The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment

I came to this book because Michael Singer said he read it during his initial spiritual awakening. This book has helped me gain a deep understanding of Zen Buddhism and how to practice Zazen. One major contribution to my spriritual pursuit was and is the need to improve my flexibility. The book provides some exercises to do in order to achieve this so that one can get into the half lotus and then eventually into the fill lotus. Once again, definitely a beneficial read for the spiritual aspirant, at the least will simply add to one’s knowledge of the different ways in which humans of old have achieved enlightenment.

I have this book by my bedside and it is one of those books that you can open anywhere, read a story and engage in meditation inspired. It is a wonder that when I do that, I get up in the mood for contemplating the story I read and bring a Koan with me for the day.

Good book, interesting read

The zen approach to sitting and practice is very succinctly detailed in this book. Chapter I effectively has the beginners' "how to" guide (Yasutani's introductory lectures) and is like having the roshi on call (pages 36-40 will get you started) and the postural advice in Chapter IX (pages 346-373) will help you sit up straight and comfortably. And there's a whole lot more too! Written by a westerner with a deep understanding derived from 13 years study in Japan this book gives (priceless?) insight on how westerners can do Zen. Well written and easily navigated via the 4 page contents, 34 page glossary, 13 page index. Excellent.

The market is pretty much saturated with Zen titles which promise to take you to the `heart' of the subject. Painful - and expensive - experience has taught me that most of them don't deliver. `The Three Pillars of Zen', however, does. I think what makes this book different from the rest is that it offers concrete, practical guidance on how to begin Zazen meditation oneself. There is of course no substitute for a reputable Zen teacher, but the fact of the matter is that in the West most people live many miles away from such support. The guidance in Three Pillars allows those interested in Zen to begin practice themselves; those who benefit from the experience can then take it from there and join a Zen group or practice with a teacher. Including practical advice in a book on Zen sounds deceptively simple and common-sense, but anyone who goes on to read other Zen books will see how rare this is. There are hundreds of books about Zen psychology, Zen philosophy, the Zen `way of life', but practically none on something as elementary as how one should sit! Don't read those other books - they simply muddy the waters and lead to confusion. If you want to reach the heart of Zen then sit down, shut up, get meditating and discover it for yourself. This book will help you do that.

If you are a meditator, you will get a lot out of reading this. Read actual dokusan details, best book on Zen.

Great read

A very instructive read. I found it hard going but informative. The Japanese Zen meditation rituals are far harsher than many others I've practised but designed to get to enlightenment quicker. A very harsh discipline, typically Japanese.

The editor, an American Zen Buddhist teacher, presents a collection of personal experiences, letters, and lecture transcriptions to show the reality of Zen practice. This is different from many other books on Zen, which instead focus on the philosophical side of Zen rather than its praxis. There are three main features of Zen practice -- zazen (meditation), teisho (formal commentary on Buddhist teachings) and dokusan (personal meeting with the master (roshi)). Zazen is at the heart of Zen practice though, as it is through meditation that one is expected to focus the mind and break through illusions. Zazen is often coupled with koans, in particular koans centering around the concept of "Mu" (nothingness). Through zazen and koan practice, the individual aims to eliminate the primary illusion -- the illusion of duality -- and come to realize the oneness of all beings and time. Interestingly for me, there is not one stage of enlightenment. Rather, enlightenment is a process, such that individuals can be "more" enlightened than others. I found the stories of individuals attaining enlightenment to be simultaneously an interesting and skepticism-inducing section of the book. Several of the stories come from Americans who seem interested, in addition to Zen, in various other forms of "woo": yoga, Jungian psychology, birth trauma, etc. This makes me skeptical of the veracity and depth of their "enlightenment", a skepticism that is only heightened by the backdoor conceit that individuals have different levels of enlightenment. The book is well-written and an interesting introduction to Zen Buddhist practice, especially how it was understood by Americans in the early-1960s.

Eines der besten Bücher über Buddhismus die ich je gelesen habe. Faszinierende Einblicke in die Praxis von Zen.

Come curioso e persona attratta dall'Oriente, questo è un libro che mi ha avvicinato molto al Buddismo Zen. Chiaro, con concetti ben spiegati, è una base per chiunque voglia avvicinarsi a questo modo di vivere e pensare.

Good

Very interesting in regards to the philosophy and the practice of step to step how to meditate, interesting records of conversations student master and reports of people who attained enlightenment