Zen Flesh Zen BOnes: A Collection of Zen and Pre-zen Writings

Zen Flesh Zen BOnes: A Collection of Zen and Pre-zen Writings
by Paul Reps, Nyogen Senzaki

Zen Flesh Zen BOnes: A Collection of Zen and Pre-zen Writings
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Book Summary Information

Author: Nyogen Senzaki, Paul Reps
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-09-15
ISBN: 0804831866
Number of pages: 216
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Book Reviews of Zen Flesh Zen BOnes: A Collection of Zen and Pre-zen Writings

Book Review: Zen seeds, Zen Spores
Summary: 5 Stars

It was over 40 years ago that I acquired this slim little book in an esoteric bookstore. I knew nothing about Buddhism or the Zen tradition at that time, and my own ignorance intrigued me. Little did I suspect that what I was holding in my hands was a peculiar, living virus--and I was about to become it's Host, in a lifelong symbiotic journey. Zen bones are Jellyfish bones. In the artifacts of Japanese culture, it is easy to recognize the influence of Zen, wherever you find it--yet, it may not be as ubiquitous as a Westerner might imagine.

Zen is not the only tradition by which essential memes are transmitted through the use of stories. The Sufis do it, too. The use of stories to impart life lessons and wisdom is as old as language--it's just that, aside from the discipline of Zazen, there are no Zen scriptures, per se, even though there are certainly traditions, and literature, handed down, from one virulent Zen Bastard to another. There simply is no useful analogy, in terms of scriptural literature, with say, the Upanishads, or the Koran, or the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It is difficult to boil Zen down into a succinct set of rules or principles. That is sort of like bringing a delicate sea creature up from great depths. It tends to fall apart. Lost in translation. That is why a collection of little stories is so valuable to the cultivation of intuition. The lessons of the Zen tradition must be transmitted directly, or they must be intuited. This is how the Zen virus become activated.

The thing is, the intuition of Zen realization is a slippery slope of no return. Once the soul is transformed by Zen, there is no way out of it. I call it the Lobster Pot syndrome. You go in, but you can't come back. So what's the problem with that, you ask? I don't know about Zen practice in Japan, but to practice mindfulness in America is to become a Stranger in a Strange Land. Experiential considerations like Suchness and law of interdependent causation, or the poise of dynamic equilibrium, have never really assimilated into modern American culture. So--be prepared to join a frame of reference with a tiny minority. You don't care. So be it.

Sitting Zazen is good--but this whole 8 hrs a day Enlightenment or die approach is something I frankly feel is too extreme. It is not the middle way. It may be good for beginners who are attempting to condition the mind and develop good mental habits--but if Zen is anything it is adaptable. It is pragmatic. Like tea in a cup, when you shatter the cup there is no tea, there is no cup, but there is a big freaking mess to clean up. Learn to steal moments of stillness in the flow of life wherever you can--at stop lights, in the waiting room, in the checkout line. It is best to learn to practice meditation through action. Turn every waking minute into the practice of mindful attendence. Watch your breath. In the book there is a story called Every Minute Zen that addresses this point. If one loses their center, and their sense of self awareness, whether participating in the marketplace, or on the battlefield of life, then one's 'attainment' is very meager. For one's aim to be true, you have to rise above the occasion of drama, wherever, and whenever, it presents itself. Everything is an opportunity, for a quickening of awareness, after all. Zen is Nature's Hammer. Be the Nail. Only don't know. Be.

Summary of Zen Flesh Zen BOnes: A Collection of Zen and Pre-zen Writings

When Zen Flesh, Zen Bones was published in 1957 it became an instant sensation with an entire generation of readers who were just beginning to experiment with Zen. Over the years it has inspired leading American Zen teachers, students, and practitioners. Its popularity is as strong today as ever.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a book that offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can struggle over the meaning of Zen for themselves. It includes 101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers over a period of more than five centuries; The Gateless Gate, the famous thirteenth century collection of Zen koans; Ten Bulls, a twelfth century commentary on the stages of awareness leading to enlightenment; and Centering, a 4,000 year-old teaching from India that some consider to be the roots of Zen.

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