The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism [Paperback]

John Daido Loori (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2009

Newly reprinted by Dharma Communications Press. Heart of Being is the most comprehensive book available on the moral and ethical teachings of Zen Buddhism. A standard training guide for Zen students approaching jukai, the ceremony of formally taking the precepts as one's life, this book is a rich offering for a morally ailing planet. These teachings accent the relationship between practicing the Buddhist precepts and cultivating the enlightened mind. Daido Roshi explores how the precepts serve as a compass to navigate the difficult and often overwhelming dilemmas of our lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What does it mean to become a Zen Buddhist? How does one enter the way? What kind of training is required? To answer such questions, few are better equipped than Loori, abbot of the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, N.Y., and founder and director of the Mountains and River Order of Zen Buddhism. Loori offers an explanation of the Buddhist precepts, or vows taken as an initiation into Buddhism, together with a commentary on the classic instructions of Master Dogen concerning moral and ethical behavior. From examinations of the Buddhist concepts of the Koan to Zazen, Loori's clarity is exceptional, and his ability to frame the discussion for contemporary Americans is striking in its utility. In a year of so many exceptional Buddhist publications, Loori's book is a welcome introduction to what it takes to enter Dharma.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Loori, a successor to Taizan Maezumi, makes a clear presentation of the precepts (guidelines for leading a moral and ethical life), from a Zen perspective, but his ideas are applicable to Buddhist teaching in general.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 237 pages
• Publisher: Dharma Communications; 2nd Edition edition (August 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882795229
• ISBN-13: 978-1882795222
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A timely book that will allow the reader be touched, June 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism (Tuttle Library of Enlightenment) (Paperback)

I read this book prior to taking the buddhist precepts and was deeply moved by John Daido Loori's understanding and commitment to the precepts. These issues, morals and ethics are issues that will not go away as the world tries to justify itself. This book will not judge but will open the realm of the buddhist precepts before you.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Manual for Students Taking the Precepts!, March 27, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism (Tuttle Library of Enlightenment) (Paperback)

Well written and informative! Excellent for Zen student preparing for their "Jukai" vows and cermony.

3 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars no title, November 29, 2005

By 

C. L Wilson (Elmhurst, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism (Tuttle Library of Enlightenment) (Paperback)

Well now I know more about Buddhism than I did. And I think there are some answers there. But the basis of the whole religion is that there is absolutely no self. No separate entity known as "me". It is a way of coming at the belief that we are all one in some deep core way, which I truly believe, but just because we are all one, and my fellow human beings are as I am, does not seem to me to point to a negation of each individual. Somewhat akin to the Borgs on "Star Trek". They are all united as one body and function as one. And the power they possess in that form is darn near unbeatable. But they do not know emotion. Christianity points this way too, really, but I think Buddhism says it clearer. "Beneath the heavens and the earth, there is only I." I love that statement. The connectedness of all existence.