Straight to the Heart of Zen Eleven Classic Koans and Their Innner Meanings

by KAPLEAU, PHILIP

• ISBN13: 9781570625930
• ISBN10: 157062593X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-07-31
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

Koans are at the very heart of Zen practice; this collection of informal koan talks will bring the Zen student into the presence of Roshi Philip Kapleau, the famous author ofThe Three Pillars of Zen. The talks in this collection came directly from thezendo(training hall) and from the intense form of practice known assesshin, a Japanese word meaning "to train the mind." These are direct presentations of the practice and understanding of one of the century's greatest American masters. These Zen talks focus on koans that illuminate fundamental issues of the spiritual life. While koans may be said to be uniquely Zen, in Roshi Kapleau's talks they become as familiar, everyday, and relevant as the questions we ponder-in one form or another-all our lives. Why was I born? Why must I die? How can I find an end to suffering? The book has three main sections. As Zen begins with the Buddha's life and enlightenment, the threeteishos(talks) in Part One are each drawn from an incident in the life of the Buddha. Since Zen in the West is a lay movement, not a monastic one as it is in Japan, Part Two presents koans and commentary drawn from the lives of three great lay figures in Zen. Part Three contains five teishos on traditional koans that reflect fundamental concerns common to all of us, man or woman, monastic or lay, Buddhist or otherwise: What is the road to enlightenment? What will happen to me when I die?

Author Biography

Philip Kapleau's classic Three Pillars of Zen has sold an estimated five hundred thousand copies. He is the author of Awakening to Zen, Zen: Merging of East and West, The Wheel of Life and Death, and The Zen of Living and Dying. Kapleau was the first Westerner to be ordained a roshi. He established the Rochester Zen Center in 1966. He lives in Rochester, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
Part One: Koans of the Buddha
The Buddha Holds Up a Flower	7	(15)
A Woman Comes Out of Meditation	22	(11)
A Non-Buddhist Questions the Buddha	33	(14)
Part Two: Koans of the Great Lay Practitioners
Vimalakirti's Gate of Nonduality	47	(16)
Bodhisattva Fu Lectures on the Diamond Sutra	63	(9)
Layman P'ang's Beautiful Snowflakes	72	(19)
Part Three: Koans of Our Lives
Goso's No Words or Silence	91	(10)
Dogo Expresses Condolences	101	(10)
Tosotsu's Three Barriers	111	(18)
Kicking Over the Pitcher	129	(13)
Kempo's One Way	142	(15)
Notes	157	(4)
Glossary	161	(10)
Bibliography	171