Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Koan Study [Paperback]

John Daido Loori (Editor), Tom Kirchner (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2005

The Zen tradition has just two main meditative practices: shikantaza, or "just sitting;" and introspection guided by the powerful Zen teaching stories called koans. Following up on his previous book, The Art of Just Sitting, John Daido Loori's new anthology illuminates the subtle practice of koan study from many viewpoints. Section one examines the history of the study and use of koans in China and Japan, with essays from such important contemporary Zen scholars as Heinrich Dumoulin ("Five Houses of Zen"). Section two includes writings from the masters of Japanese Zen such as Hakuin Ekaku's "The Voice of the Sound of One Hand." Section three vividly portrays the living tradition of koan introspection today in East and West in such pieces as Sokei, and Sasaki's "Ninth Koan." These scholars clarify the nature of one of Zen’s most enigmatic forms, making the book useful to those with casual interest and indispensable to students of Zen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (December 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861713699
• ISBN-13: 978-0861713691
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Koan Study, November 10, 2006

By 

James Halsey (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Koan Study (Paperback)

Sitting with koans presents the history of koan practice and how koans have been used by Zen Masters for over a thousand years. I was impressed by the amount of research invested to help the reader to understand the roll of koans in Zen training. I now have a stronger connection to the ancestors in a way that inspires me to deeper practice. Sitting with koan is a must read for serious Zen students of all lineages.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New to koan study? Start here!, March 1, 2011

By 

J. LaCoss "Rt. Rev. Maker-of-sawdust" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Koan Study (Paperback)

I have been reading books on Zen for years, but never got very far. It always seemed there was a substantial "something" missing from the texts. Still, I keep trying...

I picked up Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Koan Study as yet another attempt to gain some small understanding.

Yabba dabba doo... anyone interested koan (ko (public) an (records)) should read this book. I have long possessed copies of two of the major koan collections: The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans (Jp. Mumonkan), and The Blue Cliff Record (Jp. Hekiganroku). Without additional background, koan are amusing in an abstract way, but ultimately unapproachable. Frustration is described as key to the path to enlightenment, but the collections alone don't provide the deep communication afforded by a teacher.

In "Sitting With Koans," the threads of Zen and koan tradition are explained with enough background in history, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese to provide a starting point for serious study. As an example, "Zhaozhou's Puppy" (Jp. Joshu's Dog) the first koan of "Gateless Gate," cannot be penetrated without some understanding of the Chinese word "mu" (or "wu"). I need some actual training to attain a clearer understanding of the subject, but "Sitting With Koans" has certainly clarified many things.

"Sitting With Koans" is an enormously well-constructed book. Each chapter is written by an acknowledged Eastern or Western master of Zen. The writing is clear English prose, closer to colloquial than scholarly,and phrased to allow readers to understand the thesis of each chapter (the why and the how). Specific koan lessons and commentaries are the final sections of the book.

There are surprises. I thought one goal of any religion or philosophy was to "get the word out." In Zen study, master-student lineages of teaching have evolved the approaches taken by students to achieve enlightenment. In the past, these key methods of a school or a master were essentially trade secrets taught only to students showing promise of attaining the deepest understanding. While it is important to ensure initiates are truly ready to teach, keeping secrets conflicts with my notions of teaching and learning. Good to know.

I absolutely recommend this book. The book editor, the late John Daido Loori, has done a masterful job in assembling a readable and (forgive me) enlightening book on an esoteric subject.

Nota bene: Readers new to Zen should begin with zazen (sitting Zen or "sitting concentration") instruction by an accredited teacher and augment the experience with The Art of Just Sitting, Second Edition: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza. I finally got off the dime and went to a few training sessions, and found how easy it is to get a wrong start - Zen is something you DO, not something you read about, but such was my unguided interest.