Category Archives: Buddhism

BOOKS: “Essential Zen” ed. by Kazuaki Tanahashi & David Schneider

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Essential ZenEssential Zen by Kazuaki Tanahashi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Google Books Page

This is a collection of short writings (poems, koans, and prose excerpts) on Zen Buddhism arranged into loosely themed sections. The writings tend toward the artistic, creative, and metaphorical, with relatively few straightforward descriptions of technique or philosophy. The writings range from those of Chinese and Japanese monks who lived hundreds of years ago to present-day poets and Zen practitioners. Among the more frequently drawn from sources are: Hanshan, Ikkyu, Dogen, Ryokan, Hakuin, Gary Snyder, Robert Aitken, Seung Sahn, John Daido Loori, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Peter Levitt. But there are many others, including some who have only a single piece included.

There’s a substantial “Notes” section that gives source, translation, and — in some cases — background information. Most of the translations (both Japanese and Chinese) are by the editors, Kazuaki Tanahashi and David Schneider. There are illustrations, but they are all ensō (circular brush paintings) and related forms.

This is a highly readable and insightful collection of short writings, and I’d highly recommend it for individuals interested in Zen or Eastern Philosophy more generally.

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Death Poem of Ikkyū [w/ Audio]

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I borrowed these one month ago, yesterday.
 I'm returning them today.
 I borrowed five and return four --
 Repaid, but for Original Emptiness.

NOTE: This is one of three Death Poems attributed to Ikkyū, supposedly the middle one.

BOOKS: “Tranquil Sitting” by Yin Shi Zi

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Tranquil Sitting: A Taoist Journal on Meditation and Chinese Medical QigongTranquil Sitting: A Taoist Journal on Meditation and Chinese Medical Qigong by Yin Shih Tzu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

This manual is an English translation of a work earlier published in Chinese. It is nominally on Taoist meditation and is written by a Taoist author, but it does include discussion of Buddhist practices as well (specifically Mahamudra.) Also, part of the author’s declared intent with this text is to write in a manner approachable to a wider audience, and because of this sect is rendered less important. So, for example, the book employs more scientific and physiological modes of explanation as opposed to meridians and other conceptual approaches from Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The book is presented in two parts. I found the first part much more beneficial and productive. Said first part is a general guide to meditation. It discusses fundamentals, theory, physiology, and how to align one’s living with a meditative practice (i.e. how diet, breathwork, sleep, etc. influence one’s practice.)

The second part consists of long and fairly detailed descriptions of the author’s experiences with both Taoist and Mahamudra meditation. I didn’t find this part useful, and I believe it may be counterproductive. Discussion of the author’s subjective experience may lead readers to get hung up on chasing identical experiences to the detriment of just practicing. It may give false ideas about “correct” and “incorrect” experiences of the meditation.

Overall, it’s a fine guide to meditation, particularly the first (i.e. larger) part. I can’t say that it breaks a lot of ground. A reader well-versed in meditation may not gain much insight from this book, but it’s as good as any to get started.

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DAILY PHOTO: Scenes from Melaka’s Chinese Temples

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“Monkey God Temple” [Properly, 齊天府]
Cheng Hoon Teng (Temple of the Green Cloud) is the oldest Chinese temple in Malacca. It is a syncretistic temple (combining Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and Chinese Folk Religion elements.)

“I’m Happy to Be a Free Yogi” by Drukpa Kunley [w/ Audio]

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I'm happy to be a free Yogi,
   growing evermore into inner happiness.

I can have sex with many women
   as it helps them find the path of liberation.

Outwardly I'm a fool
   and inwardly I live a clear spiritual path.

Outwardly I enjoy wine and women
   and inwardly I work for the benefit of all beings.

Outwardly I live for my pleasure
   and inwardly I do everything in the right moment.

Outwardly I'm a ragged beggar
   and inwardly a blissful Buddha.

BOOKS: “The Art of Writing” Trans. / Ed. by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping

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The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese MastersThe Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese Masters by Tony Barnstone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Website

This thin volume is packed with insights on writing — especially, but not exclusively, poetry. It consists of four chapters. The first two are the ars poetica of Lu Ji and Sikong Tu, respectively (i.e. The Art of Writing and The Twenty-Four Styles of Poetry.) The second half of the book consists of two chapters of collected sayings and poetry commentary excerpts.

