EXCELLENT Trade Paperback.137 pp., (1994). Pages are crisp and clean, NO noted marks, folds or tears. Binding tight (spine uncreased). Cover showing MINIMAL shelf/edgewear. NO remainder mark. From a SMOKE-FREE environment.NEXT DAY SHIPPING in a pad
Latest 6 Reviews Here is what people are saying about the Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present
"Zen"
2009-07-16
- Reviewed By User: A23QJGTUL6AY6A
Another excellent translation by T. Cleary. It is included in Volume 1 of Cleary's "Classics of Buddhism and Zen". I recommend this as it contains a number of other Zen classics you will want to study.
"Instant Zen"
2009-05-06
- Reviewed By User: A7NREKKZ0E4JU
Content was good in my opinion but presentation was a little dry and I seemed to drift away at times. Being new to Zen, though, I may just not appreciate the content enough to get past novice distractions (e.g., presentation and flow).
"Instant Zen too instant"
2009-03-03
- Reviewed By User: A3ETWB75LCRD0R
Stories and sutras were read rapidly one after the other. This should be slower and more deliberate with time to reflect, and from there comes the value. The reader did enunciate well, but was plainly just a reader. He showed no gravitas, and very little inflection for that matter.
"Like a finger pointing to the moon"
2008-09-01
- Reviewed By User: A2FWL5ML3C1U2W
This is a very good recording. It is not ABOUT zen. It IS zen. I have owned two coppies of this recording on cassett tape. I wore them both out, from playing them so much. I am glad to have found this recording on CD.
"Recommended"
2006-09-08
- Reviewed By User: A2PJIEPW02C6TQ
I found the introduction especially useful as it points out the emergence and identification of Zen cults, and contrasts them to the simplest practice of Zen.
The body of the book is in convenient 1 to 3 page short reads. The presentation is in a conversational prose. Common errors are addressed. After tripping over one section (Emancipation), I started reading it in parallel with Huang Po's commentary of the Diamond Sutra, which must be read very very slowly, (without missing the meaning of a single word), and doing this helped me. However, most of the passages are very down-to-earth.
I can't say this is an "advanced" book. There is no "beginner" and "advanced" -- jump in wherever you like. This book is as good a place as any. I also recommend Huang Po, as he also gets immediately to the root and avoids common misconceptions.
The 'grandmotherly kindness' of Foyan, a 12th Cent. Chinese Grand Master of Zen, comes through in this offering from Mr. Thomas Cleary, who's said to be one of the most respected translators in the field. He gets my vote! Mr. Cleary's selection of this text seems suited to our time in that it's from a Grand Master who '...was completely free of any desire for fame or followers and made no attempt to recruit disciples.' Accordingly, his is a 'take no prisoners' style (a complaint in another review) which, naturally, leads to a strong emphasis on self-reliance and (a most interesting kind of) practical advice. I say Refreshing!
'If you want to clarify this matter, you must arouse wonder and look into it. If you wonder deeply about this matter, transcendental knowledge will become manifest. Why? The task of the journey just requires the sense of doubt to cease. If you do not actively wonder, how can the sense of doubt cease?' (pg. 54)
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"Zen"
"Instant Zen too instant"