shikantaza contained herein have been a godsend. It’s a collection of dharma lectures—teisho—by some two or three dozen Zen masters, some ancient, most Americans alive today. I have found the book more helpful to me than the koan school of enlightenment (Rinzai) which is described in Philip Kapleau’s The Three Pillars of Zen, which is no doubt optimal for some persons. The school represented in The Art of Just Sitting is Soto. This Soto form seems to be entirely without mention of the dreaded kyosaku, or any of Buddhism’s multifarious hells. In fact, all supernatural aspects seem to have been stripped away. The Soto school says that the moment you assume the zazen posture, you have entered a state of enlightenment. No additional striving or aspiration is necessary. You are enlightened simply by virtue of your sincere intent to practice. The teisho here are rich, literary productions in themselves, as well as vital instruction. They must represent some two or more centuries of collective Zen experience. Re-reading them soon will be necessary....more
"I've reached the point of doing away with happiness and sadness-- A white board door swinging to and fro in thSome favorite lines from second reading:
"I've reached the point of doing away with happiness and sadness-- A white board door swinging to and fro in the breeze." --Gido Shushin
"Surely there are worlds where one can live free of this yearning." --Shinkei
"To enjoy life's immensity, you do not need many things." --Ryokan ...more
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