Singing and Dancing Are the Voice of the Law: A Commentary on Hakuin's “Song of Zazen”

by Bussho Lahn, Tim Burkett (Introduction)

“This is one of the best books on Zen and Zen practice that I have read in years. Busshō uses a well-known Zen song/poem to elucidate the key features of Zen meditation, practice and life….It brings the famous Zen master’s teaching alive while also showing how it is relevant to Zen practice in the 21st century."  ― Tim Burkett , author of Nothing Holy About It and Zen in the Age of Anxiety Foreword Book of the Year Finalist ( Religion)
Singing and Dancing Are the Voice of the Law introduces us to one of the great works of Zen literature, “The Song of Zazen.” Zen teacher Busshō Lahn illuminates Hakuin’s enigmatic poem in plain language, unpacking it and applying it to contemporary life. His book offers a wealth of information on the context and content of this eighteenth-century work, clearly evoking its themes of abiding wisdom, meditation, compassionate self-regard, and our own everyday life’s potential to express deep spiritual truth. Short stanza by short stanza, this exceptionally readable and deeply engaging book shows how the poem’s teachings and invitations are as applicable now as they were when they were first written nearly three centuries ago. Lahn offers readers an intuitive and progressive path of exploration of their spiritual lives, regardless of their faith tradition.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality

220 pages, Paperback

Published December 20, 2022

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oh” isn’t a word, really, it’s a sound we make to express something preverbal. We use oh to express surprise, appreciation, thoughtful consideration, awe, and wonder. It’s a “wake up” sound. It’s what we say when we just got a little bit bigger.”

Oh.

We also, of course, use oh to express pain. Our own pain can draw it out of us, but maybe even more commonly it is used to recognize another’s pain. “Oh, honey.” Any time the truth comes into contact with perception is a great moment to say oh.

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Singing and dancing are what I have spent the last six or more years learning to do. For about as much time as I have had a reasonably good awareness of my self, I have been working regularly to be a better singer, and dancer, and by extension, musician. I quickly began to think of these things as core to me. The goal is to become what I have always been: a vessel through which song and dance flows.

“You don’t need to think much when singing or dancing.”

A disappearance into the reflexive expression of a dance. An idea that flows from head to pen so quickly you forget to be critical of it. A song performed so completely the voice cracks with emotion. Bussho reminds us in the text that everything is holy, but I find it easier to remember that when I have such proof as I have just mentioned. They cast light outwards onto my life, especially those parts which I had thought too shaded to see.

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Bussho has been a part of my life since before I was born. He knew my parents then, so I find him strangely familiar, despite never meeting him in that context. Maybe it’s for this reason that I always found his talks so compelling, but if it is bias, the illusion is very convincing. My mother recently recalled that one of the nicknames she uses for her children came from him. It had always seemed too sweet for me. Oh, the funny ways things come back to us! What a fortune it is to have such a beautiful reminder of the thorough interconnectedness of my own life with the rest of the story.

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book consists of a collection of essays inspired by the poem, “Song of Zazen,” written by the 18th century Zen master, Hakuin. Hakuin’s poem is brief (about forty lines,) and the essays composed by a present-day Zen priest (Lahn) offer commentary on a stanza-by-stanza basis. The book is divided into fourteen chapters, though the final chapter isn’t a stanza commentary.

I enjoyed reading this book and learned a great deal from it. The book benefits from the fact that the author is not rigidly sectarian. Therefore, the book is not doctrinaire, which warms the reader to the teachings. It’s also useful because it allowed the author to freely draw examples and quotes from a variety of sources, some of which may be more familiar or relatable to neophyte readers.

The last chapter offers a discussion of the fundamentals of zazen (seated meditation) as well as some other ancillary information that may be useful to readers new to Zen Buddhism, its practices, and its sutras. If you’re interested in Zen Buddhist meditation and philosophy, you may want to give it a look.

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb effort, especially for a first book. One may sometimes feel lost from the "Song" in the details provided by the author, many of them nonessential to commentary on the "Song." And the author gets long-winded - overly wordy - at times.

Anyway, writing a book on such a masterpiece is a risk. And words words words are a must to write a book rather than a tract or essay. I appreciate the risk taken. - I am not much of a chanter, but I do enjoy chanting the "Song" now.

For me, this was a Zen Zen book, meaning most for persons formerly devoted to Zen, beginner onward. I would not say this is a good introduction to Zen for other readers, nor meant to be; however, since Zen is really about life, one can garner much guidance and inspiration.

Lahn is a good writer and, I would think, based on reading the book, a compassionate and skilled teacher, embodying bodhisattva-spirit. Here, he does serve as a means of the "Song-spirit." Here, the "Song" and Hakuin live on. And is that not the hope for reading a book on ancient wisdom-words?

[Amy V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bussho Lahn’s book on an ancient Zen poem is very helpful in terms of modern spiritual practice not just for Zen students but anyone working with life’s deeper questions. The book is funny, down to earth and accessible. A wonderful read!

[Ron Semerena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy this book and read it. Then read it again and again. It is one of the best "Buddhist" books I have come across and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in Zen.