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Zen Trilogy #1
The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery
Seen by many as a contemporary classic, Janwillem van de Wetering's small and admirable memoir records the experiences of a young Dutch student—later a widely celebrated mystery writer—who spent a year and a half as a novice monk in a Japanese Zen Buddhist monastery. As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, author of Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, has written, The Empty Mirror "should be very encouraging for other Western seekers."It is the first book in a trilogy that continues with A Glimpse of Nothingness and Afterzen.
158 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
April 16, 2013
I read this book at precisely the right age. As adolescent, with no knowledge of anything. It hit me hard, and zen became part of my blood and bones.
Now, almost 20 years later, I still consider this book to have had more influence on me than any other.
It changed the course of my life. I re-read it every 4-5 years. And when friends want to know more about me, reading this book is one of the things to do.
Do not expect higher wisdom from this book. Rather, it is like cleaning the lenses of your glasses. When being wound up in career, one's image, or any of such modern attention-monopolies, reading a chapter of this books helps ( me ) to calm and choose for a normal, simple life instead.
A book about un-learning.
This book is easy to read; written in the first person, describing daily life for a westerner in a monastery.
And, since it took place (1958) before it was trendy for westerners to look east for deep insight, the author had no expectation, and did not, for example, trade his jeans for traditional monk clothing, or shave his head.
He remains the down-to-earth Dutchman, though with aching desire to find something special, leading often to disappointment, which then leads to an unexpected insight.
Now, almost 20 years later, I still consider this book to have had more influence on me than any other.
It changed the course of my life. I re-read it every 4-5 years. And when friends want to know more about me, reading this book is one of the things to do.
Do not expect higher wisdom from this book. Rather, it is like cleaning the lenses of your glasses. When being wound up in career, one's image, or any of such modern attention-monopolies, reading a chapter of this books helps ( me ) to calm and choose for a normal, simple life instead.
A book about un-learning.
This book is easy to read; written in the first person, describing daily life for a westerner in a monastery.
And, since it took place (1958) before it was trendy for westerners to look east for deep insight, the author had no expectation, and did not, for example, trade his jeans for traditional monk clothing, or shave his head.
He remains the down-to-earth Dutchman, though with aching desire to find something special, leading often to disappointment, which then leads to an unexpected insight.
January 28, 2015
Loved this book. As someone who meditates a fair bit, I really appreciated his honest account of his struggle with the rigorous Zen technique. Not to mention that I got comfort from knowing that I'm not the only person for whom meditation has caused hemorrhoids! Yes, he is quite honest.
It's really interesting to find out what Japan was like in the late 50s. Also, fascinating to learn about the mysterious, non-sensical, and yet seemingly incredibly wise Zen practitioners. I can't imagine being hit with a stick when I nod off during meditation. And yet I was convinced that there is a method to this Zen madness.
van de Wetering is a wonderful writer. Every page was a pleasure. Not sure how he makes an account of fairly mundane activities so interesting. Eating, sleeping, cooking, cleaning, and small talk with monks. And the endless attempt to try and meditate- to try and face his own mind. The act of meditation itself is incredibly hard to describe, I'm not sure if it can be described. van de Wetering talks instead about how many hours of it he is doing every day, and about all the things he does to get away from it - sleeping in, smoking, running away, reading... The meditation, though never really described, is present as the wall that he is running up against every day during his two year stay. He's running up against his own mind, or his own ego, which is I guess what we are all doing. Which I think is why this book is compelling.
van de Wetering is very hard on himself but I think it took a lot of courage for him to head off around the world to try and find himself in a monastery.
I love the quote from his master at the end of the book when van de Wetering decides to abandon the monastic training :
"I wrote down an old Chinese proverb, a saying from the Zen tradition. 'A sword which is well forged never loses its golden color.' You don't know it, or you think you don't know it, but you have been forged in this monastery. The forging of swords isn't limited to monasteries. This whole planet is a forge. By leaving here nothing is broken. Your training continues. The world is a school where the sleeping are woken up. You are now a little awake, so awake that you can never fall asleep again."
