Zen Sex: The Way of Making Love – An Elegant Guide to Sacred Truth and Spiritual Enlightenment

by Philip Toshio Sudo

Zen philosophy tells us that the great truth of the universe applies to all things at all times. Every moment of life, from guitar playing to working at the computer, to making love, offers a chance for Zen realization. Just awaken to that truth, Zen masters say; how and where do not matter. Sex offers the same opportunity for enlightenment as anything else. Zen Sex guides readers to the realization of that opportunity with "The Ten Stages of Zen Sex" and "The Six Principles in the Way of Making Love." Philip Sudo reminds our sex-obsessed age that not only is sex a fundamentally spiritual endeavour, it is indeed sacred. This elegant, gorgeous book will appeal not only to Zen practitioners, but to any one looking for enlightenment and spirituality in all aspects of life. Great gift potential. Good for the sex book audience, Zen practitioners and readers looking for meaningful sex. While there are quite a few books that deal with spirituality and sex from the Tantric and Taoist tradition, no other book has brought together Zen and sex. Easy-to-do practices help readers learn and experience Zen sex.

Genres: Sexuality, Buddhism, Philosophy, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Katya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, yet wonderful.
There were passages that carried powerful momentum when you have the knowledge that Philip Toshio Sudo died just two years after publishing Zen Sex.
"We can get so accustomed to beauty in our midst that we take it for granted. We ignore the reality that time is chasing us like a tiger. In this very moment, death is a single accident away."
We must break free from our fear-filled ego and love without holding back, simply because the future is an illusion.
And what a beautiful representation of sex. This is an excellent book for those who struggle to surrender, whether that be to orgasm or lifting the weight of performance anxiety. Patience– taking in every moment, every aspect of the divinity that is shared between two lovers– is key to making love.
This is a book I will come back to.
Also important to mention- I dropped this book in the bathtub.

[sevdah]

A small book about a Zen approach to sex, particularly around the erotic poetry of Zen master Ikkyu. (Reading erotica from other centuries really is another experience, to say I love it is an understatement.) Sudo's main concept is about approaching sex as a kind of meditation, meaning concentrating on what's here in the moment and experiencing it fully. And it's not about making it minimalistic, but making sure it's explosive for the senses, because in about seven seconds we'd all be dead, as he helpfully reminds you, so better to experience it completely. A lot here was surprising to me - like the author's complete open-mindedness about gender roles and sexuality, basically saying that to be a whole balanced human you need to express a bit of everything, because you have a bit of everything in yourself. He also talks about how important communication is and why you simply shouldn't expect your partner to know anything you haven't told them about yourself. But anyway I wasn't exactly prepared for it to read a bit like self help, and because of that I often found myself asking why am I even reading this. I guess it fits my ever growing desire to read more widely, but would I recommend it - with two pinches of salt, only if you're terribly interested, and only because it takes an hour or two of your afternoon. But don't expect any big revelations other than how dirty Ikkyu was.

[Velvetea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking at sex as something sacred~ an act of love, but also an act of life, with it's infinite possibilities.

Interesting read, and quite fun, considering I would secretly read it in public and at work here in Japan, with no one the wiser. To be fair, I did make quite the studious innocent, as they would see me taking notes and copying kanji from the book (whilst keeping the erotic illustrations strategically covered).

Oh the deviousness >:].

[Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be reading this book again and again.

[Christy Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this could be a short, quick read, I'd recommend taking one's time with this and approaching it like the zen meditation that it references. Read it in small sips, let the words find places of resonance and settle into you and savor the advice as more a way of life than a manual of actions or activities to enhance sexuality. This is, first and foremost, a book of being, not doing and the doing is about attention (mindfulness) rather than mere technique.

One of my favorite A-ha moments was the way Toshio Sudo spoke of sex as an act of creativity, an act of creation itself, complete unto itself. We are all sexual beings because we have all been born of sex, of an act of creation and passion. Our very living is sexual in the sense that it is an expression of life connecting with life.

The Japanese line drawings are a lovely addition, spaced throughout the book and with end notes to complement the text. A short, but diverse bibliography explores poetry, theology, biography and more. While the author is now deceased, he has left a gift in this small volume that I'm happy to have stumbled across for in it lies a gift of his own love that will continue on.

[David Bronz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encanto las reflexiones que ofrece este libro en cuestiones al conectar lo que ya sabemos del amor y la vida en general con la filosofía zen. Creo que da muy buenos principios para seguir en las relaciones y creo que explica muy bien la conexión entre el sexo y la filosofía zen (una conexión poco evidente y difícil de hacer).

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

this man tries to claim that 'finding enlightenment through sex is the same as being a newly conceived child' and i had to reread that twice because, well, no,

[Vander Alves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeitão cafona, reflexões banais, mas não lamento a leitura: a coisa toda não deixa de ter um mínimo de sapiência, e também faz bem revisitar o básico.

[Lasette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this take on sex as a practice. It was both lot of fun to read and also good little gem of wisdom.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this is one of those extroidary books that give you an ahha momment that Oprah talks about. I consider this book to not be so much about sex advice as it is good relationship advice. As other reviewers have mentioned it is also filled with beautiful illistrations and a spiritual element that is almost poetic.

I personally loved the comparisons of relationships and lovemaking to quotes from The Art of War. I thought it was quite brilliantly done, and insightfully so. I would really recommend this booke to anyone in a relationship, or anyone hoping to be in a relationship. So yes everyone.

[Path Kittinat · Rating 3 out of 5]

เป็นหนังสือที่ในเวปนี้ ไม่มีใครเขียน Review เลย
แน่นอนผมก็เขียนไม่ได้หรอกวะ
นอกจะบอกได้ว่าผู้เขียน ก็อธิบายเซนโดยผูกให้เข้ากับ Sex นั่นแหละ

แต่ไม่ได้เน้น Sex หรือกามสูตรอะไรนั่นหรอกนะ

ตรงกันข้ามกลับบอกให้ทำตามธรรมชาติของเซนนั้นแหละ ในเล่มเต็มไปด้วยบทกลอนของ Ikkyū ที่ว่าเรื่อง Zen กับ Sex ไปด้วยกันได้

แล้วเด๋วก็ Enlighten เองคือเขาพยายามอธิบายเซนให้เห็นว่ามันเข้ากันได้กับทุกๆส่วนของชีวิตนั้นแหละ

เรื่องของเซนมันอธิบายไม่ได้ มันเกินกว่าคำพูดจะอธิบาย คงต้องพยายามเข้าใจกันเอง

"ต้นไซเปส อยู่ในสวน" ถ้าเข้าใจก็ Enlighten เลย ส่วนผมก็ยังคงต้องงงต่อไป

[Hemani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tastefully done and a rather romantically scintillating read for those wishing to articulate the sensual to the spiritual. The illustrations are erotic but beautiful. Loved the poetry and koans by Zen masters. For example, "Open your hand, it becomes a cloud; turn it over, rain."