The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living (Paperback)

~ Gilles; McClain, Gary R.; Adamson, Eve Van Grasdorff (Author) "This book is about Zen living, but not the kind that takes place in a monastery or in a cave or even, necessarily, in Japan..." (more)
Key Phrases: Nirvana Notes, The Least You Need, Brief History of Zen Buddhism (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (2000)
• ISBN-10: 0028639588
• ISBN-13: 978-0028639581
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #304,328 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it, read it, burn it, live it, July 14, 2002

By	Timothy Campbell (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been studying Zen off and on for years but was continually frustrated by the relentless obscurantism. On several occasions I asked questions on Zen newsgroups and was disappointed when people would answer my questions with riddles. Also, when I asked a Zen Roshi to answer some questions (even offering to pay him for his time) I found myself railroaded into taking his beginner's course a second time! I began to suspect that there are a lot of people out there who are so attached to some FORM of Zen that they have lost the ability to communicate the essentials in a compelling manner. They asked me, in effect, to "just have faith", perhaps inspired by their reports of bliss.

Sorry, but I've been there, done that! If you can't explain your valuable insight without a modicum of understanding of who I am and what I can grasp, then I'm not interested.

That's why I found "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living" (hereinafter TCIGTZL), so very refreshing. While I'm sure that some Zen purists will scoff, I was happy to have some perplexing questions answered. For example, I once asked on a Zen newsgroup, "What is the benefit of Zen? Why should I entrust the next 20 years of my life to some teacher whose qualifications I'm not able to assess?" In response, I got a lot of Zentastic blathering. It was as if they were trying to teach somebody calculus before arithmetic.

TCIGTZL, on the other hand, lays out the benefits quite clearly. I fail to see the harm in that; the authors carefully explain the "goaless goal" aspect of Zen, so there should be little danger of readers striving to attain and cling to those benefits. (If I may draw an analogy: you can explain the advantages of learning to read without getting people fixated on the actual process once they acquire the skill.)

So, at last, a bit of clarity! While Zen has long appealed to me at a gut level, I was getting to the point where I was asking, "After hundreds of years, why hasn't Zen improved its method of introducing itself to neophytes?" Maybe that's not fair -- maybe I wasn't looking in the right places -- but until I found TCIGTZL I was starting to think that I'd been wrong about Zen all along.

TCIGTZL does include a lot of material that is perplexing. I expected that. I also expect to find my future exploration of Zen frustrating. Now, though, I've read an accessible overview. I won't keep the book -- that would be too "clingy" -- but at least I now have some validation of my initial (favourable) gut reaction to Zen.

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical nuts and bolts of Zen, June 10, 2002

By	"kin-te" (the San Francisco Bay area) - See all my reviews

This book is just great. I have purchased numerous books on Zen and researched Buddhism on the internet. This book more than allot of others, really gets down to the practical nuts and bolts of how to apply Zen concepts to everyday life.

The section on your personal dukkha (anxiety & fear) and the worry myths are excellent! I have incorporated many of the ideas into my life with success. I also liked the history of how Zen came to America and evolved from the 60's and the "flower children". You are not going to get allot of technical jargon and heavy philosophical concepts. There is a good glossary and appendix at the end for further reading about that stuff, if you want to seek it out.

I am doing just that. This book has really given me a great understanding of what Zen is and how to apply it, while whetting my appetite for more. I want to study more about the Zen sutra's and traditonal teachings, but at least I am on my way to actually living Zen, while learning more about it. This is "the book" to begin your journey of finding out what Zen is all about and applying some of the concepts.

The only thing that is a turn off is the title. I have never understood the purpose of the titles in the "idiot's" and the "dummie's" guides. Most intelligent people are also seekers. Why can't they title the books as "For those who don't know about --- ".

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent practical guide to Zen, December 25, 2003

By	Thomas Hochmann (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

Many books on Zen fall into one of two categories: the "jump on the cool buzzword bandwagon" books that really have nothing to do with Zen, and the very dry and overly rigid books that are filled with many words and yet very little that a person would find helpful in everyday life. I am pleased to say this book falls into neither of those categories, and instead fits into a more enjoyable one: the kind of book that helps you learn to live better.

This is not a book about Zen history, or extensive rules for how to "properly" meditate. As the title states, this is a book about Zen *living*. It is like a flash light, which you can shine into the darkest corners of your mind and use as a guide to simplifying the psychological and emotional clutter therein. The authors have filled this book with many practical examples of how a Zen perspective can ease your mental burden and allow you to get more out of each moment.

If you're looking for lots of dry, philosophical blather, this is not the book for you. But if you are genuinely interested in gaining a new perspective on life, and learning how simple it can be to live in a more satisfying way, you've definitely come to the right place. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to clean out the dusty attic of the mind.