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Reddit mentions of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

Sentiment score: 21
Reddit mentions: 37

We found 37 Reddit mentions of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice. Here are the top ones.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
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Found 37 comments on Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice:

u/oh_the_humanity · 8 pointsr/Buddhism

If your interested in Zen, I recommend Zen Mind, Beginners Mind.

u/hahahalie · 7 pointsr/booksuggestions

please start by encouraging her to seek help from a mental health professional. a book is not going to help anyone truly depressed, no matter how enlightening it is.

that out of the way, I did find "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" helpful for dealing with anxiety and smaller bouts of depression.

best of luck to you.

u/monkey_sage · 7 pointsr/Soto

Hi Steve!

I would recommend reading Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki who was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the West. I would also recommend The Mind of Clover by Robert Aitken which is an excellent guide on Zen Buddhist ethics (and important part of the practice).

If you haven't already started, I would recommend you pick up a regular zazen habit, sitting daily even for just five minutes if that's all you can manage. Sitting zazen is the most important thing in the Sōtō school and Master Dogen could not recommend it enough!

Books are good but practice is much better!

Beyond that, I'm a big fan of all of Brad Warner's books. He has a great approach to Zen, I think, and makes understanding some of its more obscure and hard-to-penetrate ideas easier to digest.

And of course you can always come here and ask as my questions as you like!

u/GetsEclectic · 7 pointsr/philosophy

I'd recommend Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. It's dense and interesting, but can still be a quick read.

u/discardedyouth88 · 5 pointsr/zen

Actually I do have a Zen suggestion for you. I highly recommend Zen Mind Beginners Mind by Suzuki Roshi.

Also while Lojong is more out of the Tibetan Tradition. There is a Zen teacher by the name of Norman Fischer who has given many talks on and written a book about Lojong from a Zen'ish perspective.

u/phaed · 4 pointsr/TheRedPill

> You stop to think (or focus on your breath if you can't simply stop thinking) and when thoughts arise you observe that you're thinking about something as if someone has shoved an object in front of your face

One should not try to stop thinking, that is a futile effort, like turning off fire with fire. Also by imagining thoughts are being shoved in front of your face you're highlighting their intrusion, that is no good either. It is best to realize that thoughts will come, and when they do gently become aware of them and then focus back on your breathing. Without anger, without judgement, coming back to the here and now.

That is the muscle you exercise, the ability of getting out of your head and coming back to the now. With practice you'll be able to do this effortlessly without even trying, to the point where you live in the here and now permanently without going back into your head full of fear and doubts.

When you see that approach anxiety is only the act of being in your head and not in the present moment with a woman. You can see how the ability to leave that state at will can be beneficial to Game.

Here is the best book on the subject for anyone who wishes to learn how its done from a Master. Shunryu Suzuki is the Japanese Zen Master who brought Zen practice to the United States. It's a small book, contains no theology or religion, just practice:

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind |
---------|
In one of the best and most succinct introductions to Zen practice, the important teacher Shunryu Suzuki discusses posture and breathing in meditation as well as selflessness, emptiness, and mindfulness. |

u/mbregg · 3 pointsr/Buddhism

There are some scathing reviews in there. Especially the one where he's talking about levitation.

I have to say that I don't completely disagree with some of the reviewers' complaints. Lama Surya Das is a decent writer in my opinion, and the book is entertaining. But as others have said, it really is more of an autobiography. And while he has led an interesting life, this is not why I originally read the book. He definitely tries to put a "Western spin" on Buddhism, and this is obviously because westerners are his target audience. But what winds up being produced is a new-age self-help kind of book.

If you are interested, my top 4 recommendations for easy to read, entertaining books that cover some different aspects/sects of Buddhism (in order of my personal preference) are as follows:

  1. What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula.

  2. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki.

  3. The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh.

  4. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.

