Zen Lessons The Art of Leadership

by CLEARY, THOMAS

• ISBN13: 9781570628832
• ISBN10: 1570628831
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-04-20
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

This guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority is based on the teachings of several great Chinese Zen masters. Drawing on private records, letters, and long-lost documents of the Song dynasty (tenth to thirteenth centuries),Zen Lessonsconsists of short excerpts written in language that is accessible to the reader without any background in Eastern philosophy. This book serves as a guide to recognizing the qualities of a genuine Zen teacher; it also serves as a study of the character and conduct necessary for the mastery of any position of power and authority-whether religious, social, political, or organizational.

Author Biography

Thomas Cleary holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. He is the translator of more than fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction	xiii
Notes on Sources	xxi
Enlightened Virtue	1	(1)
Study and Learning	1	(1)
Great and Small Evil	2	(1)
Honesty	2	(1)
A Vessel of Enlightenment	3	(1)
Modesty	4	(1)
Rules	4	(1)
Worry and Trouble	5	(1)
A Swift Bird	6	(1)
Work and the Way	6	(1)
Hot and Cold	7	(1)
Safety and Danger	7	(1)
Three Essentials of Leadership	8	(1)
Incompatibility	9	(1)
Leadership and the Community	10	(1)
Vermilion Outhouses	11	(1)
Mastering Mind	11	(1)
Mistrust	12	(1)
The House of Homeleavers	12	(1)
Chan Adepts	13	(1)
Chan Communities	14	(1)
Knowing People	14	(1)
Virtue and Benevolence	15	(1)
Mastery in Both Worlds	16	(1)
An Inscrutable Buddha	17	(1)
Great Light	17	(1)
Essentials of Leadership	18	(1)
Worry	18	(1)
The Self-Pointer	19	(1)
Defeatism	20	(1)
Speech and Action	20	(1)
Seeing Through	21	(1)
Study without Turning Away from People	22	(1)
Acting Too Early	23	(1)
Continuing Education	23	(1)
Decisions	24	(1)
Personnel Problems	25	(1)
Graduate Studies	25	(1)
Sages and Ordinary People	26	(1)
Being in the World without Misery	26	(1)
Communication of Hearts	27	(2)
Make the Way Wide	29	(1)
No Deception	29	(1)
The Chief Elder	30	(1)
Passing the Test	30	(1)
Farther and Farther	31	(1)
Will	31	(1)
Adding Dirt to a Mountain	31	(1)
Loss of Integrity	32	(1)
Mind and Traces	32	(1)
Don't Rush	33	(1)
The Call of Duty	33	(1)
Hypocrisy	34	(1)
Genuine Care	35	(1)
The Use of Finery	35	(1)
Advice to a King	36	(1)
The Just	36	(1)
Adaptation	37	(1)
Selecting Associates	37	(1)
Knowing People	38	(1)
Insects	38	(1)
Loftiness of Spirit	39	(1)
Sincere Linking for Learning	39	(1)
Timing	40	(1)
Too Late	40	(1)
Back to Basics	41	(1)
Gradual Development	41	(1)
Narrowmindedness and Indulgence	42	(1)
Gain and Loss	42	(1)
Overreaching Oneself	43	(1)
Be Careful	44	(1)
Good Leadership	45	(1)
Two Winds	46	(1)
The Obvious and the Unknown	47	(1)
Beyond the Range of Arrows	48	(1)
Commitment	49	(1)
An Inimitable Teacher	49	(1)
Self-Examination	50	(1)
Storage and Development	51	(1)
Sincerity and Truthfulness	51	(1)
Correcting Faults	52	(1)
The Phoenix and the Wolf	53	(1)
Winning People	53	(1)
The Community Mind	54	(1)
Leadership and Pride	54	(1)
Beginning and End	55	(1)
Precedents	55	(1)
Election	56	(1)
The Best People	57	(1)
Mind and Environment	57	(1)
