Asking About Zen: 108 Answers

By Jiho Sargent

Asking about Zen is a user-friendly introduction to Zen by an American Zen priest presiding over a temple in Japan. Sargent covers all aspects - teachings, practice, the priesthood, temples and temple... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0834804948
• ISBN13: 9780834804944
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Weatherhill
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

This is a most unusual book on Zen Buddhism, covering a variety of topics not covered in almost any other book on Zen which I have come across. It is best described as a "nuts and bolts," "tell it like it is" guide to many subjects which are explained rarely if ever to Zen students (and thus, are misunderstood by the great majority - especially Westerners). Thus, for example, topics covered include the real differences among sects within Japanese Zen, and between the Zen sects and the rest of Japanese Buddhism, the strange ways in which "satori" and "kensho" have been misunderstood and over-emphasized in the West, and differences in the training, recognition systems and daily work of Zen priests in the West and under the more traditional practices of Japan. The material ranges from questions appropriate to the beginner (e.g., What if my foot goes to sleep during Zazen?) to questions of interest even to the very experienced student (What is the true meaning of such often misused terms as "sensei," "roshi" and "Zen master?" What are the real differences between "Soto-shu" and "Rinzai-shu" practices, and how has Zen as practiced in the West tended to become a mix of the two?)The author is also an unusual figure among American Zen priests as her clerical career, starting when she was 48 and spanning the last 23 years, has been almost completely within Japan, including training in Japanese training temples under Japanese teachers, and work as a Zen teacher and as an assistant priest at an active Zen temple in Tokyo involved in the more mundane, "day-to-day" duties of a Zen priest in Japan. Thus, she is in a unique position to compare Zen as it has been practiced traditionally in Japan and as it has developed in the West. Further, the author has a "set the record straight" style that allows her to comment on many aspects of Zen as it has come to be practiced in the West that are usually ignored or "papered over" by other writers because they are rather controversial within the Zen community. This book is a necessary addition to the shelf of anyone with a serious interest in Zen, and is also important to the beginner who is thinking about delving more deeply into the Zen world.