Customer Reviews

Questions to a Zen Master: Practical and Spiritual Answers from the Great Japanese Master

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

QUESTIONS TO A ZEN MASTER is a book of questions and answers with Taisen Deshimaru, a Zen monk who left Japan for France in the 1960s and taught there until his death in 1981. Taisen Deshimaru was a Zen master, yes, but he was also a simple, ordinary man. And it is this viewpoint that so enriches his explanation of Zen Buddhism.

QUESTIONS TO A ZEN MASTER, unlike the works of, say, D.T. Suzuki, is not a "scholarly" work. Deshimaru-roshi explains Zen in a very clear, pedestrian manner, and abstains from fancy language or dizzying metaphysical concepts. He speaks of Zen as something relating to the most basic of everyday actions, even eating and sleeping, making love and defecating. Deshimaru-roshi tries to say (and succeeds wonderfully) that Zen is not some obtuse, mind-boggling philosophy but the here-and-now, this breath.

Although scholarly works on Zen Buddhism have their place, Deshimaru-roshi's heartfelt clarifications are worth reading. An added bonus with this book is a short Q&A with Deshimaru-roshi by several Christian monks. Although brief, the sections does provoke quite some thought even from this Christian reviewer.

QUESTIONS TO A ZEN MASTER is worth getting from anyone interested in Zen.

Ok, to be fair to Taisen Deshimaru here-a previous reviewer mentioned some sort of a sex scandal which involved him. I looked everywhere I could using Googles search engine to look into the matter, and never once came across anything concerning that. So as far as I know, that reviewer is the only source for the information.

Now, how was the book? If you are just starting out in Zen, I would not recommend this book to you. Not that it is complicated stuff. You just need a bit of seasoning to swallow some of it, and to discriminate a little between what is accurate, and not accurate. For those starting out, I would recommend any books by Zen Master Seung Sahn-ie. the Compass of Zen, Only Don't Know, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. These books will give you a more (yes, in my opinion) accurate account as to just what Zen practice is all about.

This book is in a question and answer format, and sometimes you get the impression he simply cannot handle the question. Does this mean everything he has to say is useless? Not at all. In fact I did take away some useful teachings from this book. At other points, however, I shook my head laughing out loud. So it's a coin toss, if you are somewhat familiar with Zen-this book is innocent fun. If you are unfamiliar with Zen, it could prove to be a dangerous introduction in my view. So there it is, my first 4 star review-I try to be a little nice!

This was one of my first "real" Zen books. Much of what I had read up to this point was western philosophical discussion on Zen. This was one of my first exposures to subjective Zen.

Taisen is really cool. Funny & smart.

He's agnostic, for example when asked about the existence of a metaphysical realm he says that although he's had metaphysical experiences, nothing can be confirmed or denied so it's best to remain silent.

He's got an excellent grounding in science but is a student of Dogen so his agnosticism is shot through with mysticism. He's into opening up, becoming receptive and often comes back to a attitude of; "Try to look at the tree instead of talking about it. An when you look at it try to not see your notions of the tree. Go beyond that."

He always comes back to the actual practice of Zazen over thinking about Zen. Without the experience of Zazen notions of Zen are empty.

There are some useful information in this work and some genuinely interesting insights. Unfortunately there is also a lot of really bad quack science interspersed through out the book that I find really off putting. Two right off the top of my head are the idea that Westerners need to eat meat and consume alcohol, and that we normally only think with the left side of our brain.

Further from it's obsession over the forebrain and brain stem et al to it's comments on the macrobiotic diet, the text is firmly rooted in the late 1970's making it dated at best.

Combined with the reptition (how many times is the word "coffin" used throughout the text?) and the disjointed feel of the question and answer format, it is in my view just not a very good introduction.

I have owned this book for years and always found it to be an honest, interesting and helpful guide to Zen thought, mindfulness in everyday life, and the practice of sitting meditation. For 2 years, I regularly sat at a British dojo led by one of Deshimaru's closest students, building a foundation for my last 15 years of study, learning and comparison. This book does not purport to be anything more than it is - mere paper and print, a companion to experience. And Deshimaru claims little for himself, adhering to the principle that the teaching is what is important, not the teacher.

This little book is a nice little tour into the intriguing Zen-mind. Deshimaru really knows how to answer without giving an answer but triggering of new question in a pyramid of if's and but's. To read this is a good way, actually, to get to know the spirit of Zen. Probably it's far better to read this than to go right for the big and legendary scriptures of Zenbuddhism. For myself I read it when I was twenthy and I still gaze through it once in a while. It's like getting a cool, refreshing shower when you're grown just too academic or intellectual, blocking the view from the simplicity that always lies in the heart of all wisdom of Zenbuddhism.

I have owned this book for years and always found it to be an honest, interesting and helpful guide to Zen thought, mindfulness in everyday life, and the practice of sitting meditation. For 2 years, I regularly sat at a British dojo led by one of Deshimaru's closest students, building a foundation for my last 15 years of study, learning and comparison. This book does not purport to be anything more than it is - mere paper and print, a companion to experience. And Deshimaru claims little for himself, adhering to the principle that the teaching is what is important, not the teacher.

I found this to be a great book to add to my collection. I reference it almost as much as my Suzuki books. I happen to be within the same lineage and have not discovered any cult like activities that another reviewer mentioned. Being a scientist and an agnostic, I am very skeptical and do not like to drink the cool aid. I have not found anything cultish or sickening about this book or the group. I'll be the first to inform you if I do.

Miyamoto Musashi said that the "way is in training".
Deshimaru roshi probably would have said that the "way is in sitting."

I have found that sometimes, the greatest books are some of the smallest and this book is no exception. I read this book in a matter of hours but the concepts, ideas and insights have stayed with me for years and years. I have reread this book probably at least twenty or more times. Each time I think I understand a little more but still feel like there's more there.

The book itself is an edited mondo (question and answer session) between Deshimaru roshi and his students. The subjects are varied, but always there is the basic emphasis on zazen (sitting) and not letting the mind overcomplicate what is simple, natural and automatic.

In this increasingly complicated world, I find a great deal of meaning and significance to the whole idea of "letting go" of thinking and rediscovering our original nature underneath the mind and letting it arise .

A truly "Mondo" mondo :)

As someone who has had a continuing interest in Zen, reading Master Deshimaru's lively and spirited answers to typical (and not so typical) questions regarding Zen and his take on the subject. Highly recommended