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Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn

Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn

List Price: $13.00
Your Price: $9.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favorite modern Zen books
Review: "Dropping Ashes on The Buddha" by Zen Master Seung Sahn is a truly unique gem in the boundless sea of Zen literature. It was one of the first books I read on Zen and it had a huge impact on me when I read it much like "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" did. Like "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" this book is filled to the brim with humor and compassion and wisdom, defying all logic that will truly awaken you. Seung Sahn was the first teacher to bring Korean Zen Buddhism to America and has since founded his own school. The book was compiled and edited by a student named Stephen Mitchell(whose translation of the "Tao Te Ching" I highly recommend.) The book is a collection of lectures, stories, letters, and stories(both modern and old) all by or having to do with Seung Sahn. It was also great to hear some great Zen stories from the Korean tradition and also a little bit about its lineage. Like koans and other Zen stories, this book shows a great account of buddha nature in action that is beyond words and thinking. Seung Sahn helped erase alot of misconceptions I had in my mind about Zen. I highly recommend this book. I am always re-reading certain stories every now and then and still finding them as fresh as the day I first read them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favorite modern Zen books
Review: "Dropping Ashes on The Buddha" by Zen Master Seung Sahn is a truly unique gem in the boundless sea of Zen literature. It was one of the first books I read on Zen and it had a huge impact on me when I read it much like "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" did. Like "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" this book is filled to the brim with humor and compassion and wisdom, defying all logic that will truly awaken you. Seung Sahn was the first teacher to bring Korean Zen Buddhism to America and has since founded his own school. The book was compiled and edited by a student named Stephen Mitchell(whose translation of the "Tao Te Ching" I highly recommend.) The book is a collection of lectures, stories, letters, and stories(both modern and old) all by or having to do with Seung Sahn. It was also great to hear some great Zen stories from the Korean tradition and also a little bit about its lineage. Like koans and other Zen stories, this book shows a great account of buddha nature in action that is beyond words and thinking. Seung Sahn helped erase alot of misconceptions I had in my mind about Zen. I highly recommend this book. I am always re-reading certain stories every now and then and still finding them as fresh as the day I first read them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Reflections on Dropping Ashes on the Buddha
Review: 0,1,2,3 -- a-be-ce-dary. With each new day, we learn and grow. Tomorrow I wonder what I will know? New words, new terms? Mere shape and form, hallowed thoughts, which frame the norm. Attachment thinking -- you, I, they. Can the sun come out to play? Sunlight comes and sunlight goes...moonlight washes away sorrows and woes. Blank slates just like before there was thought. The truth is not what we were taught! Why do I seek this clarity? Boddhisatva, come to me. A peasant cries in a faraway land. The clock is ticking. Can you hear the sand? Save all people, set them free. Katz! Why don't you go drink tea. I don't believe you, falling to the floor...why don't you go and study more.

If you'd like to decipher this poem of mine, read the book!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Great Zen Book!
Review: I finally read this book in its entirety recently after a year of randomly reading the charming stories and koans comprising the book. I love the simplicity of Seung Sahn's teachings. The love he has for his student (you) truly shines through when reading. However, there are other books I would recommend to the beginner who knows little of Zen before this one -introductory books, otherwise the "methods" of zen teaching are easy misunderstood.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Zen Bible
Review: The first time I read this book I was stunned. I knew, I just knew, that it made sense somehow. But for the life of me, I could not figure out the "leaping logic" of ZMSS. However, I have kept it by my bedside for almost 3 years now, and a couple times a week, I pick it up, open to a story at random and again enjoy the wisdom contained within it. And believe it or not, after a few years of this, I find that the stories all fit together. There is an underlying pattern and method to the zen master's madness. I am getting closer to understanding it all, but then again, there is nothing to attain is there? "The mouse eats cat food but the cat bowl is broken."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Zen Bible
Review: The first time I read this book I was stunned. I knew, I just knew, that it made sense somehow. But for the life of me, I could not figure out the "leaping logic" of ZMSS. However, I have kept it by my bedside for almost 3 years now, and a couple times a week, I pick it up, open to a story at random and again enjoy the wisdom contained within it. And believe it or not, after a few years of this, I find that the stories all fit together. There is an underlying pattern and method to the zen master's madness. I am getting closer to understanding it all, but then again, there is nothing to attain is there? "The mouse eats cat food but the cat bowl is broken."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Humorious and insightful...
Review: This book contains many nuggets of buddhist wisdom. It also has a warm and generaly humourious feel. It is very profound and warm hearted in its message. It's an utter delight to read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dont-know
Review: This book is an excellent way to learn the highest teachings of Zen. It is a collection of letters, sayings, and speeches by Zen Master Seung Sahn. If you buy this book and plan on learning the fundamentals of Zen, think again; there is no wasted speech here on any accessory means of reaching enlightenment such as mantras, or sitting positions. Seung Sahn teaches don't-know mind and nothing but don't-know mind; which means cutting off all thinking. I have read many books on Buddhism and also on Taoism and just recently discovered Zen and I feel like a tidal wave has washed over everything I have previously read and there is only Zen now. Seung Sahn's teaching method is very unique, and I think you should find it very effective and at some times amusing. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ancient Wisdom from a Modern Master
Review: This book is pure joy to read.

"Dropping Ashes on the Buddha" is a collection of Zen Buddhist koans - riddles and stories that defy logic and shock the reader into a new state of consciousness. They are bewildering, funny, shocking, even sacreligous. Most koans are very ancient stories that have been pasted down through the ages, but "Dropping Ashes on the Buddha" combines these old tales with present day stories, and beautifully tie old traditions with modern life in America. Anyone who is interested in Buddhism and especially Zen Buddhism MUST read this book.

Although most of this book speaks directly to the heart and avoids all attempts the reader might have to mentally figure it out, there is a strange logic to it all, and if you give yourself freedom to explore the "logic" you can learn much about how we live our lives on the deepest levels. The Circle of Awareness is especially beautiful and dead-accurate. Seung Sahn is unique in that he is very possibly enlightened in the sense that Buddha was.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Book to Read and Re-read
Review: This early book of Stephen Mitchell's is still one of his best. Not only that, but in my own opinion (for whatever _that's_ worth) it belongs on a shortlist of genuinely helpful books on Zen -- next to Kapleau's _Three Pillars of Zen_, Reps's _Zen Flesh, Zen Bones_, Suzuki's _Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind_, and a very few others.

Seung Sahn is a hoot, and Mitchell does a wonderful job presenting his teachings (in 99 fairly short sections, mostly taken from Seung Sahn's Dharma talks and personal correspondence). This book will annoy you in all the right places.

For guidance on koans generally, I like Thomas Cleary's _No Barrier_, recently republished as _Unlocking the Zen Koan_.

(And as other readers have noted, you shouldn't buy this book for advice on sitting, because there isn't any in it.)


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