The Beginner's Guide to Zen Buddhism

by Jean Smith

Book Overview

Here is a comprehensive introduction to Zen Buddhism for those who don't know how or where to begin, nor what to expect once they have started practicing. It includes the fundamentals of meditation practice (posture, technique, clothing), descriptions of the basic teachings and major texts, the teacher-student relationship, and what you will find when you visit a zendo, plus a history of Zen from the founding of Buddhism to its major schools in the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609804669
• ISBN13: 9780609804667
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Finally a beginners' book that is true to its title!

With her clear writing style, Smith offers anyone interested in Zen Buddhism a very good basic introduction, including practical advice and a resource guide. While she introduces the reader to the beginnings and diversity of Buddhism as a whole, she emphasizes Western approaches to and developments in Zen. Smith's work is informative and unpretentious, terse without omitting any vital details, reflecting respect and admiration for Zen traditions without worship of personalities and exoticism.

Misconceptions about this book

Its funny how life long followers of buddhism would consult with this book, as it is for beginners. This book is for someone with little or no knowledge of what path to take. Buddhism is inherently diffucult to begin with, thus a book is of extreme importance to new zennists.No book will encompass all that is needed to know especially a book on Buddhism.This should be considered a introductory on Buddhism.However and i believe the author would agree with me that NO text on buddism is all inclusive. This you take a little from here and a little from there and paint your "own" picture. You didnt learn math from one book did you??

Zen

An excellent book for beginning zen practitioners. Beautifully written. After reading this book you will be on the right path to exploring zen.

One of the best books I have ever read.

I am a newcomer to buddhism. After reading this book, I feel like I have a base to work from. What this book did for me, is clarify the most important questions a newcomer can have, such as, what is the goal of buddhism, what is enlightenment,and many other basic questions. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a serious intrest in discovering what buddhism is about.

A good, solid read

As one curious about Buddhism, I found this book to be very informative. It focuses on the meditative aspect, with an interesting glance at the history of Buddhism, as well as essential tenets...''suffering is caused by our desire for things to be different from the way they are.'' The book is basic, but quite profound in it's impact. If you're exploring Buddhism as a newcomer, this is a good book to begin your library with. My wife is now interested because of Jean Smith.