It's really interesting to find out what Japan was like in the late 50s. Also, fascinating to learn about the mysterious, non-sensical, and yet seemingly incredibly wise Zen practitioners. I can't imagine being hit with a stick when I nod off during meditation. And yet I was convinced that there is a method to this Zen madness.
van de Wetering is a wonderful writer. Every page was a pleasure. Not sure how he makes an account of fairly mundane activities so interesting. Eating, sleeping, cooking, cleaning, and small talk with monks. And the endless attempt to try and meditate- to try and face his own mind. The act of meditation itself is incredibly hard to describe, I'm not sure if it can be described. van de Wetering talks instead about how many hours of it he is doing every day, and about all the things he does to get away from it - sleeping in, smoking, running away, reading... The meditation, though never really described, is present as the wall that he is running up against every day during his two year stay. He's running up against his own mind, or his own ego, which is I guess what we are all doing. Which I think is why this book is compelling.
van de Wetering is very hard on himself but I think it took a lot of courage for him to head off around the world to try and find himself in a monastery.
I love the quote from his master at the end of the book when van de Wetering decides to abandon the monastic training :
"I wrote down an old Chinese proverb, a saying from the Zen tradition. 'A sword which is well forged never loses its golden color.' You don't know it, or you think you don't know it, but you have been forged in this monastery. The forging of swords isn't limited to monasteries. This whole planet is a forge. By leaving here nothing is broken. Your training continues. The world is a school where the sleeping are woken up. You are now a little awake, so awake that you can never fall asleep again."
February 7, 2016
Meant to put in 5 stars, not 2! Loved the book :)
April 25, 2023
Van de Wetering wil aan zichzelf sterven en gaat ervoor naar Japan. Daar word hij geholpen door man en macht. Het lichamelijke buigt, het geestelijke maakt aanstalten en dan, dan is het tijd om naar huis te gaan. De we gaan als tikkende tijdbom. We kunnen ieder alleen maar hopen op een vriend als Han-san of Peter; we geven ons leven niet zomaar.
De grote dood is niets
anders dan
het kleine leven.
De een geeft een boek, de ander leest het.
Vonken, vuur en buskruit,
de koelte van het stille water
maakt vrienden van ons.
"Ik merkte dat Peter naar me keek alsof hij verwachtte dat ik iets zou zeggen. "Die spiegels zijn leeg" zei ik, er is niets, niets reflecteert, er is niets dat kan weerspiegelen."
De grote dood is niets
anders dan
het kleine leven.
De een geeft een boek, de ander leest het.
Vonken, vuur en buskruit,
de koelte van het stille water
maakt vrienden van ons.
"De lege spiegel" zei hij. "Als je dat werkelijk zou begrijpen, zou je hier niets meer te zoeken hebben."
April 25, 2016
Try this: Spend one and a half years in a Japanese Zen Buddhist monastery. Follow only some of the rules, and find ways to get around the ones you don't like. Focus on succeeding, attaining, and getting what you want, based on your own ideas of what you think you should get or deserve. Leave abruptly, having had a nearly completely "unsuccessful" experience on every level. Lesson learned?
December 29, 2017
Сподобалось. Варте прочитання навіть якщо дзен-буддизм нецікавий.
Чимось схоже на Ремарка, але стиль розповіді цієї книги подобається мені більше.
Чимось схоже на Ремарка, але стиль розповіді цієї книги подобається мені більше.
November 9, 2012
I think it's important for us starry-eyed westerners to have our high falutin 'buddhist ideals' debunked by very honest reports from seekers who have gone before us. This does that in spades. If you've ever thought spending time in a zen monastery must be a beautiful, high-level experience and that all zen monks must surely be highly enlightened and compassionate individuals with all the answers, please read this book. At the end of the day, you've still got to work it out for yourself, and there's no more zen inside a Japanese monastery than the zen you bring with you. If you still think it's the thing for you, then you should 100% go for it and it will no doubt be just what you need, even though you might not know it. Good luck! For something similar check out Ambivalent Zen - to discover how not to do it.
April 8, 2015
"Not only has one to do one's best, one must, while doing one's best, remain detached from whatever one is trying to achieve."
"'Maybe,' the master said, 'but I want to go to the cinema NOW.'"
Koans:
What is the sound of one clapping hand?