I haven’t read a book so dense with quotable lines in a while. Some of the advice offered is universal and timeless (e.g. avoid cliches and read voraciously,) but some of it reflects a uniquely Chinese perspective rooted in Taoist and Zen sentiments (e.g. how to use wu wei [effortlessness] in one’s writing and so forth.)

There is a preface and each of the sections has its own editorial opening, but these never feel like padding (which often happens with books that come out to less than a hundred pages of content.) Instead, this ancillary material is concise and helps to offer historic and cultural context.

I’d highly recommend this book for writers and those interested in Eastern aesthetics and literature. That said, you don’t necessarily have to be interested in both. Any writer could pick up some beneficial tips while reading this book, and it’s compact, highly readable, and even humorous in places.

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“Tiantai” [天台] by Fēnggān [w/ Audio]

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I came once to Tiantai,
 And back ten-thousand times.
 Like clouds or water tides:
   Drift and flow, come and go.
 I stroll, free of worry,
  Buddha's Path - in no hurry.
 While the world's forked roads
  Lead men to fret and scurry.

Fēnggān [Senryū]

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the monk rode in
 on a bright-eyed tiger, and
  started hulling rice.

FIVE WISE LINES [October 2024]

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If any thing is sacred the human body is sacred

walt whitman; Leaves of grass; “I sing the body electric”

Strong in their softness are the sprays of the wisteria creeper;
The pine in its hardness is broken by the weak snow.

Saying of Master Jukyo as Translated by Trevor Leggett in Zen and the Ways

When there is mutual ignorance, confidence indeed is king.

Trevor leggett; Zen and the Ways

Do not see the gate and think it is the house. The house is something which is reached by passing through and going beyond the gate.

YAgyu Munenori’s Art of War (As translated by trevor leggett in Zen and the ways)

Students of the Ways must see clearly that in an untrained man the intellect is like a barrister. It argues clearly and logically, but the aim is not truth, but to reach a predetermined conclusion.

Trevor Leggett; Zen and the Ways

BOOKS: “Zen and the Ways” by Trevor Leggett

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Zen and the WaysZen and the Ways by Trevor Leggett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Open Library Page

This book is the most densely populated with interesting insights that I’ve read in some time. It’s not new, being first published in 1978, but it takes a variety of approaches to give the reader a better understanding of Zen and the application of Zen mind to martial arts and other activities that found benefit in stillness and clarity. By “the Ways,” Leggett is referring to those arts and activities benefiting from Zen, which include: tea ceremony, flower arranging, painting, poetry writing, and all manner of martial arts. [Often represented by ending “do” in Japanese.] (The latter are dealt with most extensively, but not exclusively.)

The book is arranged in six parts, the first half of which focus mostly upon Zen Buddhism and, particularly, the Kamakura school that found a huge following among warriors and other artists. Those first three chapters take a big to small approach, examining Zen from ever finer levels of detail, starting with an introduction to Zen Buddhism broadly, moving on to the Kamakura developments, and then finally focusing on one particular practice — that of Koans (stories that present riddles which the student can only “solve” in a non-intellectual fashion.)

The second half of the book investigates the ways Zen has been applied to various arts. This is where one sees the varied approaches used to explore the confluence of Zen and artistry. Part Four consists of a series of essays explaining concepts such as ri (universal truth) and ji (formal technique,) ki (vital energy,) and isshin (single-heartedness) / zanshin (lingering awareness.) Part Five consists of historic martial arts scrolls and excerpts, including Yagyu Munenori’s Art of War and Chozan Shisai’s “Tengu’s Guide to the Martial Arts.” The final part consists of stories that illustrate crucial ideas in a readable and memorable fashion.

I was extremely pleased to stumble across a copy of this book in a second-hand bookshop. I’d long ago heard a fascinating story about murders in Edo era Japan of high-level martial artists, all killed in the same manner. They never found the killer, but they figured out how the murders were done easily enough. The killer exploited his knowledge of that school’s techniques to lay a fake that exploited their own technique to create an opening. It’s a cautionary tale that drilling muscle memory is not the end-all be-all of martial arts, and that it can create its own problems. At any rate, I’d never been able to find the source… until now. There is a detailed discussion of it in this book.

For readers interested in how state of mind influences artistic performance, I’d highly recommend this book.

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