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/lit/ - Literature

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14292783 No.14292783 [Reply] [Original]

Are there any good books on Zen that are worth a read (other than the Way of Zen)?

>> No.14292953

>>14292783
Huangbo Xiyun

>> No.14292970

>>14292783
The Dharma Bums

>> No.14293002

>>14292783
Dogen's Shobogenzo. Don't get some Essential Dogen compilation.

>> No.14293026

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
Zen Mind, Beginner Mind

>> No.14293047

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

>> No.14293111

>>14293047
Don't listen to this guy unless you are a pseud

>> No.14293113
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14293113

One of the many books I’m in the middle of.
It’s okay. Not sure what to compare it to. Been many years since I’ve read Tao of Pooh and Te of Piglet

>> No.14293116

>>14293111
Everyone here is a psued. Yes, even you.

>> No.14293193

>>14292783
The Record of Linji

>> No.14293409

>>14292783
The way of Zen is not a book on zen. Alan Watts has no idea what he's talking about.

>>14292953
>>14293193

These are really good recs. I would also add Mumonkan, Hekiganroku and the sayings of Yunmen and Foyan.

>>14293002
This is a good book but might be hard to understand (or rather really easy to misinterpret) for a beginner.

>> No.14293453
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14293453

>>14292783
The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind

>> No.14294137

>>14293047
this but unironically. Also, read The miracle of mindfulness.

>> No.14294841

>>14293116
not me though right anon?

>> No.14294851

>>14294841
especially you
t. pseud

>> No.14295158

Is rendering yourself a vegetable the ultimate zen state?

>> No.14295213
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14295213

>>14295158
No, the vegetable man is still searching for zen,
the merry santa-man is the ultimate zen state

>> No.14295255

>>14292953
What book do you recommend?

>> No.14295291

>>14293409
Why do you say Alan Watts has no idea of it? Where would you say is the difference between what he talks about in that book or his lectures and the other books you mentioned?

>> No.14295313

>>14295291
Alan Watts is comfy and based, he's the OG new age guru, just don't take him as an authority, he's more of a zen fanboy than anything

>> No.14295357

>>14295291
he was someone who read a lot and was smart but he also achieved enlightenment via psychedelics, wanted to make things easier to digest and was an alcoholic so he's less "authentic" then others but he is still a valuable resource

>> No.14295388

Do you guys do zazen regularly?

I'm frustrated because I had a buddhist phase in my life but could never really go deep into it. Now I'm trying to get closer to it, reading more, getting back into meditating. But it's so hard to keep up, I could never get past simple breathing exercises. This past week I managed to sit zazen 5 times, I'm practicing to go to a local zen monastery where they have zazen for begginners on the weekends.

>> No.14295402

>>14295313
>>14295357
Sounds too much that you are aiming at him and not at what he is saying. I know where you guys are coming from, I know how he is not an "authority" on zen. I want to know if anyone can point to a practical example, something he says that diverges from other supposedly more "true" sources on zen.

>> No.14295423

>>14292783
Dark Zen

https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/DarkZen.pdf

>> No.14295431

>>14295402
second guy here I think when it comes to philosophy the person preaching does matter, the fact he was an alcoholic who needed chemicals to achieve enlightenment surely means people who could go without and still reach enlightenment should be focused on more, alan still has a lot of value and insight though, the main divergence from traditional zen is meditation, he believes if you get bored meditating or you start getting fidgety or annoyed then take a break he also saw meditation as a "when you feel like it for as long as you feel like" type deal whereas traditional zen you practice daily regardless of how you feel, but again since he's trying to make it more accessible you can't be as strict

>> No.14296386

>>14295431
I see what you mean better from the second part, but I strongly disagree with the first part, we should not be concerned with defects of the masters.

>> No.14296413
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14296413

>>14293409
Very UN-zen comment right there

>> No.14296465

>>14296386
it wasn't meant to be about the defect but more traditional zen sees things like drugs and alcohol as a sort of forbidden thing but yet he routinely partook whilst preaching zen

>> No.14296495

>>14292783
Guenon - Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines

>> No.14297038

>>14293113
The Tao of Pooh is one of my favorite books of all time

>> No.14297385

>>14292783
It depends on why you're asking. Is it for your own practice or for intellectual pastime?

>>14295388
I sit every day, have been to some sesshins and done residential training at a temple. I really recommend finding a teacher and a group to sit with. It's very hard to practice zen without a teacher.

>> No.14297425
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14297425

>>14292783
The Book of Five Rings. Not the tactical stuff but the parts that discuss the head game of swordsmanship and not getting tied down to a certain style.

Hagakure, if you can ignore the sycophantic attachment to a leader which is its one glaring exception to the Zen lifestyle.

>> No.14298229

>>14296413
This looks so creepy from the thumbnail, but when you open up is quite a normal pic, just a bit weird pose and clothes.

>> No.14298789

>>14292783
It would be just too easy to meditate there

>> No.14299087

>>14295388
Get a used copy of “The Mind Illuminated.”

It offers a very approachable set of step by step instructions for guided progress. It will bring your practice back and take it next level.

>> No.14299145

>>14292783
At the dollar store there's a book wrapped in plastic for two bucks. Its full of blank pages. Best book on zen ever written.

>> No.14299200

Wild Ivy
The Way of Liberation

>> No.14299269

>>14295255
https://terebess.hu/zen/Huangpo.pdf

>> No.14299277

I actually wanted to make a similar thread. I want some books on Eastern philosophy, but ones that deal more with metaphysics than practice or ethics or whatever. Doesn't have to be Zen-only. Any recommendations? Preferably an academic work.

>> No.14299373

>>14299087
>Coomladasa

>> No.14300489

>>14299277
Engaging Buddhism: Why It Matters to Philosophy

>> No.14302036

za