Show me the face you had before your parents were born. Show me your original face.
"'Maybe,' the master said, 'but I want to go to the cinema NOW.'"
Koans:
What is the sound of one clapping hand?
Show me the face you had before your parents were born. Show me your original face.
December 14, 2008
Van de Wetering is a very interesting fellow. He grew up in Nazi controlled Amsterdam as a youth and the atrocities there apparently had a major affect on his outlook on life and the meaning of life. He wrote a series of very good mystery novels, some very interesting illustrated children's stories (some with a buddhist theme) and some non-fiction (or only slightly veiled) accounts of his study of zen.
This book is about his life at a zen monastery, one of the few Westerners there at the time. It is a very interesting mix of the pettiness and forced simplicity of the life and alien nature of the zen goals. It is a bit of an antidote for folks who think that going native (in this case to Japan to become a zen monk) is all ethereal and spiritual.
This book is about his life at a zen monastery, one of the few Westerners there at the time. It is a very interesting mix of the pettiness and forced simplicity of the life and alien nature of the zen goals. It is a bit of an antidote for folks who think that going native (in this case to Japan to become a zen monk) is all ethereal and spiritual.
November 26, 2018
This book was definitely a surprising treat. I felt that it came in right timing too since I’m thinking of attending a meditation retreat next year.
From the beginning the author’s writing transports me to Japan and I feel as if I am watching a movie. The author’s honest experience was so well written that you just wanted to know what was going to happen next. Throughout the book I’ve learned some lessons myself but just like how the monks would say “You can read all you want about something but you will never know it until you’ve experienced it.”
From the beginning the author’s writing transports me to Japan and I feel as if I am watching a movie. The author’s honest experience was so well written that you just wanted to know what was going to happen next. Throughout the book I’ve learned some lessons myself but just like how the monks would say “You can read all you want about something but you will never know it until you’ve experienced it.”
January 10, 2018
Год открываю с light reading о путешествии и жизни в японском дзен-буддийском храме. Изложенной информации маловато, чтобы определенно отнести книгу к настольному руководству "как стать буддистом за n дней". Да, и самой Японии в ней недостаточно, чтобы книга служила своего рода гидом по стране. Такие себе заметки и наблюдения о прожитом там. Увлекательно было прочитать о мучениях и трудах начинающих служителей, о долгих часах медитаций, когда думаешь, лишь о ноющих мышцах, о попытках разгадать коан и приблизиться к пониманию того, чем является буддизм. Если в голове до этого и был стереотип о "святости" буддийских монахов, то тут можно найти опровержения: монахи не прочь отведать мясца, напиться и если придется утопить пару-тройку котов.
В дзен-буддийский храм автор отправился, поскольку искал универсальный ответ о смысле жизни. Нашел он ли его? Интересно, что в английском издании книга носит название "Empty Mirror" (пустое зеркало) - отсылка к рассказанной байке-притче.
В дзен-буддийский храм автор отправился, поскольку искал универсальный ответ о смысле жизни. Нашел он ли его? Интересно, что в английском издании книга носит название "Empty Mirror" (пустое зеркало) - отсылка к рассказанной байке-притче.
August 19, 2019
Ein interessanter Einblick in das Leben in einem japanischen Zen-Kloster und die Schwierigkeiten eines holländischen Jungen, sich in ebendieses einzufinden. Man bekommt einen Hauch von Zen-Philosophie vermittelt.
Aber insgesamt bleibt das Buch eher durchschnittlich, und es ist nichts, was einen vom Hocker haut.
Aber insgesamt bleibt das Buch eher durchschnittlich, und es ist nichts, was einen vom Hocker haut.
July 14, 2020
This small memoir, that ends on a tone of disillusion, is one of the best accounts of a Westerner coming to terms with Zen and meditation. The Empty Mirror, Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery, written by the Dutch adventurer, businessman and author Janwillem van de Wetering, is not perfect (the end is a bit abrupt), but it is an honest and factual account, larded with interesting Zen stories, and on top of that, it is full of humor.
