Manual of Zen Buddhism

by D.T. Suzuki

Book Overview

An inspiration to the likes of Thomas Merton, Aldous Huxley, John Cage, Jack Kerouac, and more, D. T. Suzuki was the single greatest ambassador of Zen Buddhism to the West.

In this seminal anthology, a perfect sourcebook for the student of Zen, Suzuki collects the famous sutras, or sermons, of the Buddha, the gathas, or hymns, the intriguing philosophical puzzles known as koan, and the dharanis, or invocations to expel evil spirits...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802130658
• ISBN13: 9780802130655
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Table of Contents

For your information: Here is the Table of Contents: I. GATHAS AND PRAYERS: 1. On Opening the Sutra 2. Confession 3. The Threefold Refuge 4. The Four Great Vows 5. The Worshipping of the Sarira 6. The Teaching of the Seven Buddhas 7. The Gatha of Impermanence 8. The Yemmei Kwannon Ten-Clause Sutra 10. General Prayer 11. Prayer of the Bell. II. THE DHARANIS: 1. Dharani of Removing Disasters 2. Dharani of the Great Compassionate One 3. Dharani of the Victorious Buddha-Crown. III. THE SUTRAS: The Prajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra, or Shingyo (complete) 2. The Kwannongyo, or "Samantamukha Parivarta" (complete) 3. The Kongokyo, or Vajracchedika (The first half and extracts from the second half) 4. The Lanikavatara Sutra, or Tyogakyo (Extracts) 5. The Tyogonkyo, or Surangama Sutra (resume). IV. FROM THE CHINESE ZEN MASTERS 1. Bodhidharma on the Twofold Entrance to the Tao 2.The Third Patriarch on "Believing in Mind" 3. From Hui-neng's Tan-ching 4. Yoka Daaishi's "Song of Enlightenment" 5. Baso (Ma-tsu) and Sekito (Shih-tou) 6. Obaku's (Huang-po) Sermon from "Treatise on the Essentials of the Transmission of Mind" 7. Gensha on the Three Invalids (from the Hekiganshu or Pi-yen Chi) 8. The Ten Oxherding Pictures, I The Ten Oxherding Pictures, II. V. FROM THE JAPANESE ZEN MASTERS 1. Daiio Kokushi on Zen 2. Daio Kokushi's Admonition 3. Daito Kokushi's Admonition and Last Poem 4. Kwanzan Kokushi's Admonition 5. Muso Kokushi's Admonition 6. Hakuin's "Song of Meditation" VI> THE BUDDHIST STATUES AND PICTURES IN A ZEN MONASTERY Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Protecting Gods, Historical Figures.

If the book is worth $13, the Kindle version is certainly worth $3.

Found the print copy of this in a bookstore and thought it was an interesting reference. Starts from the very beginning and covers quite a lot. If you are interested in the rituals and readings of Zen Buddhism, this the book to have. Well worth the small cost.

Zen Classic

This is a classic book and important for any Zen Buddhist Library. I am very happy that it is still available.

Zen Manual

This was fully intended to be an actual Zen manual, full of liturgy, ritual and explanations. D.T. Suzuki, the preimminent and enthusiastic ordained Japanese Zen Scholar, presents the subject matter as always with perfect confidence and numerous flying sparks. Good book to have on hand if learning how to perform formal Japanese Zen liturgy or hosting your own sittings.

Approaching the Masters with humility and respect.

MANUAL OF ZEN BUDDHISM by D. T. Suzuki. 192 pp. London : Rider and Company, 1974 (1950) and Reprinted.Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki was no ordinary man. A Buddhist scholar, and proficient not only in Chinese and Japanese, but also in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, English, and other languages, after attaining his Enlightenment at the age of twenty-seven he imposed upon himself an extremely difficult task - that of bringing a knowledge of Zen Buddhism to the West, and of somehow trying to get over into English, a language which was quite unprepared to receive them, the ideas and insights of the great Zen Masters.For over two thousand years, many of Asia's most brilliant intellects have been actively engaged in exploring the mysteries of mind, an exploration which Jung himself was to admit could hardly be said to have yet begun in the West. Anyone who has looked, for example, in one of the huge collections of Buddhist Scriptures such as the Taisho Tripitaka, or in a comprehensive Sanskrit-Chinese-Japanese Dictionary of Buddhist technical and philosophic terms, will have realized that, Buddhism has developed tens of thousands of words, many of them expressing the finest shades of meaning, for which English has no real equivalents. This fantastic profusion of ideas and vocabulary, a sort of higher mathematics of thought compared to simple arithmetic, has generated a literature of extraordinary subtlety and sophistication.One of the fruits of Suzuki sensei's sixty-five years writing, translating, and teaching, is the present book, the object of which, as he states in his Preface, is "to inform the reader of the various literary materials relating to [Zen] monastery life" (page 11). We are, in a sense, being invited into a Zen Monastery, and granted the privilege of viewing a selection of its literary and artistic treasures.In the case of an actual applicant for admission to a Zen Temple or monastery, no-one would think of simply breezing in and saying : "OK. I'm here. What can you guys offer me?" Applicants, as is well known, are kept waiting at the gate, often for many days, before being allowed the privilege of meeting with the Master. It's a test, a test of the applicant's humility, respect, and determination. And when the applicant finally does get to see the Master, he is expected to show the same respect, not perhaps so much for the Master as a person as for what he stands for - for the state of enlightenment and for the vast ocean of Buddhist knowledge he represents.Suzuki sensei, would, I feel sure, have hoped that we ourselves show a similar respect for the contents of the present book - for its Prayers and Invocations; for its selections from the Sutras and from the Zen Masters; and for its fifty interesting plates and illustrations which depict Chinese and Japanese statuary, scroll paintings, woodblocks, etc., of a kind one would find at any Zen Temple in Japan. All of them are standard Zen and are standard Buddhist fare, but just