#6 in Meditation books
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Reddit mentions of Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings
Sentiment score: 12
Reddit mentions: 19
We found 19 Reddit mentions of Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings. Here are the top ones.
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Specs:
| Color | Other |
| Height | 7.25 Inches |
| Length | 5 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | September 1998 |
| Weight | 0.50044933474 Pounds |
| Width | 0.9 Inches |
This and many other powerful stories appear in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. One of my most cherished books.
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
Not really a manual, but definitely an awesome book of parables, koans, and stories. Carried it with me when I was wandering around the country as a kid. There is no imaginable way to count how many times I've read it or sought for specific tidbits to reread to see how I grasp things at different times.
First of all, can I just say how much I love giving and receiving book recommendations? I was a religious studies major in college (and was even a T.A. in the World Religions class) so, this is right up my alley. So, I'm just going to take a seat in front of my book cases...
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If you are looking to dip your toes into koan practice I suggest Zen Flesh Zen Bones it isnt exactly koan practice but begins to introduce the idea and feel of koan study. Personally, unless you have already been meditating with a teacher for some time now I wouldn't expect too much progress in this area, but still best of luck!
Best wishes and i hope this helped
It's included in this book https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Flesh-Bones-Collection-Writings/dp/0804831866 which has a lot of good stories that anyone could benefit from reading and thinking about.
You are free to think that I am shallow. I believe that myself. I found two books that were meaningful to me.They appealed to my American mind:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0804831866/ref=sr_1_2_twi_pap_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449117302&sr=1-2&keywords=101+zen+stories
There are enough stories that surely one or two will be meaningful to YOUR American. My own personal favorite was the one about "Attention"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1590302834/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449117522&sr=1-1&keywords=zen+training+sekida
This book tells you how to sit. Be warned it is difficult (for me anyway) to read. But it DOES tell you how to sit. Suffice it to say that one can not write, talk or even think about Zen. It just does not work that way. I believe it is said in this book that there are 8000 books written about Zen but not one word has ever been uttered that is Zen. Sekida directs us to sit. Sekida knows what he is talking about. Sit. Now this is where the bad marketing slogan comes in: It is hard work and it hurts. The only way to train the mind is to train the mind. Training the mind is hard work and it hurts. Sit. I once read: The mind commands the body and it obeys; the mind commands itself and it meets resistance. One must sit and feel the resistance. It is real, it is difficult and it hurts. Read and talk and write all you want to but the mind is trained only once it has been quieted.
Try something other than a koan. Try counting to ten. Sekida explains that quite well. Since I am an American, I found that the alphabet helped my just about the most. But that is me. Just remember that only those things that you can touch and feel and smell and hear and taste really matter. That means that only YOU can do the hard work. You can't listen or read your way out of the hard work and pain of training your own mind. A master can only guide you. It is, in the end, you and you alone who can train your mind.
You should sit simply because those who came before you said that you should sit. I will not be easy and you will fail many times and there is not one person in this world who can help you. And in the event that you should see the smallest amount of something that glimmers you will feel a slip of the ropes that bind you. But, PLEASE!!keep your mouth shut about it!! People stink who would tell others about the WONDERS of Zen. They STINK! I know because I wallowed in it for a time. Just sit and sit some more and keep it to yourself because this most valuable thing in the world can never be given away. It doesn't work that way. Sit.
My best exercise for that is called Zen. This over here is a good introduction and this guy has some very good reflections about it.
Just to clarify: this is a totally serious answer.
Zen Flesh Zen Bones
was watching TV with some friends at their house, picked it up off their shelf and just got lost in it for a while.
great thanks so much - The book that really got me hooked for good on Zen is "zen flesh Zone bones" I've been reading that since like 4th grade it's easy simple beautiful, thought provoking, maybe even enlightening :P
I am reading Zen Flesh Zen Bones right now - really enjoying it. Includes the Gateless Gate.
here is a collection of zen stories that include some zen dialogue. Some people call it "combat dharma" because it appears to be like a masterful sword fight to some. Later it become institutionalized into something called "encounter dialogue", and standard questions and answers evolved. Some call that pseudo zen, and once zen is formalized like that the spontaneity and life of it is gone. It can become like any other religion when priests are just officials who have studied and are connected to a line of succession.
With zen, study or any other "practice" is not enough. You have to "get it". How some people get it and others don't remains a mystery. Succession has little to do with it.
It can be useful to come in contact with words and letters especially when they "point" to consciousness beyond words and letters, without desires, aversions, and delusions. If words were altogether useless, those masters would have said nothing on the subject. It seems that many of the old masters did just that a lot of the time (said nothing). The words are the opening gambit, it's all changing experience.
I recognize this story, it's an adaptation of a Zen parable about a man who asks a Zen roshi to paint (with Chinese calligraphy) an auspicious (good luck) saying to hang in his house. Though I guess a Zen roshi is kind of a priest.
There's a lot of great stories like this in a book called Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Flesh-Bones-Collection-Writings/dp/0804831866
zen flesh zen bones - it's a compilation of four books - 101 zen stories, the gateless gate, 10 bulls and centering. if you can get the book, good - else, just search for online versions of the four books.
it's kinda hard for me to talk about zen because i'm not the most stable person in the world - still chaos on two legs. but the most peaceful i felt was when i used to study chemistry at 3 am back in high school. losing myself in it, asking questions. i think it's more about learning as you go and learning to let go. i've been hoarding a lot of physical and mental clutter for the past few years but i'm slowly giving a lot of stuff away to charities. and dropping preconceived notions, popular beliefs and self-defeating things in general :3. /r/zen is a great place to look around. and like others have said, if you can find a mediation center or zen center - it's awesome as well.
Whole hearted agreement.
Also try Zen Flesh Zen Bones.
"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
First there is a mountain. Then there is no mountain. Then there is.
I think you want to look into Zen Koans, which are little stories or parables that don't make sense to the rational mind.
I had a book called "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" which was a collection of koans like this. One of my favorites:
When the nun Chiyono studied Zen under Bukko of Engaku she was unable to attain the fruits of meditation for a long time.
At last one moonlit night she was carrying water in an old pail bound with bamboo. The bamboo broke and the bottom fell out of the pail, and at that moment Chiyono was set free!
In commemoration, she wrote a poem:
In this way and that I tried to save the old pail
Since the bamboo strip was weakening and about
to break
Until at last the bottom fell out.
No more water in the pail!
No more moon in the water!
That's a great book! Another really good one is Zen Flesh, Zen Bones although it's more for people who already know a bit about Zen.
Zen and recovery mesh really well for me.
I'd recommend Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Flesh-Bones-Collection-Writings/dp/0804831866
A book I often recommend to Christians (or those with a strong Christian background) you may find worth checking out is A Course in Miracles its kind of like if the Scientology upper OT levels were written in a Christian context.
The backstory is kind of sketchy I think, but if you can ignore that and just take the text for what it is then its well worth the read. It can be rather dense and can take a long time to get through, especially if you do all the exercises, but it's worth the time and effort in my opinion. I'd generally skip the organizations and such that promote it and go with just the text itself and your own interpretation of it.
Another book worth checking out is Zen Flesh, Zen Bones which was almost like a Bible for me for many years.
It's also worth reading The Principia Discordia for a bit more humorous take on religion - but a religion that many people actually take seriously. Hard-core Discordians throw the best parties, btw.
Religion doesn't have to be the solemn or overly serious thing that its often made out to be. The idea of 'truth' is often thrown around as being objective but there are very few objective truths in my honest opinion and experience. Find out what's true for you and if nothing is true for you then, well, make up something new that is.