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Zen Sourcebook: Traditional Documents from China, Korea, and Japan
"Featuring a carefully selected collection of source documents, this tome includes traditional teaching tools from the Zen Buddhist traditions of China (Ch'an), Korea (Son), and Japan (Zen), including texts created by women. The selections provide both a good feel for the varieties of Zen and an experience of its common core. . . . The texts are experiential teachings and include storytelling, poetry, autobiographies, catechisms, calligraphy, paintings, and koans (paradoxical meditation questions that are intended to help aspirants transcend logical, linguistic limitations). Contextual commentary prefaces each text. Wade-Giles transliteration is used, although Pinyin, Korean, Japanese, and Sanskrit terms are linked in appendixes. An insightful introduction by Arai contributes a religious studies perspective. The bibliography references full translations of the selections. A thought-provoking discussion about the problems of translation is included. . . . Summing Highly recommended. All levels." -- Choice
320 pages, Paperback
First published March 20, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 7, 2023
The intro of this book explains that there are a few ways in which to express Zen. Some are better than others.
1. Explanatory texts
2. Prose texts
3. Autobiographies
4. Anecdotes and koans
5. Poems
6. Ink paintings
7. Calligraphy
8. Things that defy classification
These historical writings examine all of them. It covers works from China, Korea and Japan and some writings by women. It does what it sets out to do and for that I give it a 5.
I particularly liked the poetry.
Zen is a paradox. It can’t be logically explained. These 265 pages try to express the inexpressible. Sometimes saying too much about so little gets boring. For that I give it a four.
Closing the book brings you closer to Zen.
1. Explanatory texts
2. Prose texts
3. Autobiographies
4. Anecdotes and koans
5. Poems
6. Ink paintings
7. Calligraphy
8. Things that defy classification
These historical writings examine all of them. It covers works from China, Korea and Japan and some writings by women. It does what it sets out to do and for that I give it a 5.
I particularly liked the poetry.
Zen is a paradox. It can’t be logically explained. These 265 pages try to express the inexpressible. Sometimes saying too much about so little gets boring. For that I give it a four.
Closing the book brings you closer to Zen.
April 21, 2019
Selected quotations:
"The Great Way is not difficult:
Just don't pick and choose.
Cut off all likes and dislikes
And it is clear like space." (Seng-ts'an, Hsin-hsin-ming, 15)
"One day when the temple pennant was blowing in the wind, two monks were arguing. One claimed that the wind was moving, while the other insisted that it was the pennant that was moving, and they could not come to an agreement. I told them, 'It's not the wind moving; it's not the flag moving; it is your minds that are moving.'" (Hui-nent, The Platform Sutra, 29)
"Followers of the Way, the true person knows there is nothing that needs doing, while others lacking inner confidence run around ceaselessly trying to find something; it's like throwing away your own head and then going to look for it." (Lin-chi, Lin-chi Record, 49)
"The past is already past--
Don't try to regain it.
The present does not stay,
Don't try to touch it from moment to moment.
The future is not come,
Don't think about it beforehand.
With the three times non-existent,
Mind is the same as Buddha-mind.
To silently function relying on Emptiness,
This is profundity of action." (The P'ang Family, Anecdotes and Poems, 59)
"A monk asked, 'What is meditation?'
The Master said, 'It is not meditation.'
The monk said, 'Why is it 'not meditation'?'
The Master said, 'It's alive, it's alive!'" (Chao-chou, Recorded Sayings, 75)
"Emperor Wu of Liang asked teh great teacher Bodhidharma, 'What is the first principle of sacred truth?'
Bodhidharma said, 'Vast emptiness, nothing sacred.'
The Emperor asked, 'Who then is facing me?'
Bodhidharma replied, 'Don't know.'" (The Blue Cliff Record, 113)
"Tung-shan said, 'When cold, let the cold kill you; when hot, let the heat kill you.'" (The Blue Cliff Record, 115)
"Each and every existent
Is like a dream, like a phantom.
Deluded thoughts are originally calm;
The sensory world is originally empty." (Chinul, On Cultivating the Mind, 139)
"Perhaps tonight, perhaps tomorrow, you will fall seriously ill; find your body cracked with unendurable pain; die suddenly, cursed by some unknown demons; meet misfortune at the hands of robbers; or be slain by someone seeking vengeance. Life is indeed an uncertain thing. In this hateful world where death may come at any moment, it is absurd to plan your life, intrigue maliciously against others, and spend your time in fruitless pursuits." (Dogen, Shobogenzo Zuimoki, 148)
"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water.
Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky.
The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky." (Dogen, Actualizing the Fundamental Point, 153)
"The private is not equal to the public: the public comes before the private." (T'aego, Collected Sayings, 189)
"Ikkyu's New Year's greeting:
Your body is near death,
Be careful, be careful!" (Ikkyu Sojun, Selected Poems, 199)
"A belly swollen full of hell,
Unending eons of passions,
Wildfires burning without end --
But flowering grasses are born again in the spring wind." (Ikkyu Sojun, Selected Poems, 201)
"Put another way, precepts capture the thief--our deluded mind, our defiled mind; meditation ties up the thief; and wisdom kills the thief. Only a strong uncracked bowl made from the precepts can contain the pure, clear water of meditation, reflecting wisdom like the moon on its surface." (So Sahn, The Mirror of Zen, 217)
"Someone who is unborn is also undying, so he is beyond birth and death. What I call living and dying at will is when someone dies without being troubled by life and death, the continuous succession of birth-death, birth-date that is samsaric existence... When you're living without being concerned about life or death, you're always living in such a way that whenever death does come, even right now, at this moment, it's no great matter." (Bankei Yotaku, The Ryumon-ji Sermons, 233)
"The Great Way is not difficult:
Just don't pick and choose.