In 1958, Janwillem van de Wetering (1931-2008), appeared at the gate of the Daitokuji Zen Temple in Kyoto, asking to be admitted as a novice monk. The young Dutchman, son of a merchant, had already led an adventurous life, as trader in Cape Town, as member of a motorcycle gang, and next as a student of philosophy in London. Although he was originally interested in existentialism, his professor there suggested that he consider Zen Buddhism. So Van de Wetering was off to Japan, a country of which he neither knew the language nor the culture, and where he had no contacts. He just vaguely knew he wanted to practice Zen. He was one of the first, many would follow...
After promising to stay for at least eight months, Janwillem van de Wetering was miraculously accepted in Daitokuji, where he received guidance from Peter, an American studying there already for a longer time, who was also fluent in Japanese. Van de Wetering would stay for almost two years, struggling to find the meaning of life via Zen, until his money ran out.
The book provides a basic introduction to Zen, often via interesting stories. But more than that, it shows us the daily routine in a Zen monastery, not only the peaceful meditation, but also the arguments, the jokes the monks make, the cigarettes they secretly smoke, and the Master who likes to watch baseball on TV. Human life, in fact, is the same on the inside of Daitokuji's walls, as on the outside. We also see Janwillem struggling with his physical inability to sit for a long time in the lotus position, and with the Japanese language - there are times, he completely misunderstands the Master when Peter is not present to interpret.
Van de Wetering now and then escapes to Kobe to stay with the well-heeled Dutch businessman Leo, where he can drink beer and smoke cigars. Here he also reads his first Judge Dee novels by Van Gulik (for example The Chinese Bell Murders (Judge Dee) - much later, in the '80s, Van de Wetering would be active in promoting a rediscovery of these novels in The Netherlands; he also would write a biography about Van Gulik.
When it all ends, Janwillen van de Wetering has not found any big truths. But he has learned the notion of Zen-like acceptance, and how to be detached, even when striving hard. Perhaps that small bit of insight is more important than any broad and sweeping conclusion.
After moving away from Japan, Van de Wetering worked in Columbia, Peru and Australia. In Bogota he also married. From 1966 to 1975 Van de Wetering would be active in the textile business in Amsterdam. At the same time he served as a reserve police officer, an experience that gave him the materials for his most famous novels, the fifteen volume crime series about police officers Grijpstra and De Gier (such as Outsider in Amsterdam). De Gier is modeled on the author and is interested in Zen and jazz. These were the times that hippie culture reigned in Amsterdam, even among the police force - a very different situation from today's more grim climate.
One of the novels, The Japanese Corpse, is situated in Japan. Van de Wetering also wrote a novel about a Japanese detective, Inspector Saito, but this book was less successful. The early "Grijsptra and De Gier" novels convince because of their authentic atmosphere of the Amsterdam of the non-conformist sixties.
In 1971 Van de Wetering published The Empty Mirror as his first book (in Dutch, the English version followed two years later). In 1975, he wrote a sort of sequel, A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community, about his sojourn at the Moon Springs Hermitage in Maine. Although he left the Hermitage after four years, he stayed on in Maine - the part of the world where he finally found his home.
Also see my blog https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/.
In 1958, Janwillem van de Wetering (1931-2008), appeared at the gate of the Daitokuji Zen Temple in Kyoto, asking to be admitted as a novice monk. The young Dutchman, son of a merchant, had already led an adventurous life, as trader in Cape Town, as member of a motorcycle gang, and next as a student of philosophy in London. Although he was originally interested in existentialism, his professor there suggested that he consider Zen Buddhism. So Van de Wetering was off to Japan, a country of which he neither knew the language nor the culture, and where he had no contacts. He just vaguely knew he wanted to practice Zen. He was one of the first, many would follow...
After promising to stay for at least eight months, Janwillem van de Wetering was miraculously accepted in Daitokuji, where he received guidance from Peter, an American studying there already for a longer time, who was also fluent in Japanese. Van de Wetering would stay for almost two years, struggling to find the meaning of life via Zen, until his money ran out.
