Only Don't Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn [Paperback]

Seung Sahn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 1999

Here is the inimitable Zen Master Seung Sahn up close and personal—in selections from the correspondence that was one of his primary modes of teaching. Seung Sahn received hundreds of letters per month, each of which he answered personally, and some of the best of which are included here. His frank and funny style, familiar to readers of Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, is seen here in a most intimate form. The beloved Zen master not only answers questions on Zen teaching and practice, but applies an enlightened approach to problems with work, relationships, suffering, and the teacher-student relationship.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Dear Abby of Zen, Seung Sahn must be one the most prolific letter writers in history, not to mention one of the most successful Zen masters. With more than 60 centers on six continents, Seung Sahn has inspired thousands of students to take up Zen practice and has managed the seemingly impossible task of nurturing a genuine monastic Zen tradition on Western soil. Many of these students write him letters with their questions, and he never fails to respond. Only Don't Know is a collection of some of these letter's and Seung Sahn's replies, the title being an abbreviation of his cryptic refrain, "If you don't know, only go straight--don't know." The inquirers range from beginners wanting to know what to expect of enlightenment to monastics seeking direction on their path. A man who works in a windowless office, a woman preparing for a chanting retreat, a professor of religion--the writers and the topics come from all corners, Seung Sahn cajoling, versifying, ranting, or telling stories as the situation requires. He even resorts to drawing, as demonstrated in a series of pictorial correspondence that is a priceless example of wordless communication. --Brian Bruya

About the Author

Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927–2004) was the first teacher to bring Korean Zen Buddhism to America, having already established temples in Japan and Hong Kong. In 1972 he came to the United States and started what became the Providence Zen Center, the first center in what is now the Kwan Um School of Zen, which now includes more than eighty centers and groups worldwide. His students called him Dae Soen Sa Nim, "Great Honored Zen Teacher," and he was the 78th Zen master in his line of dharma transmission in the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism. His books include The Compass of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Only Don't Know, and The Whole World Is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; Rev Sub edition (April 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570624321
• ISBN-13: 978-1570624322
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you might taste why gong-an's are necessary in Zen buddhism?, March 1, 2000

By 

Nam s. Park - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Don't Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn (Paperback)

I read this book right after 'The Compass of Zen', which are written by the same author, Korean Zen Master, Seung Sahn Sunim and the same editor, Hyon Gak Sunim, who is one of his American students. Another book, 'Dropping Ashes on the Buddha' and this 'Only Don't Know' used the same style of many corespondences between the master and his students. You might taste how other people had faced with the confusion and the attraction in the paradoxical 'gong-ans'questions in Zen Buddhism. I was also very confused about the paradoxical gong-an questions and the unclear answers at 'The Compass of Zen' like other people who wrote many letters in the book. I often felt the pradoxical questions sounded funny, but something like words play. However, when I finished reading this book, I could slightly understand why the pradoxical questions are necessary and what the main purposes are? Zen practice seems to be one of the tools to "wake up" from the ignorance of self, and then to see the self as an universal existence. To reach the point,the beginners seem to train their minds detaching from the "forms and names" that they have learned, but attaining the clear minds, "like mirrors", to be able to see the unverse as it is."form is form, emptiness is emptiness". It is still paradoxical, but it is still attract. I you are interested in Zen Buddhism, you must read it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Straight-talking Zen for America, June 22, 2001

By 

Algernon D'Ammassa (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Only Don't Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn (Paperback)

He isn't the first Zen teacher to offer his teaching via letters. (The teaching letters of Ta-Hui come to mind...) But has there ever been a more prolific correspondent? Until recent years, Zen Master Seung Sahn would answer every letter students or perfect strangers sent him, and bundles of letters would chase him from city to city as he flew around America in the seventies and eighties, teaching wherever the airlines would take him.

As far as Zen books go, it's good teaching with very little obscure dharma language. His talent was talking about Zen in a way non-scholarly Americans could understand and apply to their own lives. It's a lively collection of letters from a wide spectrum of students: from the sincere to the smart-aleck to the earnest and to the clueless. The teacher meets them all on their level, sometimes with very long letters including stories and koans.

Due to his concentrated, concise teaching style, the reader may find the letters repetitive. (When asked why he says the same thing over and over again, he has replied, "Did you hear it?") Some of the student letters may wear out their welcome, but they belong with the responses. Bear with it: there is good teaching throughout.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Advice Whatever Your Faith / Spiritual Practice, May 7, 2011

By 

Rugger Burke (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Only Don't Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn (Paperback)

When asked about books that have influenced my life, Only Don't Know is at the top of the list. The writing is simple and direct on matters of love, happiness, and suffering.

The book was recommended to me by a colleague in the world of finance. The man seemed genuinely moved in relaying the positive impact the book had on him, including his relationships with his wife and children. Still questioning how the writings of a Korean Zen master had any relevance to my own life, I looked it upon Amazon and found the reviews were positive, so decided to give it a try.

The book is a collection of letters to and from Seung Sahn. Some are from Zen practitioners, others are not. Some are serious, some are funny. "I am a teacher and these kids are driving me crazy..."

What is particularly striking is how consistent Seung Sahn is in his responses. This is a man who clearly found his purpose or his calling. That alone makes the book worth a read. But there is more being offered. In each of the letters you will hear a little piece of yourself asking a question. And more often than not Seung Sahn's response provides practical advice on a way to find a positive relationship to the issue in question.

Admittedly, the advice is based on Zen practice, but it is not dogmatic, being more humanistic in nature. And if you can't separate the idea of the advice being based on the Zen tradition, then you can co-opt it to your own brand of religion or spiritual belief. The advice has value whatever your faith.

A few themes from the book for flavor:

1. Only Don't Know - Originally, there is not good and bad. But if you make good and bad in your mind, they you have good and bad... Before checking (filtering based on your biases and prejudices) is called go-straight mind - there is no problem. After checking, then feelings, I-my-me, and problems appear. A clear mind has no I-my-me.... If you keep clear mind, you will get happiness everywhere.

2. Love - If you cut off all thinking and keep this in mind: "How can I help?" the correct action will appear... That is great love.

3. Wisdom - Good and bad are our true teachers. If something has no opposite, then it has no meaning, no truth... Wisdom and practice are like two wheels of one cart.

***

Inspired by Only Don't Know, I went on to read others by Seung Sahn, but cannot give them the same recommendation. The Compass of Zen is a dense guide to Buddhism and Dropping Ashes on the Buddha is a lesser work of teachings and letters. This is the one to read.

Hope this review helps you.