[.ca] Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (ISBN 0834800799)

From Amazon.com:
A respected Zen master in Japan and founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, Shunryu Suzuki has blazed a path in American Buddhism like few others. He is the master who climbs down from the pages of the koan books and answers your questions face to face. If not face to face, you can at least find the answers as recorded in Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, a transcription of juicy excerpts from his lectures. From diverse topics such as transience of the world, sudden enlightenment, and the nuts and bolts of meditation, Suzuki always returns to the idea of beginner's mind, a recognition that our original nature is our true nature. With beginner's mind, we dedicate ourselves to sincere practice, without the thought of gaining anything special. Day to day life becomes our Zen training, and we discover that "to study Buddhism is to study ourselves." And to know our true selves is to be enlightened. --Brian Bruya

What is Buddhism? What is Zen?:
This book will not answer either of those questions. Therefore it should get 0 stars. However, I think it deserves 5 stars. Religious or philosophical traditions are among the most difficult to pass from one generation to the next without bollixing up the original spirit of the tradition. When Siddhartha experienced enlightenment 2500 years ago, did he envision all the crazy schizms, sects, misinterpretations, and frauds that would ensue as a result of his teachings? YES. But he decided to teach his experiences anyway. To many, religion is all about dogma or exactly how to practice it. If you don't kneel correctly at the right time of day or cut a fart in the middle of silent meditation, then you are a permanent failure and can never achieve the perfection that your guru/god is trying to teach you. Others abandon religion entirely, and say that you should reject any dogma that tells you what to believe and how to think. Organized religion is just a perpetual Multi-Level Marketing scheme, where the only way to be successful is to convince everyone else that you've found the truth and get them to pass it on. Evangelical Christianity is obviously the best example of this, but some people see elements of it in all religions, and they have a point. Is there a middle ground? I think so, even though it's sooo easy to slip to one side or the other. My goal is to find inspiration in different traditions, understand and respect them, and also to explore the elements that I don't agree with (Judeo-Christian-Islamic fundamentalism, for example). What can I do to build a bridge between myself and people with these beliefs? I find that reading works such as Zen Mind, Beginners Mind nurture that middle path. It doesn't give step-by-step instructions for achieving perfection, but by walking with Shunryu Suzuki for a few hours and listening to his conversation you get a glimpse of what it means to be alive and aware of what's happening around you. You don't learn Buddhist dogma (whatever that is), and you don't learn how to reject all other religions or philosophies, you just get to enjoy reading the words of a kinder, gentler person. To you he is giving the gift of his thoughts which you can either take and use or reject and go look for something else. If you feel that this book is new-age trash or baffling mumbo-jumbo, I hope you're able to find whatever's right for you and that it enriches your life accordingly.

This is not a "beginners" manual!:
After reading several reviews where the reviewer got this mistaken impression from the title, I felt I had to say something. I love this book, but it is NOT a manual for how to begin the practice of Zen. The Beginner's Mind refers to a state of being, an attitude that Suzuki-roshi urged his students to adopt - one where the mind is open and supple and able to receive the wisdom of being in this world in this very moment. I truly love these essays and what they reveal of Suzuki-roshi's heart and his understanding of Zen. But if you want a "how to", this is not the place to start. I might recommend An Invitation to Practice Zen by Albert Low as a short, beginner's manual for how to actually practice.

The Best Zen Book:
As a Chinese artist in the West, I think this is the best Zen book I have read!!! It is a powerful weapon, which helps people realize the ultimate reality.

THE BEST IN ZEN LITERATURE:
filled with enlightening points and ideas to provoke thought and inspire meditation practice, Zen Mind, Beginners' Mind is the most effective book on zen I've ever read, and I've read plenty of books on the subject. Also, be sure to check out Kaplau's "The Three Pillars of Zen," which takes a more direct approach to expaining the practice of zen and does so magnificently. Five Stars for both!

Soto Zen explained with perfect simplicity:
There are two major brands of Zen, the Soto (a.k.a. "gradual") and Rinzai (a.k.a. "sudden") schools. Shunryu Suzuki outlines with crisp clarity the fundamental beliefs and practices that underlie Soto Zen. "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" is a collected edition of his talks which strike closest to the heart of the Soto school of the modern day. I found this book relevatory as a beginning practitioner of Zen. For beginners, I also recommend "Zen in the American Grain," by Kyogen Carlson. It's especially useful for those trying to reconcile Western culture with Zen practice. As a previous reviewer has noted, "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" is not intended as an introduction to "Buddhism" -- it seems to me that there are in fact far too many Buddhisms for such a book to be written.