Zen Meditation in Plain English
by John Daishin Buksbazen, Peter Matthiessen
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Book Summary Information
Author: John Daishin Buksbazen, Peter MatthiessenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04-25
ISBN: 0861713168
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
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Book Reviews of Zen Meditation in Plain English
Book Review: A good, but not great, guide to beginning meditation.
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought this book was pretty good, and it addressed most concerns, but I felt it could have had a bit more meat on it. Here's a quick breakdown of the sections:
PART ONE: BUDDHAS
*Background
*The Story of Shakyamuni Buddha
*The Lineage
*Buddhas in America
PART TWO: SITTING
*The Problem and Its Solution
*The Nature of the Problem
*The Nature of the Solution
*The Practice
*Starting to Sit
*Laying the Foundations
*Some Rules of Thumb
*Sitting Supports
*Positioning the Body
*Positioning the Legs
*Positioning the Rest of the Body
*Zazen Checklist
*Breathing
*Breathing in Zazen
*The Mind in Zazen
PART THREE: COMMUNITY
*What is Community
*Group Practice
*An Intensive Period in a Zen Monastery
*Sesshin
*Realizing the Harmony
AFTERWARD, FAQ's, and APPENDIXES
----------------------------------------
As you can see, many different aspects of Zen and meditation are covered in this book. However, I feel like the book would benefit from offering more meditation instruction. For some reason the author decided to not include a picture of the half-lotus position. This is OK, but slightly annoying, and I would be bummed if I were a novice and had to rely on description alone. The author states on page 37 that starting by sitting about 15 or even 10 minutes a day is enough, but then on page 107 in the FAQ's the author states that even a few minutes a few times a week is OK. So which is it? As a beginner I would not appreciate this apparent contradiction.
The book is listed as 128 pages, but this only exaggerates the amount of material that is actually in this book. This number includes ABOUT THE AUTHOR and PUBLISHER pages, and a lot of other pages in the beginning of the book devoid of actual content. The text on each page is pretty big, and the spacing between the book's content is liberal. All I'm saying is that this could all be condensed into about 40 or 50 pages with all of the exact same material. There's really not a lot of material in this book, which is OK, but it's unfair to exaggerate the material with numbers.
I did find the FURTHER READING and stretching exercises included in the appendixes to be very helpful. That said, this is a pretty good beginner's meditation book, and I would recommend it, but I definitely think the book could have been better.
Summary of Zen Meditation in Plain English
An excellent, practical introduction to Zen meditation. Written in a warm and easily accessible style, the book appeals to anyone with an interest in meditation, Zen, or, as is often the case today, a combination of the two.The jolt of confidence you get when discussing a day's performance with a seasoned veteran can take any activity to a higher level. In his concise and informative Zen Meditation in Plain English, meditation veteran John Daishin Buksbazen gives detailed directions for each step of Zen-style meditation, from getting into the different postures and developing breath concentration, all the way up to intensive training periods. With only one short chapter on what the mind should be doing while "sitting" (as they say in Zen), his focus is on getting the fundamentals right. He also offers a rare introduction to the importance and mechanics of group practice and a well-selected "Frequently Asked Questions" section at the end. While Buksbazen repeatedly says that there is no substitute for a good teacher, until you find one, Zen Meditation in Plain English will do nicely. --Brian Bruya
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