The book provides a basic introduction to Zen, often via interesting stories. But more than that, it shows us the daily routine in a Zen monastery, not only the peaceful meditation, but also the arguments, the jokes the monks make, the cigarettes they secretly smoke, and the Master who likes to watch baseball on TV. Human life, in fact, is the same on the inside of Daitokuji's walls, as on the outside. We also see Janwillem struggling with his physical inability to sit for a long time in the lotus position, and with the Japanese language - there are times, he completely misunderstands the Master when Peter is not present to interpret.
Van de Wetering now and then escapes to Kobe to stay with the well-heeled Dutch businessman Leo, where he can drink beer and smoke cigars. Here he also reads his first Judge Dee novels by Van Gulik (for example The Chinese Bell Murders (Judge Dee) - much later, in the '80s, Van de Wetering would be active in promoting a rediscovery of these novels in The Netherlands; he also would write a biography about Van Gulik.
When it all ends, Janwillen van de Wetering has not found any big truths. But he has learned the notion of Zen-like acceptance, and how to be detached, even when striving hard. Perhaps that small bit of insight is more important than any broad and sweeping conclusion.
After moving away from Japan, Van de Wetering worked in Columbia, Peru and Australia. In Bogota he also married. From 1966 to 1975 Van de Wetering would be active in the textile business in Amsterdam. At the same time he served as a reserve police officer, an experience that gave him the materials for his most famous novels, the fifteen volume crime series about police officers Grijpstra and De Gier (such as Outsider in Amsterdam). De Gier is modeled on the author and is interested in Zen and jazz. These were the times that hippie culture reigned in Amsterdam, even among the police force - a very different situation from today's more grim climate.
One of the novels, The Japanese Corpse, is situated in Japan. Van de Wetering also wrote a novel about a Japanese detective, Inspector Saito, but this book was less successful. The early "Grijsptra and De Gier" novels convince because of their authentic atmosphere of the Amsterdam of the non-conformist sixties.
In 1971 Van de Wetering published The Empty Mirror as his first book (in Dutch, the English version followed two years later). In 1975, he wrote a sort of sequel, A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community, about his sojourn at the Moon Springs Hermitage in Maine. Although he left the Hermitage after four years, he stayed on in Maine - the part of the world where he finally found his home.
Also see my blog https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/.
October 16, 2025
Reading this pissed me off a bit. The author doesn’t seem to get much out of his time at the monastery, and spends half the time describing his trips outside the walls. Should have followed my instincts and stopped at the first page.
August 26, 2019
Lugu sellest, kuidas valge mees läheb Jaapanisse ja hakkab seal zen kloostris meistri käe all elu mõtet otsima. Selle käigus saab ta muu hulgas teada, et lootoseasend aitab mediteerimise ajal magada - minu arust raamatu ägedaim kasutu fakt, aga ägedaid fakte oli veel. Oli ka huumorit, väike sissevaade sellesse, mis on zen-budism, ja milline oli elu 50ndate aastate Kyotos - väga hea komplekt.
May 30, 2009
Just fantastic.
This was given to me as a gift from Aunt Alex, and I am so grateful. It is such a unique story- a Dutchman who moves to Japan to live in a Zen monastery and study Buddhism. Being someone who has always wanted to do that, I found this very enlightening. I enjoyed this in the same lines as David Chadwick's "Thank You and Ok!: An American Zen Failure in Japan". Both looked at not only the rigors of the Zen monastic life, but also the social constructs of being a westerner immersed in a foreign philosophy in a foreign culture and country.
Wonderful read for anyone interesting in the topc.
(Thank you, Aunt Alex!)
This was given to me as a gift from Aunt Alex, and I am so grateful. It is such a unique story- a Dutchman who moves to Japan to live in a Zen monastery and study Buddhism. Being someone who has always wanted to do that, I found this very enlightening. I enjoyed this in the same lines as David Chadwick's "Thank You and Ok!: An American Zen Failure in Japan". Both looked at not only the rigors of the Zen monastic life, but also the social constructs of being a westerner immersed in a foreign philosophy in a foreign culture and country.
Wonderful read for anyone interesting in the topc.
(Thank you, Aunt Alex!)
June 1, 2011
Jan-san has traveled the world and has arrived into Kyoto, Japan to be taken in by a Zen master. He does not speak a word of Japanese and has no contacts in Kyoto with this monastery. Somehow through sheer will, he becomes adopted and promises to stay at the monastery for at least 8 months to learn his master's ways.
