Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

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Summary: Amazing...
Review: I read this book some 15 years ago, and there are still passages in it that haunt me, especially the amazing section "Nirvana. The Waterfall." "Strictly speaking," this isn't a book about "Zen Buddhism in a Western context"--this is a book about life, an awakened life, a deliberate and meaningful life. You start reading this book to find the Master's heart but in the end you encounter only your own.

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Summary: This book promotes peace of mind.
Review: I recently found a used copy of this book published in 1974. I had heard of it but had never seen it. I have decided to give it as a gift to friends as a means for them to understand me better. This book challenges your self image and refocuses us on the faithfullness of regular practice. It is clear that much lies hidden in the text of this gem. Read and enjoy.

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Summary: Essential Reading for Zennists
Review: This is the clearest, most coherent book I've yet found on the subject. Although the zen master hails from Japan, his later years were spent in the U.S. - the product is a clear translation of the zen practice with most of its subtleties intact. The style is an informal conversational one covering zen meditation and practice. It was required reading when I studied Eastern Philosophy back in 1989, and I haven't stopped reading it since. Louis Cornel

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Summary: one of the best books ever on Zen Buddhism & Zen meditation
Review: I read Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind for the first time about a year ago. I found it to be one of the most accessible works on Zen Buddhism and Zen-inspired meditation techniques I've read (and I've read plenty, by both Eastern and Western writers). The late Suzuki had a real gift for making Zen accessible to Westerners, as evidenced by his extensive use of anecdote and analogy to put across some of the more esoteric aspects of the philosophy. Regardless of one's religious background, I think there is much to be learned about living (and about faith) from this slim book

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Summary: This is not a "beginners" manual!
Review: 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.

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Summary: What is Buddhism? What is Zen?
Review: 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.

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Summary: a zen classic...a book you can always come back to
Review: Weather you don't know anything about Zen or have been practicing for twenty years, "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" will always give you something new. Out of all the Zen books I own, this is the one I am constantly going back to and re-reading. For many American Zen students, this is the book that started it all. "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" is a collection of lectures given by Shrunryu Suzuki given to his students in Los Atlos, CA. They deal with the fundamentals of practice in the Soto Zen tradition started by Dogen in Japan. However it would be wrong to limit this book to just a tradition. I believe no matter what your beliefs or practices are, this book and the practice of zazen can help you. Suzuki emphasises strongly on practice which in Zen, its easy to get carried away with false ideas and I think that is what makes this book so helpful with my practice. So pick up this book and a Zafu and take the lotus position and be prepared to be changed forever.

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Summary: Mind at one with Tao
Review: Anyone interested in reading this book should not be dissuaded by the negative rantings of the "humble monk" and "Dharma teacher", whose reviews appear to be from the same person. This book does not disappoint. I first read it over 25 years ago and I've fondly returned to it time and again since.

This book is intended as a look at 'Zen Mind', mind at one with Tao. The term 'Beginner's Mind' refers to the goal of always keeping our original beginner's mind in our practice. To awaken to this mind, Suzuki encourages the practice of Zazen, for when we take the Zazen posture we are at once aligned with The Buddha and all of the Patriarchs, we perfectly express our own Buddha nature. The act of sitting itself is the actualization of Buddha Nature or Being. This IS the practice of Zen.

Zen is a practice, not a religion and as thus can not be blasphemed in the way that the negative reviewer asserts. Religion is an attitude of devotion to something other than yourself which is regarded as worthy of supreme devotion. Zen Buddhism is not the worship of Buddha. Buddha taught the way to eliminate the cause of human suffering and conflict, the way to awakening. Zen is the means to that end.

To the Dharma teacher and "Zen monk", I quote Zen Master Dogen Zenji's Bendowa. "You look on the meditation of the Buddhas and the supreme law as just sitting and doing nothing. You disparage Mahayana Buddhism. Your delusion is deep; you are like someone in the middle of the ocean crying out for water. Fortunately we are already sitting at ease in the self-joyous meditation of the Buddhas. Isn't this a great boon? What a pity that your true-eye remains shut - that your mind remains drunk. The world of the Buddhas eludes ordinary thinking and consciousness. It cannot be known by disbelief and inferior knowledge. To enter one must have right belief. The disbeliever, even if taught, has trouble grasping it.... Your only purpose in reading the sutras should be to learn thoroughly that the Buddha taught the rules of gradual and sudden training and that by practicing his teachings you can obtain enlightenment. You should not read the sutras merely to pretend to wisdom through vain intellections.... While you look at words and phrases, the path of your training remains dark....Constant repetition of the Nembutsu is also worthless - like a frog in a spring field croaking night and day....Understand only this: if enlightened Zen masters and their earnest disciples correctly transmit the supreme law of the seven Buddhas, its essence emerges, and it can be experienced. Those who merely study the letters of the sutras cannot know this. So put a stop to this doubt and delusion. Follow the teachings of a real master and, by zazen; attain to the self-joyous samadhi of the Buddhas."

The Buddha himself said "This is itself the Way to Awakening".

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Summary: Finally, Answers Found
Review: I luckily stumbled onto this little treasure while reading basketball coach phil jackson's "sacred hoops." in that book, jackson repeatedly referred to the teachings of zen master suzuki's teachings in this book. never could i have imagined that a book on sports could lead to such a dramatic, profound and truly life changing experience as i found when reading "zen mind, beginner's mind."

whereas faith based religions are a complete assualt on the intellect when providing answers to the secrets of the universe that are not known to us, suzuki instructs us to respect such things as both "mysterious and beautiful." important and fundamental concepts such as "non-attachment" that can be difficult to grasp are succinctly communicated in reminders such as "a weed grows even though we hate it, and a flower falls even though we love it." zen mind will place your focus squarely in the present and allow to rid yourself of state depriving emotions once you learn to let go of any "gaining" notions. you'll find focus and calm in all situations. (just like michael jordan and the chicago bulls whom coach jackson required zen-like meditation at the end of each practise!)

this book is so complete it's all you'll really ever need. and as the author implies "once you've got it, you've got it. no need to keep searching."

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Summary: Unique Modern Zen Literature
Review: "The points we emphasize are not the stage we attain, but the strong confidence we have in our original nature and the sincerity of our practice" Reading over 20 books on Zen I can confidently write that Beginners Mind is unique among modern Zen literature in that it gives the reader the "sense of Zen". Unlike other books by D.T. Suzuki or Alan Watts, both of which are very profound writers that write in a more intellectual and formal manner Shunryu is more humane. This is not the best book to start with, a better first step could be Alan Watts "The way of Zen" or D.T. Suzuki's "An Introduction to Zen Buddhism" but after a basic understanding of Zen is acquired this book will uniquely supplement it.