Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen

Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen
by Edward Espe Brown, Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Center San Francisco

Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen
Our Price: $24.98
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Edward Espe Brown, Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Center San Francisco
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-05-28
ISBN: 0060197854
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Harper

Book Reviews of Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen

Book Review: Exquisite!
Summary: 5 Stars

This is another series of talks given by Shunryu Suzuki who died
in 1971. He seems to have been the greatest Zen Master in the
occidental world to date. The first series of talks is in "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" which came out in 1970. This seems to be the most inspirational book in Zen of our time. Please buy both
of these treasures. Please don't buy these two books (or one if
you already have "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) if you believe that
this book will teach you zen formally. The author makes it clear
that you need a teacher. But once you have one, these two books are the most inspirational books that you can have. I guess that
the most practical is still "The Three Pillars of Zen" by Roshi Kapleau. This second book of talks seems just as good as the first. I don't know why Zen Center waited 32 years to print it.
Nevertheless, it is a real treasure. Please don't treat this great man's teaching as basic. He implys in this book that just sitting can lead you to seeing the source of all phenomena. So
this is not a "cute" book. It's quite deep. Thank you.

Summary of Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen

Shunryu Suzuki's first book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, published in 1971, continues to be one of the world's most valued books on Buddhism. Now the long-awaited companion volume, Not Always So, has arrived.

Chosen and edited by Edward Espe Brown, bestselling author and student of Suzuki's, the lectures are taken from the last three years of Suzuki's life. His maturity as a teacher with a deep commitment to conveying his message is warmly and fully expressed.

In Not Always So Suzuki voices Zen in everyday language, with humor and good-heartedness. While offering sustenance much like a mother and father lending a hand, Suzuki encourages you to find your own way. Rather than emphasizing specific directions and techniques, his teaching encourages you to touch and know your true heart and to express yourself fully. Suzuki's words do not seem to come from outside, but awaken a voice arising from your own being.

Topics in this volume include living in each moment, being kind to yourself, and "wherever you are, enlightenment is there." Whether speaking about changing your karma or walking like an elephant (Slowly, without any idea of hasty gain), Suzuki's guidance empowers freedom rather than prescribes thought. This extraordinary new collection allows Suzuki's presence to enter your life in the form of a wise, warmhearted friend. Not Always So is a wonderful gift for anyone seeking spiritual fulfillment and inner peace.


If you can imagine Zen Existentialism, Not Always So is it. Part instruction manual for Zen practice and part philosophical meditation, Shunryu Suzuki's teachings emphasize being-in-the-world. He does not point toward a singular enlightenment-event as a burst into higher consciousness. Rather, he suggests a more experiential enlightenment that finds meaning in a full awareness of the present. For example: "If you go to the rest room, there is a chance for enlightenment. When you cook, there is a chance for enlightenment. When you clean the floor, there is a chance to attain enlightenment."

Shunryu Suzuki was an important emissary of Zen Buddhism to the United States. Establishing a Zen center in San Francisco in the 1960s, he attracted many noted pupils, including this book's editor, Edward Espe Brown. In fact, Not Always So is Brown's collection of Suzuki's teachings during his last years, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

No doubt some readers will want to wrestle with the often paradoxical nature of Zen teachings. And those from the Western philosophical tradition may find vast differences between the Western system that takes its cue from Descartes' cogito and the Eastern one that emphasizes the destruction of the ego. Says Suzuki: "It is just your mind that says you are here and I am there, that's all. Originally we are one with everything." While the book does not wrestle with cultural-philosophical differences, it is nevertheless a good introduction to Zen. Suzuki's teachings tend to flow from simple stories, usually drawn from his own experiences. It's almost entirely free of the jargon that clutters many books on Buddhism, and the teachings are communicated with clarity and brevity. --Eric de Place

Buddhism Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Buddhism Books
Zen Buddhism: A History;  Vol. 2: Japan  (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture) ImageZen Buddhism: A History; Vol. 2: Japan (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture)
by Heinrich Dumoulin
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1989-12; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $35.00
History Zen Buddhism 2 Volume ImageHistory Zen Buddhism 2 Volume
by Dumoulin
Macmillan Library Reference; Published: 1990-06-18; Paperback; Book
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living ImageThe Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living
by Gary McClain, Eve Adamson
Alpha; Published: 2000-11-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.15
Price in other shops: $16.95
365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the Heart Image365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the Heart
by Dalai Lama
Element Books Ltd.; Published: 2003-05-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $46.95
The Power of Compassion ImageThe Power of Compassion
by Tenzin Gyatso
Thorsons; Published: 2002-03; Audio Cassette; Book
Price in other shops: $15.95
No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zen ImageNo Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zen
by Jakusho Kwong, Peter Levitt
Harmony; Published: 2003-03-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $53.80
An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World ImageAn End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World
by Pankaj Mishra
Picador; Published: 2005-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.89
Price in other shops: $18.00
Zen 24/7: All Zen, All the Time ImageZen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Time
by Philip T. Sudo
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2001-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops: $14.00
Zen 24/7: All Zen, All the Time ImageZen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Time
by Philip T. Sudo
HarperOne; Published: 2005-01-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops: $14.00
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living ImageBuddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Living
by Lama Surya Das
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2007-04-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.70
Price in other shops: $23.95
Similar Books and other products
The Diamond Sutra ImageThe Diamond Sutra
by Red Pine
Counterpoint; Published: 2002-11-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.48
Price in other shops: $19.95
Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen's Shobo Genzo, Two-Volume Slipcased Edition ImageTreasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen's Shobo Genzo, Two-Volume Slipcased Edition
by Dogen Dogen
Shambhala; Published: 2011-07-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $145.83
Price in other shops: $150.00
The Heart Sutra ImageThe Heart Sutra
Counterpoint; Published: 2005-08-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.85
Price in other shops: $14.95
One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan ImageOne Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan
by Ryokan
Weatherhill; Published: 2006-04-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.66
Price in other shops: $16.95
Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai ImageBranching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai
by Shunryu Suzuki, Shunryu Suzuki
University of California Press; Published: 2001-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.30
Price in other shops: $21.95
Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching Shunryu Suzuki ImageCrooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching Shunryu Suzuki
by David Chadwick
Broadway; Published: 1999-02-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops: $26.00
Realizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen's Shobogenzo ImageRealizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen's Shobogenzo
by Shohaku Okumura
Wisdom Publications; Published: 2010-07-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.61
Price in other shops: $16.95
Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai ImageBranching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai
by Shunryu Suzuki
University of California Press; Published: 1999-11-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.45
Price in other shops: $29.95
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library) ImageZen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Shambhala Library)
by Shunryu Suzuki
Shambhala; Published: 2006-10-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.06
Price in other shops: $18.95
The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment ImageThe Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment
by Philip Kapleau Roshi
Anchor; Published: 1989-02-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.10
Price in other shops: $16.00