Basic Zen And Stuff: A Brief Introduction To Buddhism And Zen

By David Eiryu Wood

This book is an introduction to Buddhism and Zen. It covers the basic information of Buddhism from the historical Shakyamuni Buddha to many of his followers in a long lineage of Roshi's and Sensei's and Priests and Monks, and charts how Buddhism adapted as it came into each new country, becoming Zen (Chan) when it finally reached China, and changing even more in other countries until it finally reached America. As I said in the introduction: At some point in my life, though, I no longer felt comfortable with my state of mind during my life, which I should have been staying awake for, and I was likewise uncomfortable with my Northern Baptist Christian upbringing. I loved the stories in the Bible, the poetry of the Psalms and Proverbs, and much of the philosophy in the pages, but the idea that this was the one and only true religion, and all the others were not, and that Jesus was the only way to God and Salvation simply rubbed me the wrong way. One of the meanings of "Buddha" is "Awakened One." It was a good place to start. I eventually started reading non-Christian books, including Suzuki Roshi's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Alan Watts's The Way of Zen, Roshi Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen, and Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Of course, I already knew that Christianity never cornered the market on spirituality, no matter what the Bible said, but now I was beginning to look at a belief, a religion, that was possibly not a religion, that often had no god or gods (not atheistic but nontheistic--meaning that whether there was a god or not, he/she was not the focal point of the belief), that openly claimed to be not for everybody, and insisted that all religions were right and correct in their own way, not just Buddhism, and that everybody, no matter what their religion, had Buddha nature. And that, in the end, did not promise to save you, but instead insisted you had to save yourself. It was a belief that was a paradox, that taught you with words and scriptures and sutras, and then insisted the real teachings were mind-to-mind, without words, that insisted you seek a teacher, or Sensei. or Roshi, or Rinpoche, then insisted you had to walk the road yourself. And in the end, the teacher was not the way, but you had to find it on your own. As Buddha once said, "Do not mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the moon itself!" In any case, what I have done here is compile the simplest facets of Buddhism and Zen into a short book, a sort of Zen 101. I am not a teacher, not a monk, not even that good of a practitioner of Buddhism, but I wanted something that taught Buddhism and Zen in the simplest terms, and I think I now have it. If anybody really wants to get deep into the Dharma, the teachings of Zen, he or she should put this book down now and find a better book with some real knowledge. There are a lot out there. And, while you're at it, find a good and reputable teacher to help you on the way. There have been many great practitioners from Buddha on, including Bodhidharma, Hui-neng, and Dogen. The mention of these men gives no justice to the depth they brought to Zen, and I hope someday you get a chance to read about them yourself in more detail than this book offers. For now, if you are interested, go ahead and turn these pages, knowing full well there is nothing here that will ever enlighten you, but I am always hoping this will lead you to something better, something that will. Make of these words what you will, and remember, don't mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the moon itself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BXN22839
• ISBN13: 9798386791452
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.3" x 8.5"