    As I said, those are my personal favorites and will give you a good look at some of the major Buddhist traditions.
u/vorrumba · 3 pointsr/lakers

“Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” is a book Phil often cites and has give players. I think this is what you’re referring to.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590308492/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_Fxt7AbVMYNV76

u/3rdUncle · 3 pointsr/Meditation

Meditation is amazing. Usually instructions for beginners say that it's best to start by focusing on your breathing. Watching every in and out breath as if it were the most important thing in the world. Since you can watch your body, it can not contain you-the-watcher. You discover, as you already have, that you can watch your thinking mind and again, since you can watch it, it can not contain you. So where and what are you? Some meditation guides, like zen, suggest you keep your eyes a tiny bit open, without focusing on anything, because if you close your eyes, you get drift away from reality and according to zen, the purpose of meditation is to experience pure reality prior to conceptualization. It's important to remain grounded and to avoid abstraction. Watching the breath is a good technique for remaining grounded in reality. Congrats on a great beginning. Check out Shunryo Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. In this book, he calls the thinking mind "small mind" and the observer mind "big Mind". It provides a good starting point but you can read it over and over and get more out of it every time.

u/KeepItCovered · 3 pointsr/zen

I would like eventually to be able to handle the non-secular Buddhism, part of the mess I got myself into was convincing myself there is no god. I like that Buddha didn't take a stance on it.

No. I saw your post; I saw your post history; I'm having a pretty good time with my understanding of Zen and Zen practice, but I'm only a month or so in. I was hoping for someone who appears to me to be critical of Zen, you could offer an alternative based on your understanding. I know I could disembowel a Buddhism tradition to create my own, but I felt ... you would be a good person to ask.

I've been to the local zendo, and the lay practitioner told my wife that the sutras they chant "they don't believe in the words." I mean, if you don't believe in the words, why bother saying them?

It seems hard to meet with the teacher, and ... I don't understand why you would want to. My understanding of Zen is everything comes from zazen, which seems to me to be the same kind of enlightenment the Buddha received. If that's true, what are the teachers for? If the teacher is important, how often should you talk to them to help your practice? The zendo near me, it looks like you need to spend 3 months of practice before formally meeting with the teacher. Is that reasonable?

Zen is very mapless. Meditate and you will arrive eventually. Do this one thing with a singular focus. Trust it.


Contrast that to .... Daniel Ingram (yes, I understand most everyone fucking hates this guy), ... who literally has a map of the terrain.

I have no interest in group study, other then maybe a circle of friends, of which, I'm the focal point.

I've never in my life learned well from other people talking to me, I'm more of a read the book, test it out, kind of person. I'm reading this currently

I like doing zazen, I'm starting to understand why it would be advantageous to focus single minded on breath and posture, asymmetry is nice, not being worried about perfection is nice, and being continuously in the now is nice.

Do you think I can get the above with Zen?

u/HarambeBerlusconi · 3 pointsr/Libri

Ci sono diverse scuole buddiste con diverse interpretazioni dei sutra di Buddha e con pratiche diverse: le varie tibetane (più teorici ma anche meditazione), le varie scuole zen (più meditazione e koan), buddismo del s-e asiatico (mix strano), ecc...

Ti consiglio qualche titolo, magari leggili tutti, se leggi in inglese dovresti trovarli facilmente.

  • Joyful Wisdom - E' più un'introduzione alla meditazione molto discorsiva che altro ma introduce anche i concetti più importanti del buddismo (relativismo, impermanenza, quattro nobili verità) in modo semplice. [tibetano]
  • Buddhism without Beliefs - Ex monaco(tibet/zen coreano) di origini occidentali fa una critica costruttiva del buddismo tibetano, proponendo un approccio "secolare", in Confession of a Buddhist Atheist l'autore racconta la sua storia. [tibetano]
  • Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Introduzione al buddismo zen, meditazione, molto bello. [Soto zen]
  • Qualcosa di Thich Nhat Nahn tipo La pace è ogni respiro, tutti libri molto discorsivi (evita magari quelli con i titoli più banali) che più che parlare di buddismo introducono il modo di pensare. [zen s-e asia,vietnam]
  • The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching - Altro libro di thn molto teorico con rimandi a diversi sutra. [tutte le scuole]

    Magari inizia da Zen Mind e Joyful Wisdom.
u/Citta_Viveka · 3 pointsr/Meditation

Because philosophy didn't make me happy the way I thought it would, so I started looking for other things. I found this obscure book 'Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy — Two Paths of Liberation from the Representational Mode of Thinking.'

That showed me that a whole civilization out there was busy living outside of their thoughts (Zen), while I had been living inside my thoughts in the belief that that was the height of sophistication ('a life of the mind, how classy!')

