To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki (Hardcover)

by David Chadwick (Author), Students of Shunryu Suzuki (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Shunryu Suzuki said: "Life without zazen is like winding your clock without setting it. It works perfectly, but it doesn't tell time." These are the kind of wise quips that David Chadwick offers in To Shine One Corner of the World. Suzuki's biographer, Chadwick has never stopped looking for information about this always-entertaining and enlightening Zen master. In this collection of short remarks, Chadwick has continued the ancient tradition of recording a teacher's memorable quotes-- ones that are cute or puzzling the first time you hear them but that grow in profundity with time. With the publication of Suzuki's shining words here, his wisdom can illuminate many, many corners of the world. --Brian Bruya

From Publishers Weekly
Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, was one of the most influential Buddhist leaders in America until his death in 1971. He is still lovingly remembered by his students at the San Francisco Zen Center, who share their memories of the Zen master in To Shine One Corner of the World: Moments with Shunryu Suzuki. The brief personal stories, which are contributed anonymously, offer a strong sense of the man, his teachings and his enduring sense of humor.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (March 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767906519
• ISBN-13: 978-0767906517
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #818,342 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Shine One Corner of the World, March 29, 2001

By	Ruth Wynkoop (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

Reading this book feels like sitting down for story time with your wise old grandfather on a Sunday afternoon. It's full of questions and full of answers to be excavated and then interpreted by the beholder. There's no dogma here - only stories and moments. If you read with a light heart you'll discover many pearls. Some of the stories will stick to you like honey.

David Chadwick's selection of anecdotes beautifully pieces together a portrait of Shunryu Suzuki, a Soto Zen priest who meant a lot of things to a lot of different people. Through the sharing of these individual experiences with Suzuki, a teaching as well as a sweet story of an unusual man emerges. An added bonus is getting a peek into this spiritual side of San Franciso in the 1960's.

The simplicity of structure works well with this book. You can open up to any page and dig in. You needn't be a Buddhist or a former student of Suzuki's to appreciate what's between the covers. Chadwick's introduction provides enough information about Suzuki to whet your appetite for the stories he shares. He also includes a glossary of Buddhist terms in the back of the book which I found helpful. For those who did know Shunryu Suzuki and his teachings I can imagine this book would be a treasure to keep right next to your family photo albums and personal journals.

I recommend this book to anyone seeking a little pleasure and understanding about everyday life. It's a book I'll keep on my nightstand for a bit of morning inspiration or as a last thought before drifting off at night. It's also a book I plan to share with friends.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to "be" the teaching, June 19, 2001

By	Algernon D'Ammassa (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a pleasure to read this at a time when bookstores are sporting larger and larger "Buddhism and Zen" sections, bursting with dharma-writing. In this slim, handsome volume (sporting the most beautiful photograph of Suzuki-roshi I have seen - like a sunbeam!) long-time students and practitioners recall moments with their teacher who showed, by example, that when you digest spiritual practice - so that how you hang your laundry is the teaching! - then THIS is the real teacher. When one student asks for a translation of one ancient Japanese chant, the roshi waves away an attendant who begins to locate a helpful book and says, "It means love!"

This is not wiseguy, shoot-from-the-hip Zen; nor is it a collection of erudite dharma speeches drawn from ancient scripture. This is a tribute to a true dharma friend and guide, a kind of friend we feel lonely for until we realize he was only showing us who we are.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book, September 7, 2001

By	"natelevine" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Yet another stunning book from David Chadwick. Though it resembles a classic koan collection, Chadwick deftly skirts the hazard of presenting a collection of "profound stories". Chadwick's own considerable personality is not in evidence, the tone of the book is always sweetly understated, and the reader is not obligated to grapple with worshipful pretensions to piety. What fun.....