This narrative from a Westerner trying to learn Japanese culture and also a new way of behaving is equal parts enlightening and humorous. One extremely humorous moment involves him discovering a pigeon's egg on his body.
This narrative from a Westerner trying to learn Japanese culture and also a new way of behaving is equal parts enlightening and humorous. One extremely humorous moment involves him discovering a pigeon's egg on his body.
December 19, 2008
This book provides good insight into the life of a Zen monastery and some basic information on Zen teachings. I gained a lot of insight from reading this book but I was not impressed with the book's ending. I was a little dissappointed to see that th author just left the monastic life after all he had been through during his time at the monastery.
January 22, 2011
"What is first seen as a loss is now seen as a gain. For he finds solitude, not in far off, quite places; he creates it out of himself, spreads it around him, wherever he may be, because he loves it and slowly he ripens in this tranquility. For the inner process is beginning to unfold, stillness is extraordinarily important." (P. 67)
Excellent read while walking your Path.
Excellent read while walking your Path.
January 23, 2015
An interesting personal account of a westerner's year spent in a Zen monastery in the 1950s. This is the first such book I've read, and I learned plenty from it, as well as enjoyed it. De Wetering did a good job of balancing autobiography and introspective/personal development narrative writing with observations and descriptions of life in a zen monastery.
March 6, 2007
A westerner's take on Zen, Japan, and life in a Kyoto Rinzai monastery in the late 50s or early 60s. Far more down to earth than you might think. This is more of a memoir than a new age book.
December 30, 2007
Very funny and very moving.
August 8, 2008
The writing is a slightly clunky but the story was fascinating to me. I learned a great about Buddhism through a Westerner's eyes and found myself drawn to learn more about Buddhism.
February 20, 2023
In Memory of Janwillem van de Wetering (1931 - 2008)
It was 2003, PTSD ridden, walking with the black Hound. I visited a small Bookstore. The owner recognized my mental state and poured some tea for me. We talked an Hour.
After that, he vanished into the depth of his store and came back a bit later with a small book.
“Der leere Spiegel” in zerman by Mr. van de Wetering.
It's a Book about personal failure, but it changed my Life!
A young Man enters a foreign culture, foreign philosophy, to conquer it all!
Instead: He came, he saw, he failed!
Mr. van de Wetering pours a lot of sarcasm and black Humor over his ignorant former self.
Very Human.
This is the core strength of his tale, because in the eye of Zen, we are ALL uninformed.
(As Westerner's)
We have no Idea of Japanese Culture.
No Mind about Zen being rooted in life affirming Chinese Philosophy (Tao). This benignant view on Life, changed drastically the sad, sad, core of Indian Buddhism.
We don't know about the influence of Shinto nature religion. Or that Zen Master's in Japan, stripped away, over many years, all the unnecessary religious stuff that survived the exodus from India to Japan.
And through his uninformed Eyes, we watch ourselves and young Janwillem fighting a loosing Battle. Walking in his Shoes, for a Moment, listen to the old Teacher, Master, Sensei. And like Mr. de Wetering, our minds cant grasp any Koan, or teachings at first.
Because of his skillful prose, we think, we struggle, we open step by step our Minds to the alien Philosophy, we struggle... like Jan.
Until...
We let go of everything... Mu...
No Yesterday, No Today, No Tomorrow.
Zen is Buddhism distilled down to it's purest medical form.
And this book, was a tremendous help on my journey.
I'm deeply thankful to the proprietor of the small Bookstore in Solingen and the late Mr. van de Wetering for showing me a “touch of Zen” to (en)lighten my way.
It was 2003, PTSD ridden, walking with the black Hound. I visited a small Bookstore. The owner recognized my mental state and poured some tea for me. We talked an Hour.
After that, he vanished into the depth of his store and came back a bit later with a small book.
“Der leere Spiegel” in zerman by Mr. van de Wetering.
It's a Book about personal failure, but it changed my Life!
A young Man enters a foreign culture, foreign philosophy, to conquer it all!
Instead: He came, he saw, he failed!
Mr. van de Wetering pours a lot of sarcasm and black Humor over his ignorant former self.