So I started small, with Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind and just slowly read and met more teachers and practiced what seemed to get me out of that 'life of the mind' that I had been stuck in the whole time.

u/LobasaurusRex · 2 pointsr/IWantToLearn

Come join us over at [/r/meditation] (http://www.reddit.com/r/Meditation). It'll keep your reddit browsing a bit more mindful.

As a personal recommendation, a great book, and guide, on a keeping a clear mind is [Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind] (http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shunryu-Suzuki/dp/1590308492) by Shunryu Suzuki. Being in the present isn't a destination, it's a practice!


When you find yourself thinking too much about the possible futures and mistakes of the past, just breathe in and breathe out, and focus on that. Nothing like some oxygen to remind the mind and body where it is (right here).

u/In1micus · 2 pointsr/stopdrinking

An old guy who lived in China has a great answer for this question:

>Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instruction

Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage - translation by Daniel Leighton

Basically, learn from other people. The Zen teachings are based on the writings of masters going back to the 5th century. However, these writings aren't particularly accessible. Luckily, we are currently living through an explosion of Buddhism in the west and there are many teachers that explain these ancient concepts in a manner that westerners can understand easily.

Here are some recommendations for entry level, western-targeted Zen books:

>Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - Shunryu Suzuki

Suzuki Roshi was one of the earliest Zen masters to immigrate to the United States back in the 1960's. His teachings are very simple and fundamental. He gets at the very heart of Zen in a concise, plain manner. This book is a collection of transcribed Dharma talks he gave in California during the 60's. It is likely the most well known book on Zen in the west. It is short and clearly written, making it one of the best places to start learning about Zen.

> The Miracle of Mindfulness - Tich Nhat Hanh

Tich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen monk. He has been a huge contributor to the spread of Zen in the west. He has established practice centers in France, New York, California, Mississippi, and Germany. This book is a practical guide to bringing Zen practice into your life. He offers a lot of analogies that make you take a step back and think about the way you live your life. Another short and accessible book.

> Inside the Grass Hut - Ben Connelly

Ben was my guitar teacher for many years before he introduced me to Zen. He is a Zen priest in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri, the founding abbot of the Minnesota Zen Mediation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This book is a study of the poem I have linked and quoted above, The Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage by the 8th century Zen master Shitou. It was extremely useful book for me when I was at my darkest point. Ben distills Shitou's somewhat arcane parables into a simple, practical set of recommendations for living a life that will free you of suffering. Ben offers a lot of insight into incorporating Zen practice into a modern lifestyle. Like the other two, it also short and easy to read. This is a great introduction to what a lot of historic Zen writing is like. I think it is a particularly useful book for people struggling with addiction. Ben had some trouble with alcohol himself and I believe he is 10+ years sober.

Those are some great places to start, but you can read all the books you want about Zen and not get the picture if you don't meditate. Meditation is the foundation of Zen and all of Buddhist practice. The great thing about meditation is that you can do it on your own just about anywhere. The Miracle of Mindfulness gives a good description of how to meditate. There are also plenty of free resources available online. There are many ways to meditate and it is best to find one that works for you.

A daily mediation habit is not an easy thing to develop. Similar to abstinence, it takes discipline and commitment. I still struggle with it myself. It is, however, the best way to fully realize the benefits of Zen. Some things that might help with this is to find a Sangha to practice with or download an app like Headspace. Having a community to practice with has been the biggest help in getting me on the zafu. Doing something with other people makes it easier to do, a little bit like how this subreddit works. Headspace is really popular, although I have not used it myself. It can be used to track mediation sessions and work towards mediation goals. The app that I have found useful is MindBell, but really it's just a glorified timer. The last thing I would recommend are the guided meditations by Jon Kabat Zinn. JKZ is a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and has conducted many clinical studies on the benefits of mindfulness in medicine and healthcare. He is a long time practitioner of Zen and has written several books about his work. I haven't read much of his work, but I have utilized his guided meditations extensively. I particularly like this body scan one. Even when I was at my most depressed and couldn't find the strength to get out of bed, I was able to get myself to queue this video up and follow along. There are a lot of other guided meditations floating around the web. I also like this one by Sam Harris that's only 9 minutes.

