The Whole World Is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life With Questions and Commentary

by Seung Sahn, Stephen Mitchell

"[T]errific and reveals the incomparably profound, minutely subtle, and disarmingly humorous Mind of the Master. For the first time a koan collection includes Christian and Taoist koans as well as the more familiar Japanese koans. The "Buddhist" koans are selected from the classic collections The Gateless Gate and The Blue Cliff Record, as well as from a large number of orally preserved koans from Korean Zen teachers. The Christian koans are derived from the poems of the German mystic known as Angelus Silesius; the Taoist koans come from the Tao Te Ching (in the "translation" by Stephen Mitchell, who also wrote this book's foreword). The checking questions are indeed probing and dumbfoundedness-inducing; the commentaries are uniformly brilliant and incisive...." --Tricycle Magazine

Genres: Zen, Buddhism, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

Reviews

[Ryushiro Hindemith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among the several books by Seung Sahn "Seunim" I have read, I would rank the Compass of Zen and this one as my two favorites (if you're interested, check out my goodreads review on the Compass of Zen).

As a teenager, I loved exploring the intricate yet simple precepts of Buddhism, and became really enthralled with Koan-based meditation. In searching for a definitive book which contained Koans accessible to the western reader, I finally came across this hidden jewel.

This collection of Koans brings out the abstract ideas which has become synonymous with Buddhism in all its most poetic and arcane beauty. Each Koan reads more like a work of poetry interwoven with insights and revelations.

On a personal note, I would recommend first reading The Compass of Zen before approaching this collection, if only to attain a more meaningful interpretation over the sometimes esoteric references made in the various koans.

[Malik Salam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book weighs 337g

[Adam Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was an enlightening blitz of reading for me and I hope to meet Seung Sahn sunim someday.
I really could use a truly enlightened Zem Master to teach me the proper Zen.

[Madelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I opened this book hoping to understand more about kôans, only to be confronted, on one of the first pages, with the statement "Understanding is an illusion." Not about to be deterred, i forged on. My interpretation was that, when presented a kôan, a sort of impossible to answer question, you're not supposed to dwell on it, but "go straight," and you'll eventually find your own answer by applying the kôan to your own life. Kôans are supposed to deter the representational thinking of the west- by having "no eyes, no nose, no mouth," one ultimately eliminates preconception of the limits that a particular kôan presents and finds a true answer. Or i could be (probably am) wrong. But that's why you should read it; if understanding is an illusion, any interpretation can be considered right, as every one is equally wrong. While i might not have achieved the understanding to answer one, i think i appreciate kôans more, and appreciation is the first step towards learning...

[David Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a hard one for me to rate. I have read many spiritual works in my life, and found some of them challenging to understand, but this one was beyond me. I see today that another reviewer recommends reading a different book on Zen BEFORE reading this one (NOW he tells me).

I didn't understand anything in this book, I kept with it, hoping to receive some enlightenment, but it did not come. Maybe I'll try again in 5-10 years, after learning more about Zen first.

I didn't rate the book as I didn't think it would be fair to do so.