Customer Reviews

Simple Zen: A Guide to Living Moment by Moment (Simple Series)

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

 

 

Simple Zen is the title of this book and that's what this book really is about. I read a couple of other books on the subject that weren't really worth the time reading, not to mention buying them in the first place. However this book is a good introduction to Zen.
"Simple Zen" offers a fairly complete introduction to the origins of zen, about the different schools and their diffent approaches to attain enlightenment, important Zen masters of present and past, as well as a very usable ways for beginners to get started. Apart from the historical aspects, "Simple Zen" also deals with Zen "applications" apart from zazen (sitting meditation)--things like sumi-e (ink painting), haiku (poetry), ikebana, cha-no-yu (the tea way), martial arts, as well as a chapter on Zen in psychotherapy.
The bibliography at the end of the book is loaded with interesting book titles for further study. "Simple Zen"is an excellent entry point to get into Zen, which can be a daunting task for a Westerner whithout any guidance. What I especially like about a zen book is that it is short (this one has about 160 pages) and no lengthy highly philosophical intros. After all Zen is supposed to be something that cannot described with words... :-) Its something to be experienced.
There is a lot to discover and this book points into the right direction. An inspiring read in a world that painfully lacks spirituality.

This book does a good job of clearly pointing to the Zen experience. It is careful to recognize the wordless quality of Zen enlightenment. The discussions are thought provoking and the exercises definitely guide toward the experience. It explains the background and development of Zen, then describes the basic themes in Zen. The third section has exercises and meditations that really inspired me on my Zen path. I really got a lot out of it and recommend it to anyone interested in Zen.

Simple zen is just that, a simple yet magical look at the realm of Zen. It describes step by step a path to Zen and into Zen. Excellent for those who are not experts in the subject but would like learn more. Through a series of simple exercises the authors take the reader in a journey that could signify a change in their way of life.

Before I bought this book I knew nothing about zen. As soon as I received the book in the mail I began flipping through the pages and I could not put this book down.
This book is an excellent guide for simplifying your life. By introducing a little bit of zen into your stressful life- you could definitely make your life a little bit more bearable.

This book describes Zen's development and themes. Includes easy-to-follow instructions on how to make everyday a Zen day. Simply wonderful!

Let's start with the 'good' news - this book is NOT 128 pages long, it is, including bibliography and index, 158 pages in length. Having said which, the pages are only about two-thirds the size of a regular paperback - so the book still isn't quite as large as it might seem.

And now for the other news. Namely, the whole book appears to be the author's personal view of Zen. Which wouldn't be a problem except that the author seems to have a totally sanitised, pre-packed for the American market, view of Zen.

In practice this means that, for example, pages 3 through 36, illustrate a seemingly continuous process of Dharma transmission and succession from Mahayana Buddhism, through Ch'an to Zen.
In historical reality, so far as we now know it, there is no such line, or even lines, of continuous transmission and development. Rather Ch'an Buddhism, and therefore Zen Buddhism, seriously lost its way after the death of Hui-neng (638-713).
I have no doubt that the author offers his version of Zen history in all good faith, but the fact is that the politiking of one of Hui-neng's students, a certain Shen-hui, brought about a dualism within the body of Ch'an/Zen teaching from which it has never recovered.
Its perpetuation through to the present day is demonstrated by the existance of, and competition between, Rinzai and Soto Zen.

As demonstrated by the heavy emphasis on historical considerations, this is a fairly academic, even sterile, description of Zen. (There are another 6 pages on the more recent history of Zen, plus 10 pages of "Time Lines" - in plain English that's: charts of supposed lines of succession.)
So approximately one quarter of the entire book is given over to the history of Zen. But what is it there for? Do we need to know this stuff in so much detail (even if it were accurate) in a book subtitled "A Guide to Living Moment by Moment"? I think not.
On the contrary, all it said to me was that the author is far more interested in parading his intellectual prowess than in delivering a real understanding of what Zen Buddhism is all about.

In short, this is a "strictly for the tourists"-type book. If all you want is a superficial "bluff your way in Zen" sort of introduction to the subject then I guess this may prove to be a sufficiently short read at an appropriately low price.

If, on the other hand, you want to acquire any kind of genuine understanding of Zen then this is definitely NOT for you.