Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library) | Shunryu Suzuki

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library) | Shunryu Suzuki | excellent intro to zen

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Zen Mind, Beginner...

	Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library) Shunryu Suzuki Shambhala, 2006 - 192 pages average customer review:based on 136 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line of Shunryu Suzuki's classic. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that's just the beginning. In the thirty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much re-read, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics?from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality?in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page. It's a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice.

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A must for your library

This book is a must have for anyone looking to better understand the Zen philosophy or gain introspective on themselves. The title is a bit misleading as is explained within the preface. This is a book that would be well read with someone with no knowledge of Zen or expansive knowledge. It is a book that definitely can (and will be by me) read many times!!

excellent intro to zen

This book is a great into to Zen. It describes how to meditate Zen style in great detail and clearly. The ideas are though provoking and different. It's a great book for those who have read a lot of self help and are looking for something 'deeper' and more challenging. Something to flex your mind muscles! The language is clear and the book is not as esoteric as other Zen writings. The ideas are sometimes complex and therefore difficult to absorb, but this is why you want to read it, because once you get it, the wisdom is priceless. It definitely is a good, serious read on the subject of Zen.

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A book that grows and dies with you

I've read this book a couple of times....the first time I had no idea what Roshi was talking about, but somehow I did. The second time around I had six months of Zen practice and the book took on a totally new meaning...although I still didn't quite get everything at great depth. I feel that each read will only deepen my understanding and lessen my ignorance. Great book.

A Beginner Always

When I began on the Zen path in the 1980's I read several books all of which helped some . Like a lot of people I preferred the more dramatic ones like Zen in the Art of Archery, The Method of Zen etc.. and they did sustain my interest but two books which I came to and began to read over and over were the Tao Te Ching and Zen Mind. And I believe the reason is that they resonated with my zazen practice. They seemed most like the actual event of sitting itself. In the chapter entitled Nothing Special Suzuki begins by saying " I do not feel like speaking after zazen. I feel the practice of zazen is enough...strictly speaking, for a human being there is no other practice than this practice. There is no other way of life than this way of life. Zen practice is the direct expression of our true nature."
If Zen verbal teachings are at their best just fingers pointing at the moon then the best teachings are those which most directly resemble the non-verbal ones and these words come close to doing just that. They are imbued with the highly elusive wisdom the Zen path conveys and are steeped in that wisdom. And they are simple ,direct and accessible to all.
The Tao has this same quality and like Zen Mind speaks directly to what is always already awake in all of us.

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a great book and even better b/c you can find it free online

Again, I'll make this review very quick. A great book, although sometimes comfusing with apparently paradoxical language (which is fairly commen in zen buddhism). That aside, this book can be very helpful for beginner as well as long-practicing buddhists. It is especially helpful for any home-practicing buddhist out there who do not have the added benefit of a zendo nearby. An even better bonus is that it can be found online for free if you look hard enough. cheers.

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