Frugality	58	(1)
Deep and Shallow	58	(1)
Lasting Peace	59	(1)
Conduct	60	(1)
The Air of the Ancients	60	(1)
Considered Action	61	(1)
Culture	61	(1)
Rules	62	(1)
Slogans	63	(1)
See Yourself	63	(1)
Recognizing a Teacher	64	(1)
Balance	64	(1)
Habit	65	(1)
The Bequest of Extravagance	65	(1)
The State of the Community	65	(1)
What Are You Doing?	66	(1)
The Influence of Conduct	67	(1)
Retirement Home	68	(1)
Education	68	(1)
Great Teaching	69	(1)
Expectations	70	(1)
Nothing to Be Ashamed Of	70	(1)
Beyond the Reach of Monks	71	(1)
Signs of Good Government	72	(1)
Insidious Destruction	72	(1)
Iron Face Bing	73	(1)
Inner Mastery, Outer Rectitude	73	(1)
Someone of Perception	74	(1)
Reflection	74	(1)
A Wearer of the Patchwork Robe	75	(1)
Energy and Will	76	(1)
Persecution	76	(1)
Human Figures	77	(1)
A Life of Freedom	77	(1)
Rich and Noble	78	(1)
Learners and Dilettantes	79	(1)
Self and Others	79	(1)
Not in the Forefront	80	(1)
The Quickest Shortcut	80	(1)
Sincerity and Trustworthiness	81	(1)
Materialism and the Way	81	(1)
Impartiality	82	(1)
Nature	82	(1)
Feelings	83	(1)
Discerning Feelings	83	(1)
Natural Selection	84	(1)
Controlling Bias	85	(1)
Objectivity	86	(1)
Heart-to-Heart Communication	86	(1)
Government	87	(1)
The Mean	88	(1)
Peace amid Violence	88	(1)
Whom to Elect	89	(1)
Impartiality	89	(1)
Examples	90	(1)
Nominees	91	(1)
Common Sense	91	(1)
Misrepresentation	92	(1)
A Memorial	92	(1)
The Quality of Candidates	93	(1)
Division of Responsibilities	94	(1)
Exile of a Master	94	(2)
Criticism	96	(1)
Safety in the Community	96	(1)
Making a Community Flourish	97	(1)
Troubles	98	(1)
Charades	98	(1)
Grandees and Chan Teachers	99	(1)
Authoritarianism	100	(1)
Chan History	100	(2)
Some Bad Habits	102	(1)
A False Teaching	102	(1)
Gifts of Teaching	103	(1)
A Chan Master	104	(1)
Buddhahood in This Life	104	(1)
Casual Attire	105	(1)
Showboats	106	(1)
Personal Responsibility	106	(1)
Uniforms	106	(1)
The Discipline of Awareness	107	(1)
Four Limbs of Leadership	107	(1)
Thinking of Trouble	108	(1)
A Direct Shortcut	109	(1)
Nipping in the Bud	110	(1)
A Thousand Days of Effort	110	(1)
Trading Off	111	(1)
Moving People	111	(1)
A Retirement	112	(1)
The Derelict Age	113	(2)
Watering Melons at Midday	115	(1)
A Testimonial	116	(1)
A Demonstration	116	(1)
A Diagnosis	117	(1)
The Blue Cliff Record	118	(1)
No Fixed Classes	119	(1)
Leadership Training	119	(1)
Penetrating Obstruction by Reason	120	(1)
Teaching Government Officials	121	(1)
The Peril of Leadership	121	(1)
Killed but Not Shamed	122	(1)
Choosing Assistants	122	(1)
Superficiality and Depth	122	(1)
The Mind of Saints and Sages	123	(1)
History Review	123	(1)
The Revival of the Linji School of Chan	124	(1)
Custom	125	(1)
The Good and the Corrupt	126	(1)
Three Don'ts	126	(1)
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing	127	(1)
The Revealing Mirror of Truth	127	(1)
Making Choices	128	(1)
Loss of Order	128	(1)
Making Distinctions	129	(1)
Selecting Buddhas	130	(1)
Recognition	130	(1)
Fulfillment of Conditions	131	(1)
An Impromptu Talk	131	(1)
Governing Wild Foxes	132	(1)
Balancing	133	(1)
Talent and Capacity	133	(1)
A Moment in History	133	(1)
Sharing	134	(1)
Growth	135	(1)
A Successor to the Ancients	136	(1)
The Ordinary Condition of Human Beings	137	(1)
A Chan Master	138