The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Excellent book! Easy to read and follow. I am finally gaining a clearer understanding about Zen.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Excellent book! Easy to read and follow. I am finally gaining a clearer understanding about Zen.

Rating:
Summary: Buy it, read it, burn it, live it
Review: I have been studying Zen off and on for years but was continually frustrated by the relentless obscurantism. On several occasions I asked questions on Zen newsgroups and was disappointed when people would answer my questions with riddles. Also, when I asked a Zen Roshi to answer some questions (even offering to pay him for his time) I found myself railroaded into taking his beginner's course a second time! I began to suspect that there are a lot of people out there who are so attached to some FORM of Zen that they have lost the ability to communicate the essentials in a compelling manner. They asked me, in effect, to "just have faith", perhaps inspired by their reports of bliss.

Sorry, but I've been there, done that! If you can't explain your valuable insight without a modicum of understanding of who I am and what I can grasp, then I'm not interested.

That's why I found "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living" (hereinafter TCIGTZL), so very refreshing. While I'm sure that some Zen purists will scoff, I was happy to have some perplexing questions answered. For example, I once asked on a Zen newsgroup, "What is the benefit of Zen? Why should I entrust the next 20 years of my life to some teacher whose qualifications I'm not able to assess?" In response, I got a lot of Zentastic blathering. It was as if they were trying to teach somebody calculus before arithmetic.

TCIGTZL, on the other hand, lays out the benefits quite clearly. I fail to see the harm in that; the authors carefully explain the "goaless goal" aspect of Zen, so there should be little danger of readers striving to attain and cling to those benefits. (If I may draw an analogy: you can explain the advantages of learning to read without getting people fixated on the actual process once they acquire the skill.)

So, at last, a bit of clarity! While Zen has long appealed to me at a gut level, I was getting to the point where I was asking, "After hundreds of years, why hasn't Zen improved its method of introducing itself to neophytes?" Maybe that's not fair -- maybe I wasn't looking in the right places -- but until I found TCIGTZL I was starting to think that I'd been wrong about Zen all along.

TCIGTZL does include a lot of material that is perplexing. I expected that. I also expect to find my future exploration of Zen frustrating. Now, though, I've read an accessible overview. I won't keep the book -- that would be too "clingy" -- but at least I now have some validation of my initial (favourable) gut reaction to Zen.

Rating:
Summary: Buy it, read it, burn it, live it
Review: I have been studying Zen off and on for years but was continually frustrated by the relentless obscurantism. On several occasions I asked questions on Zen newsgroups and was disappointed when people would answer my questions with riddles. Also, when I asked a Zen Roshi to answer some questions (even offering to pay him for his time) I found myself railroaded into taking his beginner's course a second time! I began to suspect that there are a lot of people out there who are so attached to some FORM of Zen that they have lost the ability to communicate the essentials in a compelling manner. They asked me, in effect, to "just have faith", perhaps inspired by their reports of bliss.

Sorry, but I've been there, done that! If you can't explain your valuable insight without a modicum of understanding of who I am and what I can grasp, then I'm not interested.

That's why I found "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living" (hereinafter TCIGTZL), so very refreshing. While I'm sure that some Zen purists will scoff, I was happy to have some perplexing questions answered. For example, I once asked on a Zen newsgroup, "What is the benefit of Zen? Why should I entrust the next 20 years of my life to some teacher whose qualifications I'm not able to assess?" In response, I got a lot of Zentastic blathering. It was as if they were trying to teach somebody calculus before arithmetic.

TCIGTZL, on the other hand, lays out the benefits quite clearly. I fail to see the harm in that; the authors carefully explain the "goaless goal" aspect of Zen, so there should be little danger of readers striving to attain and cling to those benefits. (If I may draw an analogy: you can explain the advantages of learning to read without getting people fixated on the actual process once they acquire the skill.)

So, at last, a bit of clarity! While Zen has long appealed to me at a gut level, I was getting to the point where I was asking, "After hundreds of years, why hasn't Zen improved its method of introducing itself to neophytes?" Maybe that's not fair -- maybe I wasn't looking in the right places -- but until I found TCIGTZL I was starting to think that I'd been wrong about Zen all along.