Cut off all likes and dislikes
And it is clear like space." (Seng-ts'an, Hsin-hsin-ming, 15)
"One day when the temple pennant was blowing in the wind, two monks were arguing. One claimed that the wind was moving, while the other insisted that it was the pennant that was moving, and they could not come to an agreement. I told them, 'It's not the wind moving; it's not the flag moving; it is your minds that are moving.'" (Hui-nent, The Platform Sutra, 29)
"Followers of the Way, the true person knows there is nothing that needs doing, while others lacking inner confidence run around ceaselessly trying to find something; it's like throwing away your own head and then going to look for it." (Lin-chi, Lin-chi Record, 49)
"The past is already past--
Don't try to regain it.
The present does not stay,
Don't try to touch it from moment to moment.
The future is not come,
Don't think about it beforehand.
With the three times non-existent,
Mind is the same as Buddha-mind.
To silently function relying on Emptiness,
This is profundity of action." (The P'ang Family, Anecdotes and Poems, 59)
"A monk asked, 'What is meditation?'
The Master said, 'It is not meditation.'
The monk said, 'Why is it 'not meditation'?'
The Master said, 'It's alive, it's alive!'" (Chao-chou, Recorded Sayings, 75)
"Emperor Wu of Liang asked teh great teacher Bodhidharma, 'What is the first principle of sacred truth?'
Bodhidharma said, 'Vast emptiness, nothing sacred.'
The Emperor asked, 'Who then is facing me?'
Bodhidharma replied, 'Don't know.'" (The Blue Cliff Record, 113)
"Tung-shan said, 'When cold, let the cold kill you; when hot, let the heat kill you.'" (The Blue Cliff Record, 115)
"Each and every existent
Is like a dream, like a phantom.
Deluded thoughts are originally calm;
The sensory world is originally empty." (Chinul, On Cultivating the Mind, 139)
"Perhaps tonight, perhaps tomorrow, you will fall seriously ill; find your body cracked with unendurable pain; die suddenly, cursed by some unknown demons; meet misfortune at the hands of robbers; or be slain by someone seeking vengeance. Life is indeed an uncertain thing. In this hateful world where death may come at any moment, it is absurd to plan your life, intrigue maliciously against others, and spend your time in fruitless pursuits." (Dogen, Shobogenzo Zuimoki, 148)
"Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken. Although its light is wide and great, the moon is reflected even in a puddle an inch wide. The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in dewdrops on the grass, or even in one drop of water.
Enlightenment does not divide you, just as the moon does not break the water. You cannot hinder enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not hinder the moon in the sky.
The depth of the drop is the height of the moon. Each reflection, however long or short its duration, manifests the vastness of the dewdrop, and realizes the limitlessness of the moonlight in the sky." (Dogen, Actualizing the Fundamental Point, 153)
"The private is not equal to the public: the public comes before the private." (T'aego, Collected Sayings, 189)
"Ikkyu's New Year's greeting:
Your body is near death,
Be careful, be careful!" (Ikkyu Sojun, Selected Poems, 199)
"A belly swollen full of hell,
Unending eons of passions,
Wildfires burning without end --
But flowering grasses are born again in the spring wind." (Ikkyu Sojun, Selected Poems, 201)
"Put another way, precepts capture the thief--our deluded mind, our defiled mind; meditation ties up the thief; and wisdom kills the thief. Only a strong uncracked bowl made from the precepts can contain the pure, clear water of meditation, reflecting wisdom like the moon on its surface." (So Sahn, The Mirror of Zen, 217)
"Someone who is unborn is also undying, so he is beyond birth and death. What I call living and dying at will is when someone dies without being troubled by life and death, the continuous succession of birth-death, birth-date that is samsaric existence... When you're living without being concerned about life or death, you're always living in such a way that whenever death does come, even right now, at this moment, it's no great matter." (Bankei Yotaku, The Ryumon-ji Sermons, 233)
March 5, 2022
Inclusion of China and Korea properly lays out the growth and transmission of Zen from China > Korea > Japan. Excellent anthology comprising sermons, excerpts from manuals, poetry & art. It also includes a handful of writings from nuns and female practitioners.
May 7, 2019
One of my favorite texts of the semester for Rel and Philosphy of far east
July 7, 2015
Addiss has certainly become my go-to author concerning Zen, especially Japanese Zen. Either way, this book gives a small introduction by Paula Arai to Zen in general (very good despite its brevity) and continues with extracts or full records of important Zen texts from China, Korea and Japan. It does not more than rudimentary details on why the texts were conceived or information about their authors, but that was not the purpose of the book in the first place. It is to find a good translation of essential texts in traditional Zen Buddhism and in that regard it delivers the needed information.
April 6, 2013
This is very beautiful collection of Ch'an/Zen writings from China, Korea and Japan.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews