The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu (Sacred Literature Series) [Hardcover]

James Green (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sacred Literature Series | Publication Date: November 24, 1998

     Joshu Jushin, also known as Chao-chou Ts'ung-shen (778–897), was one of the great
     Ch'an (Zen) masters of ancient China. Many of the best-known Zen koans originated with Joshu (including the famous "Does a dog have Buddha nature?"), and his importance as a teacher can be measured by the prevalence of his sayings in the great koan anthologies of Zen literature: of the forty-eight koans collected in the Gateless Gate, five are Joshu's, and among the one hundred koans of the Blue Cliff Record, twelve are his.
     It is said of Joshu that his lips emitted light because his profound teaching often brought students to immediate insight. Although Joshu's life itself is an embodiment of the Zen ideal, it was this particular ability to express the true nature of the enlightened mind in a way that was pithy and succinct that made his teaching so influential. His sayings and dialogues have been preserved in the Zen literature as timeless and potent manifestations of the enlightened experience.
     Included here is the first complete translation of Joshu's sayings, Zen dialogues, poems, and records of his pilgrimages, as well as a short biography.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st Shambhala ed edition (November 24, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570624143
• ISBN-13: 978-1570624148
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pithy, cryptic, witty, mysterious, essence of Zen library, May 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu (Sacred Literature Series) (Hardcover)

Green's translation seems to capture the frustrating, obvious, mocking, simple character of the lessons of the great Chinese Zen masters. Some of the prose is beautiful. Some is poetic. Some of it is deep like a pond with brilliant light reflected on its surface. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure from one of the greatest Zen Masters, December 3, 1999

By 

Michael P. McGarry (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu (Sacred Literature Series) (Hardcover)

This book is extraordinary. As Mumon has observed in the _Gateless Gate_, "Joshu's tongue has no bone, so he can speak freely." That freedom is exactly what is communicated by these aphorism. Admittedly, some are hard too understand, but other strike the soul like lightning. These are the words of a man who underwent the shattering experience of enlightenment, and the book conveys that sense of power and transcendence.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fish Hook Zen, January 1, 2004

By 

Swing King (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu (Sacred Literature Series) (Hardcover)

As Korean Zen master Seung Sahn often described koans as fish hooks-Joshu's sayings are much the same way. This book is nearly impossible to approach via the intellect, the entire work is a koan. This book is much like "The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi", also published by Shambhala, very esoteric and highly engaging. If you want a book that is more "entertaining" in the conventional sense, try a book of any modern master. If you are looking for what Zen sounded like and meant to our earliest of lineages long ago, then this book is just for you.

Zen master Joshu was a VERY influential master in Zen history, accredited with 5 koans in The Gateless Gate & 12 koans in the Blue Cliff Record. The book is not an easy read, and at first it may even bore you. This is true. But through the years your curiousity will peak now and then, forcing you to pick the book up again and dust it off a bit. It's as if Joshu must marinate you for a bit, before your mind can open to what he is saying. Read this book attentively and try not to think too much while pouring over it, this alone may be your most baffling rival. Your own thinking. Listen to Joshu, not you! I hope you get through the tough process of reading it once, and come back to it over and over again-because it is so confusing. In essence, I hope you find Joshu to be a crazy old friend.

Enjoy:)