Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
by Shunryu Suzuki
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Book Reviews of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
Book Review: Nice and Glib
Summary: 2 Stars
It sounds good, with the fly printed on the page and the condescending rhetoric that passed for wisdom at the SFZC.
What Zen masters of this lineage teach nowadays is nothing valuable. They teach you to abandon expectation and embrace mediocrity, unlike the masters of the Mumonkan and Hekiganroku. There are no real masters in the USA for certain, where they all look up and bow down to Shunryu Suzuki, who came out (in THIS book) and admitted he had never had satori, and whose lineage was a matter of ritual and hand-me-down heritage.
Or the followers of Trungpa, a drunk who appointed as his successor an HIV-positive predator who knowingly infected his own students with AIDS. You must find your own light on this continent, and be, as the Buddha himself proclaimed: "a light unto yourself".
Why waste your time when you are told to "expect nothing".
Book Review: Informal Talks On Zen Meditation And Practice
Summary: 4 Stars
After I read Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind I looked at the front cover for some inspiration for writing my thoughts on it and noticed - for the first time - that it says "Informal talks on Zen meditation and practice" and that's exactly what it is - and it's very important to keep that in mind as you're reading.I've never been to a Zendo, but this book is exactly what I imagined the chats or talks that are done after meditation would be like.
Shunryu Suzuki has a wonderful perspective and shares easily about what the practice is. I left this book with a different view on meditation as the practice - as the actual doing of the practice.
I liked that there's no smoke and mirrors that you tend to get with Zen content. This is very straightforward and exceptionally helpful for those who are doing or thinking of doing the practice - meditation.
Book Review: beginner's mind best for the moderately advanced
Summary: 4 Stars
A whole lot of zen - though don't be fooled, for a short and highly recommended book with `beginner' in the title it's not as crisp and accessible as it appears. Those bent on buddhacide, especially the purist soto crowd, will find the concession of clarity a worthwhile trade for the authenticity of this oral transcription. (Or, if nothing else, by the end you'll have read `This is a very, very important point' enough times to bludgeon buddha unconscious.)But if you're curious and just looking for a good book to learn about zen, you've got a beginner's mind already -- don't need a book to see that! Save the lesson of the `beginner's mind' for when you think you know it all about zen. a better start: find kapleau's `3 pillars of zen', it looks fat and heavy but concisely lays zen open with unparalleled vigor and humor.
Book Review: Soto Zen explained with perfect simplicity
Summary: 5 Stars
There are two major brands of Zen, the Soto (a.k.a. "gradual") and Rinzai (a.k.a. "sudden") schools. Shunryu Suzuki outlines with crisp clarity the fundamental beliefs and practices that underlie Soto Zen. "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" is a collected edition of his talks which strike closest to the heart of the Soto school of the modern day. I found this book relevatory as a beginning practitioner of Zen.For beginners, I also recommend "Zen in the American Grain," by Kyogen Carlson. It's especially useful for those trying to reconcile Western culture with Zen practice.
As a previous reviewer has noted, "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" is not intended as an introduction to "Buddhism" -- it seems to me that there are in fact far too many Buddhisms for such a book to be written.
Book Review: It's good
Summary: 5 Stars
I practiced Zen Buddhism for many years and over that time accumulated a small library of books on the subject. I found ZMBM by accident in a bookstore in the 70s' and bought it. After reading it I literally threw all of my other books on Buddhism away. There was no longer any reason for me to own them unless I wanted some encyclopedic information and that is not what Buddhism is all about.The information in this book can change your life. I mean profoundly. Relax. Read it. Enjoy it. It's simple to understand and will prove itself a lifetime companion. If you lost a loved one - get it. If you know someone in prison - get it for them. If you want to live a better life - get it. Don't worry. It won't make you quit your job or join a cult. On the contrary. You will do a better job wherever you find yourself.