Very Human.
This is the core strength of his tale, because in the eye of Zen, we are ALL uninformed.
(As Westerner's)
We have no Idea of Japanese Culture.
No Mind about Zen being rooted in life affirming Chinese Philosophy (Tao). This benignant view on Life, changed drastically the sad, sad, core of Indian Buddhism.
We don't know about the influence of Shinto nature religion. Or that Zen Master's in Japan, stripped away, over many years, all the unnecessary religious stuff that survived the exodus from India to Japan.
And through his uninformed Eyes, we watch ourselves and young Janwillem fighting a loosing Battle. Walking in his Shoes, for a Moment, listen to the old Teacher, Master, Sensei. And like Mr. de Wetering, our minds cant grasp any Koan, or teachings at first.
Because of his skillful prose, we think, we struggle, we open step by step our Minds to the alien Philosophy, we struggle... like Jan.
Until...
We let go of everything... Mu...
No Yesterday, No Today, No Tomorrow.
Zen is Buddhism distilled down to it's purest medical form.
And this book, was a tremendous help on my journey.
I'm deeply thankful to the proprietor of the small Bookstore in Solingen and the late Mr. van de Wetering for showing me a “touch of Zen” to (en)lighten my way.
September 20, 2023
Een bijzonder boekje van en over een echte Hollandse beatnik die rond 1960 naar Japan vertrekt om in een Zen klooster te bivakkeren.
Vier uur slaap per nacht en een moordend programma van vooral meditatie in kleermakerszit, en eten en klusjes opknappen. Het leest als een verslag van aantekeningen, min of meer in chronologische volgorde.
"Ik besloot te luisteren en me zo veel mogelijk van commentaar te onthouden." Dit zegt Janwillem na een jaar in het klooster te hebben gezeten als hij opdracht heeft gekregen van de Zenmaster om goed te luisteren naar een hoofdmonnik. Het toont aan dat Janwillem al die tijd niet echt zijn best heeft gedaan, niet echt de overgave heeft. Hij zit in het Zen klooster omdat hij het niet zo goed weet, niet omdat hij het echt graag wil. Anders zou hij ook niet naar de dames van betaling gaan en blijven vasthouden aan genotszucht.
Jammer, want hij wekt wel de indruk dat hij er meer dan een jaar is geweest. Andere mankementen zijn het volledige ontbreken van een beschrijving van zijn koan, waar hij al die tijd mee bezig is geweest en waar het hele project om draaide. Daardoor kon ik me minder goed inleven in zijn proces.
"Een herinnering om later door afgeleid te worden."
Vier uur slaap per nacht en een moordend programma van vooral meditatie in kleermakerszit, en eten en klusjes opknappen. Het leest als een verslag van aantekeningen, min of meer in chronologische volgorde.
"Ik besloot te luisteren en me zo veel mogelijk van commentaar te onthouden." Dit zegt Janwillem na een jaar in het klooster te hebben gezeten als hij opdracht heeft gekregen van de Zenmaster om goed te luisteren naar een hoofdmonnik. Het toont aan dat Janwillem al die tijd niet echt zijn best heeft gedaan, niet echt de overgave heeft. Hij zit in het Zen klooster omdat hij het niet zo goed weet, niet omdat hij het echt graag wil. Anders zou hij ook niet naar de dames van betaling gaan en blijven vasthouden aan genotszucht.
Jammer, want hij wekt wel de indruk dat hij er meer dan een jaar is geweest. Andere mankementen zijn het volledige ontbreken van een beschrijving van zijn koan, waar hij al die tijd mee bezig is geweest en waar het hele project om draaide. Daardoor kon ik me minder goed inleven in zijn proces.
"Een herinnering om later door afgeleid te worden."
