Author: Master Sheng-Yen
Editor(s): John Crook
Publisher: New Age Books
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 190
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8178221160
Description
A thought provoking introduction to Chan (Chinese Zen) through the teachings of the influential Master Sheng-yen. This is a rare opportunity to gain an insight into the practice of a Chinese Zen retreat and the ideas behind it. The book provides a full introductory account with extensive teachings, based on the words of the ancients and delves deep into the little known practice of Silent Illumination which lies at the heart of Chinese Buddhism.
The author explains the poetry and teaching of the great Master Hongzhi which were transmitted to Japan to form the root practice of Soto Zen by the famous monk Dogen. The evocation of the retreat atmosphere and practice is powerfully conveyed as the Editor gives an account of his own experience through several years of training.
The discourses are lucid and direct, drawn widely on the sources of Chinese Buddhism, and speak in a refreshingly modern idiom. Perhaps because the setting was relatively small and intimate, the gentleness, warmth and humour of Master Sheng-yen radiate through the text. This book thus provides a rare opportunity to listen in to the unfolding of a Chan retreat.
-From Stephen Batchelor’s Foreword
JOHN CROOK is the Teacher of the Western Chan Fellowship and is the first European Dharma Heir of the Master.
Contents
Foreword by Stephen Batchelor
Preface
The Autobiography of Master Sheng-yen
PART I
Catching a Feather on a Fan
Introduction
Dharma Discourses
PART II
Illuminating Silence
Introduction
Dharma Discourses
PART III
Working with a Master
Postscript: Master Sheng-yen in London
Glossary