Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice
by Thich Nhat Hanh
List Price:
Our Price: $5.33
You Save: $9.62 (64%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.15 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Thich Nhat HanhEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-12-01
ISBN: 0385475616
Number of pages: 198
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Book Reviews of Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice
Book Review: EXCELLENT PATH TO PRAYERFULNESS FOR ANY FAITH
Summary: 5 Stars
Through a careful reading of this book may we return to our own path of prayerfulness in every thing we do.
In ways it reads like Saint Benedict's Rule, or any earlier Catholic work on silent prayer in action. We return to realize what we are doing at every moment, with every gesture, and make that a prayer.
This book need not deter us from our own traditional path, but make us stronger and more dedicated and serious and devote in our path and in our Faith. By this book we may even become better and more effective and true Christians.
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., himself a Nobel Peace Prize winner and practioner of prayerful nonviolence and love, nominated this author for the 1967 Nobel Peace. Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan has swapped introductions for one another's prayer books with this author, including his Uncommon prayer: A book of Psalms. Therefore, we may all feel safe and secure in considering these indications within the context of our Faith, and gain a great edification from its prayerful practice.
This book is wonderfully constructed with presentations and commentaries, as a helpful friend opening to us the secrets of otherwise inscrutable riddles, as a gentle friend drawing us back to awareness and sanity and sanctity in our chaotic and over-occupied world. This book returns us to realizing the mystery of practicing actual poverty as a means of making way for our opening awareness of God silently within our lives. This book returns us to the wonder of silent contemplation of the Divine presence, an ability we so easily forget as we look around and judge instead our neighbor and our clergy and what we wrongly percieve to be their wrongful actions at worship while we ignore our own busy and eager distraction from worshipful prayer.
An interesting quote in this regard is found on page 27:
"Precepts in Buddhism are not imposed by some outside authority. They arise from our own insight based on the practice of mindfulness. To be attached to the form without understanding the essence is to fall into what Buddhism calls attachment to rules. (p.27)"
How much do we see this happening within our own Church where those who do not grasp the essence of God's commandments to practice compassion instead dwell nearly to the point of idolatry on minutiae of ritualistic liturgical practices empty of meaning, leaving no room for the action of the Holy Spirit of God's Love for us! Why not interchange those high fives at the Kiss of Peace if thus we more truly express our love and joy at meeting God in our neighbor? Why not sing those traditional hymns such as Kumbaya, which calls for the presence of God in our lives, if thus we grow more mindful of the Divine Presence immanent amongst us, as promised that where two or more are gathered in My Name, I am with you.
This book restores us to such mindfulness, not only in meditation but within every mundane and physical action, including eating. By this book we become greater contemplatives, as awake as Carthusian monks fully mindful of every action as free from wordly distractions, making thus every action an intense prayer of love. This book can serve as portal back to a deeper realization of our own Faith in this world. Let this book re-open your eyes and ears to the presence of God, in peace, free of anger and distraction.
Especially generous, not only the opening clarity and flowing explanations and commentaries which form the bulk of the book, but also the commentaries on the riddles near the end, which remind me of our Patristic tradition and the sayings (or apophthegmes) of the Desert Fathers. This book fills warmly a spot which yearns in our heart for a path back to the peace which is the center of our Faith tradition, a path now blocked by cries for "holy" war and division. Walk instead the way of peace, as once we all walked, together.
Also available by this author is Peace Is Every Step-Meditation In Action: The Life and Work of Thich Nhat Hanh along with any number of important books. Please do yourself and your busy, distracted, angry, sorrowful heart the great favor of finding this warm friend and good helper and wise and gentle counselor.
Also interesting and helpful in this regard are the books of the Reverend Father Thomas Merton, Trappist monk and Catholic priest, in particular his Mystics and Zen Masters and his Zen and the Birds of Appetite. which excellently draws the compatible parallels of Christianity with Buddhist prayer, as well as his The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton (New Directions Book). Father Merton, an excellent teacher in the monastic novitiate, serves uis as great teacher and spiritual master now and forever. Come home to God's peace through the mindful practice of compassion.
Summary of Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice
Thich Nhat Hanh brings his warmth and clarity to this unique explication of Zen Buddhism. Beginning with a discussion of daily life in a Zen monastery, Nhat Hanh illustrates the character of Zen as practiced in Vietnam, and gives the reader clear explanations of the central elements of Zen practice and philosophy. Thorough attention is given to concepts such as Awareness and Impermanence, and to contemporary issues such as the conflicts between modern technology and spirituality. The final section includes a set of 43 koans from the 13th century Vietnamese master, Tran Thai Tong, which are translated here for the first time into English. Originally published in 1974, Zen Keys has been unavailable for several years but is now reissued by popular demand. Readers will find it as fresh today as when it was first written, and will be struck by the timelessness of its insights. What makes this work particularly compelling is that Nhat Hanh is able to invigorate what in other presentations may seem like empty abstract principles. The example he has set in his own life as a relentless advocate for peace brings strength and a realistic understanding to idealistic Buddhist goals. In Zen Keys, Thich Nhat Hanh presents the philosophy which has enabled him to be mindful of peace in every moment. An excellent introduction from Philip Kapleau (author of the classic Three Pillars Of Zen ) provides background on the emerging American Zen tradition.Buddhism Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Buddhism Books
Zen Buddhism: A History; Vol. 2: Japan (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture)by Heinrich Dumoulin
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1989-12; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
History Zen Buddhism 2 Volumeby Dumoulin
Macmillan Library Reference; Published: 1990-06-18; Paperback; Book
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Livingby Gary McClain, Eve Adamson
Alpha; Published: 2000-11-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.15
Price in other shops:
365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the Heartby Dalai Lama
Element Books Ltd.; Published: 2003-05-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $46.95
The Power of Compassionby Tenzin Gyatso
Thorsons; Published: 2002-03; Audio Cassette; Book
Price in other shops:
No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zenby Jakusho Kwong, Peter Levitt
Harmony; Published: 2003-03-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $53.80
An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the Worldby Pankaj Mishra
Picador; Published: 2005-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.34
Price in other shops:
Zen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Timeby Philip T. Sudo
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2001-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops:
Zen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Timeby Philip T. Sudo
HarperOne; Published: 2005-01-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.83
Price in other shops:
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Livingby Lama Surya Das
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2007-04-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.70
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought (4th Edition)by Patrick S. Bresnan
Prentice Hall; Published: 2009-11-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $61.72
Price in other shops:
Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Childby Thich Nhat Hanh
Ma's India; Parallax Press; Published: 2010-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
The Bhagavad Gita (Penguin Classics)by Anonymous
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-02-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.93
Price in other shops:
The Upanishads (Penguin Classics)by Anonymous
Penguin Classics; Published: 1965-11-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.62
Price in other shops:
Mindfulness in Plain English: 20th Anniversary Editionby Bhante Gunaratana
Wisdom Publications; Published: 2011-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.94
Price in other shops:
Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition)by Roger Ames, David Hall, Lao Zi
Ballantine Books; Published: 2003-12-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.93
Price in other shops:
Confucius Analects (Hackett Classics Series)by Confucius
Hackett Pub Co; Published: 2003-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.58
Price in other shops:
A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting with Othersby Jeffrey Hopkins
Snow Lion Publications; Published: 2008-02-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakeningby Stephen Batchelor
Riverhead Trade; Published: 1998-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops:
The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberationby Thich Nhat Hanh
Broadway Books; Published: 1999-06-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.13
Price in other shops: