Breath Sweeps Mind [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Jakusho Kwong-Roshi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007

In a poetic reflection from an awakened insight, the 13th-century Zen master Keizan Jokin wrote: ¿Most people want to have pure clarity, but sweep as you will, you cannot empty the mind.¿ On Breath Sweeps Mind Jakusho Kwong presents his inspired response to this Zen paradox to offer you an ¿Everyday Zen¿ that you can practice right now. Join this dharma successor to the late Shunryu Suzuki-roshi for a refreshing and easily accessible transmission of Zen practice to help you ¿turn your radiance inward,¿ and bring the gifts of wisdom, love, and compassion to yourself, your family and friends, and all of society.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Zen Master Jakusho Kwong-roshi is Dharma successor to the legendary Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, the beloved teacher known for making Zen Buddhism accessible to Americans. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jakusho Kwong-roshi was born in Santa Rosa in 1935 and began studying Zen with Shunruyu Suzuki-roshi in 1959. He received ordination at San Francisco Zen Center in 1970 and began establishing Sonoma Mountain Zen Center in 1973 as his commemoration to his teacher. Kwong-roshi completed Dharma transmission in 1978 through Hoitsu Suzuki-roshi at Rinsoin, Japan. He travels annually to the Southwest, Iceland, and Poland to lead sesshins for affiliate sitting groups. He teaches ordinary Zen in everyday life as nothing special but the aliveness we bring to each moment. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated; Unabridged edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159179594X
• ISBN-13: 978-1591795940
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,250,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Having Your Own " Personal Buddhist Trainer", October 23, 2003

By 

Alice Bolocan (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breath Sweeps Mind: The Intimate Heart of Zen (Audio Cassette)

A poet's sensitivities are required to do justice to the Breath Sweeps Mind tapes. As I am not one, I can only speak from the heart. The tapes are an excellent companion to Roshi Kwong's book: "No Beginning No End". Each deepens and extends the undertanding of the other. Upon finishing the book,I found myself
going back and re-reading sections to savor the message and
to clarify matters. Later,I discovered the tapes provided this for me on a whole different plane than I expected. While focsued on the tapes, I truly felt I was sitting in Roshi's study in the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center surrounded by gigantic, majestic California redwood trees having a personal one-to-one instruction in all matters Buddhist. I felt absolutely
transported, the tapes were so effective in conveying Roshi's presence. It was like having a session with your personal Buddhist "trainer", and having the session whenever and whereever you wanted it. Yet,I was actually listening to these tapes while hiking in the backwood hills of Delaware moved to tears by his teachings and its relationship to the beautiful emptiness before me.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Taste of Zen!, January 25, 2004

By 

"psuche" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breath Sweeps Mind: The Intimate Heart of Zen (Audio Cassette)

Jakusho Kwong has given us a gift in these tapes that is fresh, yet still conveys the ageless quality of Zen. He speaks of the subtle and the magnificent, in a most intimate way.

A combination of his own teachers' wisdom, his Asian heritage and his very American roots, Kwong Roshi's flavor of Zen is at once simple and straightforward. His voice itself moves one into a certain silence and calm that sitting on a meditation cushion sometimes seems to hinder rather than promote. There is a definite resemblance to his teacher Shunryu Suzuki in the way he speaks and his care for each moment, as well as for the traditions and forms that set Zen aside from other Buddhist traditions. Carefully, Roshi describes bowing, sitting meditation, walking meditation, and many many more elements of Zen.

If you would like a true taste of what Zen is like from the inside, I highly recommend these tapes.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Although it is not revealed, it is not hidden..., March 22, 2005

By 

J. Richards (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breath Sweeps Mind: The Intimate Heart of Zen (Audio Cassette)

This is a very unique item: for beginners and experienced practitioners alike. I have read dozens of books on Buddhism but to listen to a living teacher like Kwong-Roshi is simply indescribable. After listening a short while, I realize I'm not really concerned with what he's saying. I'm hearing him breathe, feeling the radiant warmth of his humor, feeling the aura of compassion touching my own heart. These wonderful tapes are like sitting across from the teacher, perhaps sharing a cup of tea with him or taking a short walk together.