Zen without Zen Masters (Paperback)

by Camden Benares (Author) "There are many individuals who are liberated or who appear to be so..." (more)
Key Phrases: Zen Master

Editorial Reviews

Review
If you don't laugh you've missed the point. If you only laugh you've missed your chance. -- Robert Anton Wilson, author of Cosmic Trigger

Try it; the shoe will fit. -- Christopher S. Hyatt, Ph.D., author of Undoing Yourself

Watch the crystals catch the dancing waters of the Tao... -- Baron Peter von Gundlach

Product Description
The author says: "There are two approaches to getting into Zen. The formal approach is to study with a Japanese Zen Master. The informal approach is an individual study program using whatever materials are available, what I call Western Zen. I see it as the next step in the radical Zen tradition. Zen Without Zen Masters represents my attempt to share Western Zen with you." Zen Without Zen Masters is the first---and still the best---collection of truly contemporary Zen parables. For the novice, Zen Without Zen Masters is an outstanding introduction to the baffling world of meditation, Eastern thought and the galaxy of philosophies that make up the expanding horizon of human awareness. For the veteran, Benares integrates the "inner quest" with the experience of daily life.

And if that weren't enough, the section on Meditations and Exercises focuses the inner experience into an accessible form. Marked by clarity and simplicity, they demystify the growth process through practical application.

A true classic. Extensively and beautifully illustrated.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: New Falcon Publications; 4 edition (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561840734
• ISBN-13: 978-1561840731
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,234 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Interactive book on Zen I've ever read!, June 3, 2000

By	eShu (Flower Mound, TX United States) - See all my reviews

A book on Zen is a contradiction in terms. It's be like having a 300-page book on being succinct. Zen practioners believe that the best way to experience Zen is to experience life, not read or study it. "Zen Without Zen Masters" captures this theme beautifully. The book is comprised of short, mostly orignal, humorous Zen anecdotes. Each of which reads like the setup of a joke. As you read these stories, you'll find yourself thinking. But you'll also find youself laughing. So not only are you a reader of Benares' book, you're a participant as well. And after all, that's what Zen is all about.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening and entertaining, July 20, 2007

By	Ramsey E. Clark - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book manages to make you keenly aware of your own involvement with your happiness, while simultaneously keeping you laughing your head off. Well worth coming back to for both its analyses of taking control of your own experience and as a tool to brighten up your day with some levity.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightenment Without Pain, April 27, 2008

By	John Carr - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first met Camden Benares in 1974, when he was just finishing "Zen Without Zen Masters." I had the pleasure, during out weekly get-togethers, of having him read me a chapter each week, while I read to him the chapters of my then in-progress novel. I remember many times laughing so hard I almost fell off my chair -- certainly not my usual reaction to a work on enlightenment, or any other religious matter!

Camden wrote two other Zen books, one of which, "Riding Buddha's Bicycle" a much more autobiographical book, reamins unpublished. I've read them all and "Zen Without Zen Masters" was his crowning work. In my opinion it is the best book on Zen ever written.

He was a brilliant, gentle man who lived a life of wisdom in this "Age of Fools." Camden Beneres was an iconoclast, a Discordian and a man who never took himself too seriously. He was much loved by those privileged to know him -- in Japan he would have been revered as a "Living Treasure," a great sensei with many students.

Camden moved on to the next plane in the year 2000; wherever he is today, his spirit is surely smiling and full of laughter. Thankfully, he left us this book so that we can share his insights into life and enlightened wisdom.

John F. Carr