Customer Reviews

Zen, for Beginners

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If you like your religion serious and grim, this probably isn't the book for you. But if you are drawn to Zen Buddhism in part because of its warmth, humor, and apparent contradiction, it's an excellent place to start.

The authors make it clear from the start that although they have studied Zen for many years, they are students, not enlightened masters. For some writers, this would be a liability; their humility transforms it into an asset: their willingness to admit their imperfect knowledge make this much more approachable than other Zen books I have read. They impart a fair bit of basic information, while also conveying the flavor of something that "cannot be described in words [...] an experience more basic than the level of conceptual thinking."

The book, like other books in this series, is a quick but broad introduction to a complex topic. If you are looking for a serious, detailed reference book, look elsewhere. But out of the dozen books on Buddhism on my shelf, this is the one I first loan to friends who are curious about Zen.

Surprisingly, this volume in Documentary Comic Books Series from Writers and Readers publishers turns out to be a pearl of great price: a readily accessible, fun to read, History of Zen Buddhism. In a delightful series of line drawn cartoons (which the subject lends itself to) we follow Gotama Buddha through his magistral Life, Nagarjuna thru his teachings, Bodhidharma into China, Dogen back to Japan, and every major figure in between. The contributions of these great teachers and patriarchs are reduced to a few key sayings, koans, and concepts. In 160 pages, mostly pictures, the reader garners a coherent picture of the history, identity, meaning, and purpose of Zen, that would otherwise have taken the reading of many volumes, thick ones, to imbibe. This effort is a brief, informative recovery of the original face of Zen history and a wonderful teaching tool. My friend, the late Paul Reps, would have LOVED this slender masterpiece. Or, as Ikkyu puts it in the book:

'And what is it, the heart?
it is the sound of the pine breeze
in the ink painting.'

I really enjoyed reading this book. The reading went quickly, because there are pictures as well as words to express ideas. The illustrations were well done, and usually quite humorous. The book does not go into any serious dogma, just explains at a very basic level what Zen is and where it came from. I'd recommend this book to anyone; I can't pick out anything I didn't like.

book was received timely and was in excellent condition. would most definitely use this seller again in the future.

I am just a beginner in the study of buddhism.After reading "Buddha For Beginners"( a book in this series),I thought this book would be a good next choice. I was wrong! Although the historical text was informative, the text about theory and teachings was mostly quite confusing. The art work was not good.The illustrations' humor was witless and sometimes in poor taste. Had this been the first book I read about buddism it may have been my last

This work by Blackstone and Josipovic is an adequate introduction to Zen Buddhism with some nice history. When it gets into practice and study is where I stumbled. In the discussion of the koan, the authors read off a few that I am familiar with, but then this one, which I found strange they would include it:

"One day he [Choa-chou] fell down in the snow and cried out "Help me up, help me up!" A monk ran over and lay down beside him. Choa-chou got up and walked away. (If you can guess who learned what in the above situation, you are doing better than the authors). pg 100

I felt the authors should have left that out, for it made me suspicious of the rest of the book. A fun book otherwise and good for someone who knows a little more about Zen than just a beginner, for they will have a more refined view.