Zen is not necessarily an easy thing to get involved in. It requires a commitment of time and it is not particularly fun or pleasurable. However, any level of Zen practice will produce concrete rewards. If you have any question, I am always available for answers.

u/where_is_jhyde · 2 pointsr/zen

thanks, I will. i have my own reading materials.

u/not_yet_named · 2 pointsr/Buddhism

Describe the Four Noble Truths? I sometimes like looking at Wikipedia's simple english version of pages to get good, short overviews of things. I don't think that description of the first step of the Eightfold Path is very good though. The normal english article is better for that one, but other than that it's a good summery.

Many Zen teachers express things differently. They might not go into a lot of detail or focus on lists and texts as much. There are also some differences. For example under Right Action, some Japanese Zen lineages allow monks to marry and have families. In general though all that page will still apply to Zen.

Zen is pretty hard to learn on your own. Koans, which are things you might call spiritual questions, make up a lot of the practice in a lot of Zen, and to practice them you pretty much need to be working with a teacher. I don't know of any good resources that I'd recommend for learning to practice Zen on your own.

If you'd like a good book to learn about Zen from an scholarly point of view this is a good one. It's only going to teach you about Zen, like things you'd learn about the subject if you took a college class. It won't teach you how to practice Zen. If you'd like a book that isn't from an academic point of view this is a nice one, but still, it's not really going to teach you how to practice Zen.

u/GumGuts · 2 pointsr/depression

Opening the Hand of Thought and Zen Mind, Beginners Mind have both been very helpful to me. Especially the second one, but the first one is a little easier to understand.

In Zen, there's sort-of an oddity. How-tos are often blended with Introductory texts. Both of those books have sections that describe the practice of Zazen more then sufficiently enough to begin.

There's also the r/buddhism and r/zen subreddits, which both have plenty of helpful recommendations and explanations.

Good luck :)

u/AnimalMachine · 2 pointsr/books

There are several popular 'flavors' of Buddhism, but unfortunately I have not read any general overview books covering all of the sects. Most of my generalized knowledge has come from podcasts like Buddhist Geeks and Zencast. Gil Fronsdal and Jack Kornfield are both enjoyable to listen to.

But back to books!

The most accessible Zen book I've read was Nishijima's To Meet The Real Dragon. Other overviews like Alan Watt's What Is Zen and Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind are good but a little obtuse.

And while I can't give it a general recommendation because the writing style isn't for everyone, I really enjoyed Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen and Sit Down and Shut Up.

Of those mentioned, I would go with To Meet the Real Dragon unless you prefer a much more informal style -- then I would pick Hardcore Zen.

u/ReallyLikeFood · 2 pointsr/KitchenConfidential

Well first off, figure out your goals and seek out a position that best aligns with them.


Second, and very importantly during the day-to-day work, enough caffeine to kill a small child.


Finally, this book can teach you a lot about getting the most from difficult situations. https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shunryu-Suzuki/dp/1590308492

u/RagingSynapse · 1 pointr/Meditation

I haven't read Mindfulness in Plain English either, but I've heard good things. I found Zen Meditation in Plain English by Buksbazen to be a helpful intro. For more inspiration than instruction, I liked Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Suzuki.

u/Pr4zz4 · 1 pointr/occult

I recommend reading Carl Jung and either DT Suzuki or S. Suzuki.

Most of what you’ll find elsewhere are just bullshit artist Gurus looking manipulate their power over you for self-aggrandizing purposes.

It’s been my experience that “occult” should be understood more from a psychological/numinous point of view rather than a supernatural. That is, personal experience that you are the source of, rather than someone else, person, thing or diety, which most lays claim as being the source of what your experience may be. Thus disempowering/stunting your path for development.

The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691006768/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_naI0Cb30YZNGJ

Psychology and Religion: West and East (The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 11) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691097720/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9hI0CbHSVC6E5

An Introduction to Zen Buddhism https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802130550/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AiI0CbSSEKFGX

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice https://www.amazon.com/dp/1590308492/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_6iI0CbMYD0STX

u/lyam23 · 1 pointr/Buddhism

Give her a book on zen written for the laymen. It may miss the mark, but if "Chop wood, carry water" wouldn't work for her, then give her the book. Let those with ears hear.

u/MrsSpice · 1 pointr/selfhelp

I see a therapist when I know something isn't right, but I am unsure what. Sometimes having someone to ask the right questions (with no vested interest) helps me come to realizations I wouldn't have otherwise.