October 1, 2024
After practicing meditating now for about 5 years I really enjoyed this book as the author provided a very transparent experience of a westerner who studies zen technique in 1950’s Japan. The author while smart is very self-effacing and humorous, complaining about how the lotus position kills his knees, how he gets whacked with a stick when he falls asleep, how how’s looking forward to the next cigarette while meditating , how the lack of progress on his koan which he discusses weekly with his spiritual teacher is driving him mad. A koan is a paradoxical question, statement, or story used in Zen Buddhist teaching to help bring students out of specific forms of thought and into a realm of pure awareness. e.g. like what is the sound of one hand? He cleverly keeps showing how his ego is getting in the way of his progress. 70 years later much of what he writes holds true. "With everyday stress we are much too tense and rushed to be fully aware.” Meditation helps you be much more aware of your surroundings and environment. This is great gateway book into demystifying Buddhism.
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November 25, 2025Loved this. Interesting that it didn't become as famous as, say, Alan Watts' treatment of Zen, which (one learns) is full of mischaracterizations and overstatements. Van de Wetering's approach is memoiristic, doesn't claim to speak about the nature of Zen or Buddhism beyond his narrow experiences, stays closely focused on his own practice, never tells us what koan he was working on during his time in the monastery. I appreciated this work for its depiction of things that are familiar from my own practice (the inevitable ebb and flow, the frustrations and hangups, overeagerness, etc.) and things that are unfamiliar (the experience of practicing with others in a monastery, the attitudes and habits of the kinds of Westerners who got into Zen in the late 50s, etc). Mostly it was a well told story that I found myself thinking about during the day when I wasn't reading it: "I wonder what happens next!"
May 3, 2020
This was a personal narrative of a physical and spiritual journey by the author, Jan-san, of discovery as to the question of the purpose of life…. In 1958, he spent time as a western disciple of a Zen Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, Japan, detailing the hardships, influences and stories of the Zen master and various friends. Abruptly, he decided to leave after coming to the realization … “To do your best and be detached. To come to the point where everything you have been trying to do comes to nothing, and be unmoved. Equanimity. That’s all I have been able to learn. A little theory. It has taken me a year and a half. I doubt whether I can practice theory.”
Janwillen van de Wetering numerous police detective mysteries and books are particularly interesting and unusual as they have been influenced by his equanimity and Zen training.
Janwillen van de Wetering numerous police detective mysteries and books are particularly interesting and unusual as they have been influenced by his equanimity and Zen training.
April 2, 2021
Long long before I became a fully authorized, Transmitted Zen teacher (I'm a slow learner, what can I say?), I came across this book and Janwillem's sequel - 'A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community,' and have always considered both books to be among the best ever written about actual, daily life, nitty gritty Zen practice with a teacher and much of what many go through in the search for some sort of genuine awakening that transforms.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Even if you're not interested in Zen practice as such (and it isn't for everyone after all), this is such a wonderful read and written in a style that manages to communicate the particulars of everyday experiences in a Zen monastery, that are engaging, interesting and approachable. That's no easy feat. Read this book.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Even if you're not interested in Zen practice as such (and it isn't for everyone after all), this is such a wonderful read and written in a style that manages to communicate the particulars of everyday experiences in a Zen monastery, that are engaging, interesting and approachable. That's no easy feat. Read this book.
July 27, 2021
I read this both of my own will and at my dad's suggestion (he had a Buddhist phase in his youth and claims that it, and this book, have affected him to this day).
It's definitely outside of my normal range, and I know that many times I found myself having to put the book down, or at one point, leave it altogether. I came back, thought, and finished it.
This book was really my first experience with Zen Buddhism, aside from some starter courses and the obligatory online reading. Perhaps it wasn't the best book to start with in terms of theory, but it set the mood well for my future research.
I did enjoy The Empty Mirror. The storytelling was well done and the points conveyed in such a way that I understood the thoughts, feelings, and logic behind them. I'm looking forward to continuing with A Glimpse of Nothingness, and successfully intrigued by Zen.
It's definitely outside of my normal range, and I know that many times I found myself having to put the book down, or at one point, leave it altogether. I came back, thought, and finished it.
This book was really my first experience with Zen Buddhism, aside from some starter courses and the obligatory online reading. Perhaps it wasn't the best book to start with in terms of theory, but it set the mood well for my future research.
I did enjoy The Empty Mirror. The storytelling was well done and the points conveyed in such a way that I understood the thoughts, feelings, and logic behind them. I'm looking forward to continuing with A Glimpse of Nothingness, and successfully intrigued by Zen.
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