Novice to Master: An Ongoing Lesson in the Extent of My Own Stupidity

By Soko Morinaga

Book Overview

Everybody loves Novice to Master ! As you'll see in the glowing endorsements and reviews included below, this modern spiritual classic has been embraced by readers of all types. In his singularly humorous and biitingly direct way, Zen abbot Soko Morinaga tells the story of his rigorous training at a Japanese Zen temple, his spiritual growth and his interactions with his students and others. Morinaga's voice is uniquely tuned to the truth of the condition of the human mind and spirit and his reflections and interpretations are unvarnished and succinct. His great gift is the ability to lift the spirit of the reader all the while exposing the humility and weakness in the lives of people, none more so than his own. Read on to see what everyone from Publishers Weekly to well-known Buddhist figures and even New York Times bestselling author Anthony Swofford have to say about this one of a kind book!

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0861713192
• ISBN13: 9780861713196
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Entertaining and Honest

Rinzai Zen master Soko Morinaga talks to us in very funny and frank language about the strains he's encountered in his own Zen training over the years. We are left without any doubt that he began as bemused and puzzled as you and I are perhaps in our own current practice. And it's ongoing! He is a Zen master, but still experiencing the limits of his own stupidity. It's wonderful news for you and I! We can take a sigh of relief now! There is one particularly hilarious segment where he discusses pissing. He began addressing an audience who received a short break between talks. Out of concern for them Morinaga said, "Did you all have time to urinate?" The audience seemed a little stunned by this question. Maybe they were surprised that the person saying this was a monk. "Pissing is something that no one else can do for you. Only you can piss for yourself." He said this in front of this pretty large audience, and they all broke out in laughter! Yet this is a very critical statement. Dogen Zenji once had said something along very similar lines. He had been out in the field one day and a young monk said, `master, you should not be out here in the hot field doing work, you are master. You should go inside, leave the work for me." Dogen replied with something like, " If you did it I would miss the experience, I must work for myself." This is not a word for word account, but you get the picture.I cannot capture all of the wonderful teachings you will find in this book for you in such a short review. You will have to purchase it and see for yourselves. This book makes practice abobe anything else, FUN! Enjoy yourselves! Zen master Soko Morinaga makes my sides hurt all throughout here. But the most precious part of it all, is how insightful it is. Not only does it make you laugh yourself silly, but it helps us all come closer to tackling the great question of life and death. Enjoy this book.

authentic

The best darn zen book I've ever read. It has 2 or 3 pearls of wisdom applicable to anyone's life experience while also giving a detailed picture of traditional Japanese zen training at one of the oldest and most prestigious monasteries in Japan. Hard realities are delivered with a gentle demeanor unlike none I've ever encountered before.

Evocative memoir, well translated

I want to commend the translator of this book. She has given us a lively and literate version from a very difficult language and tradition. This memoir could have been opaque in a less skillful translation; her version makes an entertaining, moving, and educational addition to the growing literature of Zen biographies.

A Timeless Portrait of Japanese Zen

This wonderful book reads like novel and leaves the reader subtly transformed by the author's insights. Along the way, Morinaga paints an evocative and often quite humorous portrait of monastic Zen training as it functioned in Japan at the end of World War II. Though the setting and culture may seem distant and unfamiliar, Morinaga's elegant prose shines with gentle and generous wisdom that easily transcends the specifics of time and place, bringing another world vividly to life. There is undoubtedly something for everyone here whether you're looking for inspiration, dharma teaching, or just an enoyable read. I would recommend this book highly to anyone at all.

excellent

this book adds very necessary layman emotional elements to the canon of often removed zen buddhism texts which focus on things that seem so far away from the lives of ordinary people who get up and go to work every day and don't shave their head. yet it is still able to capture the essential points without being like zen-lite. it reads like novel, and teaches like einstein. one of the most original around.