I was terrified of going at first, but I am so happy I did! If you want to go but are scared, feel free to ask me questions.

I also enjoy guided journals. Right now I am doing one called "Design The Life You Love"

Zen/Buddhism/mindfulness books help me when I am stuck in my head, feeling as though my existence has no meaning. This book is the first one I read along those lines, and here is a popular Buddhist author whose books I find easy, relatable, and enjoyable to read. If you enjoy challenging books, there are plenty of those too - here is a hugely popular one.

Lastly, is there anyone close to you who you trust with this concern? Could you share your observations with this person, ask if they have noticed it as well, and ask what suggestions they might have?

u/ir1shman · 1 pointr/WTF

Couldn't find the book, but did find the author in case someone was wanting to check him out.

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shunryu-Suzuki/dp/1590308492/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1322798259&sr=8-4

u/i_have_a_gub · 1 pointr/Meditation

A few of my favorites:

u/maxcollinge · 1 pointr/mindful_meditation

From my perspective the numbers are a nice thing to do if your mind tends to wander constantly.
Once you have a little space in your mind and there are moments with no distractions just pure presence, shifting to zen meditation or another breath based meditation would be a natural progression.

Here are the two best books on meditation I have ever used.
https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shunryu-Suzuki/dp/1590308492/
https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Action-Yourself-Meditation-Awareness/dp/1611803535

I am sure you can find them free online too.

u/barefootsocks · 1 pointr/zen

This is the last place you'll find any sort of helpful information on zen. Ewk and a few other ideologs have pretty much hijacked the forum. /r/zendo is good, but its not nearly as active. You're not wrong for assuming zen can be peaceful and elegant, its what you want it to be. A lot of what you see here is westerners confusing zen with nihilism. If I were to mention the Two Truths Doctrine here, many wouldn't really know what I was talking about. Things like this getting over looked is why you seen so much arguing here. Its mostly due to lack of understanding of buddhist doctrine by westerners that are new to the religion.

With that said, Suzuki Roshi's Zen Mind Beginner's Mind was a great starting point for myself. If you want tot just download it for free, Heres a link to the pdf. Also this website gives rough details into soto zen practice and forms. http://global.sotozen-net.or.jp
Last book, this isn't zen, but Zen is considered Mahayana Buddhism and shares many of the same teaching as Tibetan Buddhsim. The Dalai Lama give a wonder discourse of some of the core beliefs of Mahayana Buddhism. Essential Teachings Dalai Lama

I started around when I was your age, and that was along time ago :) Hope you find what you are looking for. Good luck!

disclaimer: ewk please don't reply to my comment. thank you.

u/mynameis_wat · 1 pointr/Buddhism

Not sure what "meditate on your anxiety" exactly means, but that sounds the exact opposite of what meditation is about. It is not about pscyhoanalysis, or ruminating on things too much. Be aware, let things come and go, exist in the now, don't try to grasp or attain anything by meditation, just let it happen and let it be.

I found dharma from zazen practitioners really helpful in how it articulates ideas about meditation. I would really recommend Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.

u/OG_Willikers · 1 pointr/Buddhism

Try "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki I think for most westerners, Zen Buddhism is more accessible.

u/maegmariel · 0 pointsr/books

See /r/Buddhism's suggested reading list. I can personally (and highly) recommend Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind as well as Buddhism Without Beliefs.

u/nixonisnotacrook · 0 pointsr/zen_buddhism

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

by Shunryu-Suzuki

u/XWolfHunter · 0 pointsr/Buddhism

I would suggest reading a few zen books. Be careful, because some of the words are supposed to be vice grips that trap you, but you will read things that cause you to wonder, thus growing your mind, and zen is not about the religious aspects of Buddhism so much as the tangible, concrete, here-and-now perceptions of deeper and deeper wisdom. I can give you . . . four recommendations of zen books that I really enjoyed.

Zen Bridge

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Don't Be A Jerk

The Zen Teaching of Huang Po

u/TracerBulletX · -2 pointsr/ProgrammerHumor

It's a core zen thing, they talk about always being the student. Dan Abramov is a very accomplished developer who has had a massively large impact on the development world so im not sure why this makes you guys so upset if he wants to emphasize always being a beginner.
https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Informal-Meditation/dp/1590308492