Buddhism Is Not What You Think

by Hagen, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780060507237
• ISBN10: 0060507233
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-18
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

<p>"If it's Truth we're after, we'll find that we cannot start with any assumptions or concepts whatsoever. Instead, we must approach the world with bare, naked attention, seeing it without any mental bias -- without concepts, beliefs, preconceptions, presumptions, or expectations.Doing this is the subject of this book."</p><p>Renowned Zen teacher and bestselling author Steve Hagen penetrates the most essential and enduring questions at the heart of the Buddha's teachings: How can we see the world as it comes to be in each moment, rather than merely as what we think, hope, or fear it is? How can we base our actions on Reality, rather than on the longing and loathing of our hearts and minds? How can we live lives that are wise, compassionate, and in tune with Reality? And how can we separate the wisdom of Buddhism from the cultural trappings and misconceptions that have come to be associated with it?</p><p>Drawing on down-to-earth examples from everyday life and stories from Buddhist teachers past and present, Hagen tackles these fundamental inquiries with his trademark lucid, straightforward prose. The newcomer to Buddhism will be inspired by this accessible and provocative introduction, while those more familiar with Buddhism will welcome this hands-on and much-needed guide to understanding what it is to be awake. By challenging us to question what we take for granted about Buddhism and our lives, <i>Buddhism Is Not What You Think</i> offers a profound and clear path to freedom and joy.</p>

Author Biography

Steve Hagen is head teacher at Dharma Field Zen Center in Minneapolis.

Table of Contents

Prologue: See for Yourself
Paradox and Confusion	p. 3
Stepping on Reality	p. 7
The Problem with Eradicating Evil	p. 12
We've Got It All Backward	p. 17
The Itch in Your Mind	p. 24
A Mind of Winter	p. 28
No Mystery	p. 37
Rebirth, Not Reincarnation	p. 42
The Deep Secret in Plain View	p. 47
The Warp and Woof of Reality	p. 50
Neither Sacred nor Profane	p. 52
Canyons in a Cup	p. 56
Just Seeing	p. 60
The Revelation of the World	p. 71
Liberation, Not Resignation	p. 80
The Host Within the Host	p. 86
Before Ideas Sprout	p. 91
True Freedom	p. 95
Misguided Meditation	p. 99
Turning Things Around	p. 104
It's Enough to Be Awake	p. 110
Life Without Measure	p. 117
The Most Valuable Thing in the World	p. 122
Before We Say	p. 127
Needle in the Water	p. 133
Why Seek Liberation?	p. 140
Pure Mind	p. 147
The Thing Well Made	p. 151
Transforming Heart and Mind	p. 158
Truth Is Nothing in Particular	p. 164
Without Religious Egotism	p. 168
Getting Out of Your Mind	p. 174
Forsaking Understanding	p. 179
How Do We Know?	p. 185
Nothing Else	p. 192
It's Not a Matter of Belief	p. 196
How to Be Liberated on the Spot	p. 203
This Will Never Come Again	p. 208
The Elixir of Immortality	p. 214
Ice Forming in Fire	p. 222
Purely Mind	p. 227
Time and Now	p. 235
Enlightenment	p. 243
Epilogue: Reality Is Not What You Think	p. 251
Acknowledgments	p. 253
About the Author	p. 255
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Buddhism Is Not What You Think
Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs

Chapter One

Paradox and Confusion

If you visit a Buddhist temple in Japan, you'll likely encounter two gigantic, fierce, demonlike figures standing ateither side of the entrance. These are called the guardians ofTruth, and their names are Paradox and Confusion.

When I first encountered these figures, it had never occurredto me that Truth had guards -- or, indeed, that it needed guarding.But if the notion had arisen in my mind, I suspect I wouldhave pictured very pleasing, angelic figures.

Why were these creatures so terrifying and menacing? Andwhy were the guardians of Truth represented rather than Truthitself?

Gradually, I began to see the implication. There can be noimage of Truth. Truth can't be captured in an image or aphrase or a word. It can't be laid out in a theory, a diagram, ora book. Whatever notions we might have about Truth are incapableof bringing us to it. Thus, in trying to take hold ofTruth, we naturally encounter paradox and confusion.

It works like this: though we experience Reality directly, weignore it. Instead, we try to explain it or take hold of it throughideas, models, beliefs, and stories. But precisely because thesethings aren't Reality, our explanations naturally never matchactual experience. In the disjoint between Reality and our explanationsof it, paradox and confusion naturally arise.

Furthermore, any accurate statement we would make aboutTruth must contain within itself its own demise. Thus such astatement inevitably will appear paradoxical and contradictory.In other words, statements about Truth and Reality arenot like ordinary statements.

Usually we make a statement to single something out, to pinsomething down and make it unambiguous. Not so if our businessis Truth. In this case we must be willing to encounter,rather than try to evade, paradox and confusion.

Our problem with paradox and confusion is that we insiston putting our direct experience into a conceptual box. We tryto encapsulate our experience in frozen, changeless form: "thismeans that."

Ordinary statements don't permit paradox. Rather, they tryto pin down their subjects and make them appear as real andsolid as possible. Ordinary statements are presented in thespirit of "This is the Truth; believe it." Then we 're handedsomething, often in the form of a book or a pamphlet.

But all statements that present themselves in this way -- whether they're about politics, morality, economics, psychology,religion, science, philosophy, mathematics, or auto mechanics -- are just ordinary stuff. They're not Truth; they're merely theattempt to preserve what necessarily passes away.

When we claim to describe what's Really going on by ourwords, no matter how beautiful, such words are already in error.Truth simply can't be represented.

We want Truth badly. We want to hold it tightly in ourhand. We want to give it to others in a word or a phrase. Wewant something we can jot down. Something we can impressupon others -- and impress others with.

We act as though Truth were something we could stuff inour pockets, something we could take out every once in awhile to show people, saying, "Here, this is it!" We forget thatthey will show us their slips of paper, with other ostensibleTruths written upon them.

But Truth is not like this. Indeed, how could it be?

We need only see that it's beyond the spin of paradox thatTruth and Reality are glimpsed. If we would simply not try topin Reality down, confusion would no longer turn us away.

What we can do is carefully attend to what's actually goingon around us -- and notice that our formulated beliefs, concepts,and stories never fully explain what's going on.

Our eyes must remain open long enough that we may besuddenly overwhelmed by a new experience -- a new awareness -- that shatters our habitual thought and our old familiarstories.

We can free ourselves from paradox and confusion onlywhen we set ourselves in an open and inquiring frame of mind while ever on guard that we do not insist upon some particularbelief, no matter how seemingly well justified.

If it 's Truth we're after, we 'll find that we cannot start withany assumptions or concepts whatsoever. Instead, we must approachthe world with bare, naked attention, seeing it withoutany mental bias -- without concepts, beliefs, preconceptions,presumptions, or expectations.

Doing this is the subject of this book.

Buddhism Is Not What You Think
Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs. Copyright © by Steve Hagen. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs by Steve Hagen
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.