TCIGTZL does include a lot of material that is perplexing. I expected that. I also expect to find my future exploration of Zen frustrating. Now, though, I've read an accessible overview. I won't keep the book -- that would be too "clingy" -- but at least I now have some validation of my initial (favourable) gut reaction to Zen.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent starter guide!
Review: If you ever wanted to learn more about Zen Buddhism, this is one of the good beginner books to get.

The belief is that you really can't learn Zen from a book and really need a teacher. But if you're unsure if you want to practice Zen or want to learn more about it, start here.

Not only is the book fun to read it's filled with real life examples, historical facts and more. You can easily incorporate Zen into your life with this book alone. The only suggestion I'd make would be to also buy the book "The complete idiot's guide to meditation" since meditation isn't talked in great detail.

Get this book and start your quest to find out what the heck one hand clapping really sounds like!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent starter guide!
Review: If you ever wanted to learn more about Zen Buddhism, this is one of the good beginner books to get.

The belief is that you really can't learn Zen from a book and really need a teacher. But if you're unsure if you want to practice Zen or want to learn more about it, start here.

Not only is the book fun to read it's filled with real life examples, historical facts and more. You can easily incorporate Zen into your life with this book alone. The only suggestion I'd make would be to also buy the book "The complete idiot's guide to meditation" since meditation isn't talked in great detail.

Get this book and start your quest to find out what the heck one hand clapping really sounds like!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent practical guide to Zen
Review: Many books on Zen fall into one of two categories: the "jump on the cool buzzword bandwagon" books that really have nothing to do with Zen, and the very dry and overly rigid books that are filled with many words and yet very little that a person would find helpful in everyday life. I am pleased to say this book falls into neither of those categories, and instead fits into a more enjoyable one: the kind of book that helps you learn to live better.

This is not a book about Zen history, or extensive rules for how to "properly" meditate. As the title states, this is a book about Zen *living*. It is like a flash light, which you can shine into the darkest corners of your mind and use as a guide to simplifying the psychological and emotional clutter therein. The authors have filled this book with many practical examples of how a Zen perspective can ease your mental burden and allow you to get more out of each moment.

If you're looking for lots of dry, philosophical blather, this is not the book for you. But if you are genuinely interested in gaining a new perspective on life, and learning how simple it can be to live in a more satisfying way, you've definitely come to the right place. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to clean out the dusty attic of the mind.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent practical guide to Zen
Review: Many books on Zen fall into one of two categories: the "jump on the cool buzzword bandwagon" books that really have nothing to do with Zen, and the very dry and overly rigid books that are filled with many words and yet very little that a person would find helpful in everyday life. I am pleased to say this book falls into neither of those categories, and instead fits into a more enjoyable one: the kind of book that helps you learn to live better.

This is not a book about Zen history, or extensive rules for how to "properly" meditate. As the title states, this is a book about Zen *living*. It is like a flash light, which you can shine into the darkest corners of your mind and use as a guide to simplifying the psychological and emotional clutter therein. The authors have filled this book with many practical examples of how a Zen perspective can ease your mental burden and allow you to get more out of each moment.

If you're looking for lots of dry, philosophical blather, this is not the book for you. But if you are genuinely interested in gaining a new perspective on life, and learning how simple it can be to live in a more satisfying way, you've definitely come to the right place. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to clean out the dusty attic of the mind.

Rating:
Summary: Being Yourself
Review: The Complete Idiot's guide is actually for an idiot or for one who doesn't know anything about Zen. But for the three authors who have taken the trouble and have actually shared their ideas with those who have no idea about Zen is called being generous with their views. When we do our daily tasks, whatever it be it should be done well, for whatever we do is a service to the nearest person and those connected with us in the scheduled performance. A mechanic, a pilot, a writer, and even and artist all work with the idea of doing something well and well they do it. So for those who know nothing about Zen, should read this book as a starter and then read some more as they are truly inspirational and truth finding. Get started and Zen in through the rest of your days for a really beautiful way of living.

Rating:
Summary: Great book on applying zen to your everyday life
Review: This book clearly explains many Zen principles and shows applications to everyday life. It is an excellent first book for people getting interested in Zen. For me (I've been practicing for about a year), it was also a good book to show more examples of applying Zen. It demystifies Zen, and discusses how things (like planning) that can seem contradictory to Zen really aren't a problem.

Finally, the title of the book is great: It shows that the authors really get Zen. It's NOT the guide to understanding zen, or to learning zen; it's the guide to Zen LIVING.