A major figure in the transmission of Zen to the West, Zen Master Seung Sahn was known for his powerful teaching style, which was direct, surprising, and often humorous. He taught that Zen is not about achieving a goal, but about acting spontaneously from “don’t-know mind.” It is from this “before-thinking” nature, he taught, that true compassion and the desire to serve others naturally arises. This collection of teaching stories, talks, and spontaneous dialogues with students offers readers a fresh and immediate encounter with one of the great Zen masters of the twentieth century.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The late Korean Zen Buddhist master Seung Sahn, who died in 2004, came from the "kill the Buddha" school of Buddhism that relishes paradox and shrewd foolishness. The playfulness of this teacher's challenges to his pupils is clearly conveyed in this compilation of short exchanges with students. These are dharma (teaching) encounters rather than the lengthier talks found in many teachers' books. When Seung Sahn is not teaching students that one plus two equals zero, he is sharply banging his Zen stick on the floor to remind them to stop thinking, or talking, in order to understand. These short pieces nicely communicate a forceful style, and they are almost philosophical for someone who reiterates the shortcomings of an intellectual understanding of things. "Primary point" is a term the master uses to explain something like an absolute, except that Buddhism constructs no absolutes. Some biographical material, including a letter the Zen Master wrote to former South Korean dictator Gen. Chun Du-Hwan, provides helpful context. Seung Sahn's students in the Kwan Um School will especially prize this collection, and its easy-to-read format should also pique the interest of students of other Zen masters. (Aug. 8)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Now that Soen Sa Nim [Zen Master Seung Sahn] is gone, we have only the stories, and, thankfully, books such as this one, to help bring him alive to those who never had a chance to encounter him in the flesh. In these pages, if you linger in them long enough, and let them soak into you, you will indeed meet him in his inimitable suchness, and perhaps much more important, as would have been his hope, you will meet yourself.”—Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Coming to Our Senses
“Zen Master Seung Sahn’s teachings will always bring great light into the world. His extraordinary wit, intelligence, courage, and compassion are brought to us in this wonderful and important book. Thousands of students have benefited from his great understanding. Now more will come to know the heart of this rare and profound human being.”—Joan Halifax, Abbot, Upaya Zen Center
“Zen Master Seung Sahn’s teachings will always bring great light into the world. His extraordinary wit, intelligence, courage, and compassion are brought to us in this wonderful and important book. Thousands of students have benefited from his great understanding. Now more will come to know the heart of this rare and profound human being.”—Joan Halifax, Abbot, Upaya Zen Center
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Profound,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Wanting Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake: Teachings of Zen Master Seung San (Shambhala Pocket Classics) (Paperback)
If you're predisposed to think Zen is esoteric and austere, you won't like this book. If you're drawn to the elegant (and admitedly a little esoteric) simplicity of Zen this is a great read you'll find yourself returning to...
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"You not crazy enuffffffff!",
By J. H. Minde "Everything I need is right here" (Boca Raton, Florida and Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Wanting Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake: Teachings of Zen Master Seung San (Shambhala Pocket Classics) (Paperback)
Seung Sahn, also known as Soen Sa Nim to his students, is possibly the most famous exponent of Korean Zen (Son) in the West. His books and the tales they tell, and the tales told about him all point to a man who was supremely comfortable in his own skin and only hoped that others could feel the same comfort in and of themselves.He was a man who yelled, "Kill the Buddha!" joyfully and at the top of his lungs. He believed that wanting enlightenment---wanting anything---wanting---was the big mistake that keeps us bound to our own sufferings. This is a collection of short anecdotes and teachings. All are meaningful and surprisingly pithy, even the funniest ones, but what makes this book extraordinary is the inclusion of Seung Sahn's famous, never-before published 1982 letter to South Korea's dictatorial President, Chun Du Hwan. In this letter, Seung Sahn engages in Dharma Combat with a man both infinitely more powerful and infinitely weaker than Sahn himself. The absurdity of Chun's pretension to power is dissected under Sahn's compassionate but unsparing eye. It is said that Chun turned red with impotent rage reading Sahn's letter, one which should stand on equal footing with Martin Luther King's Letter from the Birmingham Jail.
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wanting Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake,
By
This review is from: Wanting Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake: Teachings of Zen Master Seung San (Shambhala Pocket Classics) (Paperback)
More of his delightful stories, right up there with his other book. highly recommended
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
(learn more)
great vow, great function, dharma transmission, one plus two equals zero, mind ioo percent, laughter from the assembly, attaining nothing, kitchen master Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Zen Master Seung Sahn, Dae Soen Sa Nim, Zen Master Man Gong, Chung Soeng Sunim, President Chun, Sixth Patriarch, Man Gong Sunim, Yong Song Sunim, Cambridge Zen Center, Jeong Hae Sah Temple, Great Bodhisattva Way, Lin Chi, United States, Layman Pang, Zen Master Ko Bong, Hwa Gye Sah Temple, Seung Sahn Sunim, Chuan Yin, Middle Way, Dae Kwan Sunim, South Korea, Great Love, Providence Zen Center, American Zen, Las Vegas Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
great vow, great function, dharma transmission, one plus two equals zero, mind ioo percent, laughter from the assembly, attaining nothing, kitchen master Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Zen Master Seung Sahn, Dae Soen Sa Nim, Zen Master Man Gong, Chung Soeng Sunim, President Chun, Sixth Patriarch, Man Gong Sunim, Yong Song Sunim, Cambridge Zen Center, Jeong Hae Sah Temple, Great Bodhisattva Way, Lin Chi, United States, Layman Pang, Zen Master Ko Bong, Hwa Gye Sah Temple, Seung Sahn Sunim, Chuan Yin, Middle Way, Dae Kwan Sunim, South Korea, Great Love, Providence Zen Center, American Zen, Las Vegas Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
