My Heart is a Golden Buddha

by Chong Go "Daehaeng" Sunim, Seon Master, Barbara Ruch (Foreword)

A collection of inspiration and wisdom, seen through the tales of housewives and kings, monks and bandits, and the deep mountains of Korea.
In this collection of 33 stories, one of Korea’s foremost Seon(Zen) masters introduces the richness and depth of Korea’s Buddhist tradition. With humor and insight, Seon Master Daehaeng shows us our inherent potential and demonstrates how we can face the challenges of life with wisdom and vigor.


Praise for Seon Master Daehaeng’s No River to Cross
"No River to Cross speaks directly and simply from the heart, much in the manner of Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Master Daehaeng's ability to penetrate the skin with plain and pointed words should give this work the same longevity."
—Francisca Cho, Georgetown University, translator of Everything Yearned For


“This first taste of a fresh female voice leaves you hungry for more." —Shambhala Sun


Seon Master Daehaeng was one of the most respected Buddhist teachers in Korea. She famously taught monks as well as nuns, and put a special emphasis on teaching laypeople how they too could practice spiritual cultivation and so awaken from the upside-down dreams that rule much of our lives.

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, to start, I feel like I should make it clear that I listened to the audiobook read by Garan Fitzgerald. If you have any interest in reading this book, I would not recommend listening to said audiobook. While Fitzgerald's normal speaking voice was fine, his other voices were terrible. The voices for women and children were just so whiny and irritating. So if you have any interest in this book, avoid the audiobook. As for the book itself, it was alright. I thought that, overall, the lessons were pretty insightful and explained in a way that was easy to understand; but, the stories were the worst. The people in these stories were just so manipulative and deceptive. Even though the point of the stories was to teach valuable lessons, it just seems wrong to trick someone into doing right. I don't know, that might just be a personal thing though. Anyway, don't listen to the audiobook, the stories are kind of odd, but at least the lessons are easy to understand. If you are interested in learning a little more about Buddhism, it wouldn't hurt to give this book a try, because at least it is short.

[Becky Norman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories and philosophy of this book would probably have been engaging and caused self-reflection if I had read it, instead of listening to this as an ebook. The narration was horrible: over-the-top dramatization and unbelievable voices for different characters was too jarring for me and caused too much of a distraction.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and interesting short stories in the Korean tradition.

This little book was my first contact with buddhism. It is clear that I have heard the concepts found here in many movies and, surprisily, in a religious doutrine influential in my country: spiritism. It is soon to afirm that Mr. Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail (or more well know Allan Kardec) copied many ideas and concepts from buddhism to create a new interpretation of cristianity during the XIX century. Please, if you read here and know something about it, help me.

I have already selected other book about buddhism for me: , Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, by Matthew T. Kapstein.

[Levas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viena tų knygų, kurią galima perskaityti per dieną, bet galima ir metus skaityti. Tai kažkur paėmiau tarpinį variantą. Trumpos istorijėlės, po kurių seka trumpi paaiškinimai (trumpas = 2-3 puslapiai) apie vertybes, gyvenimą ir kodėl taip nutiko čia iš budistinės perspektyvos. Šiaip įdomu tokį reikalą paskaityt, bet šitam rinkiny tokios glaustos tos istorijos ir tokie glausti paaiškinimai, kad atrodo lyg skaitytum kieno nors surinktą santrauką. Tai šitas muša per žvaigždutes. O šiaip įprastiniai reikalai - daug žmonių, gyvenančių skurde, besivadovaujančių savo moraliniu kompasu galų gale pasirodo besą laimingi/turtingi/amžini. Gal įdomiausias dalykas kurį išsinešiau iš šitos knygelės tai buvo filosofinis pasvarstymas ties esminiu klausimu - "koks buvo tavo veidas iki gimstant tavo tėvams". Šitas klausimas man labai patinka, atsakymai - ...

[Ūla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beskaitant ją op ir muzika youtube automatiškai persijungė į niekad neklausytą ir net nesusijusią su tuo ką klausiau (klausiau OST iš PONTYPOOL) ir vietoj jos staiga šita https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uTwR...
Trumpi apsakymai, pasakos, išmintis, kažkas lyg būtų šalia, lyg turėtum bendražygį, paguodą, skaitantį pasakas tėvą, draugą, senelius, prosenelius ar D.
Galima grįžti prie jos dar ne kartą. Puiki. Mažytis stebuklas.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little bit of light Seon reading, a welcome break from sūtra study and sitting practice.

[Wulan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Belajar melepaskan aku. Bacaan yang berat tapi ringkas. Pas banget saat ini.