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Title: The Three Pillars of Zen : Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment (Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition) by Phillip Kapleau Roshi ISBN: 0-385-26093-8 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 27 February, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 (30 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Advice-Boring Read
Comment: I hate saying it, because Philip Kapleau is so full of the good teachings that helped Zen "take" here in the USA, but this book was very boring. I understand many of his students perhaps have written the reviews here and such, and that Roshi Kapleau is in fact, a very good teacher. As for being a good writer, he is not. That said, the words on each page are accurate and concise. It is the delivery that leaves much to be desired.
Let us keep in mind that when this book was published, the West didn't really know much about Zen. It was considered, largely, to be a "philosophy" that is to be understood academically. Every author writes for his or her audience, that is, any writer that wants to write another book does. This work reminds you of, though not entirely, the flavor that Daisetz Suzuki wrote with. The scholarly, intellectual route. Which, like I said, was necessary to pave way for the many teachings we would find later in the USA as a result. Roshi Kapleau paved the way for Zen, but as for this book, it simply is not "attractive" enough for many students of Zen today. If you want an entertaining read that provides insight, this is not really your book. If you are looking for insight, and don't care much one way or the other about the "entertainment" aspect-then this book is for you. All this said, I recommend the book. The oddest recommendation I have given to date.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fabulous book on Zen!
Comment: This is definitely one of the best books on Zen Buddhism ever written in English. It contains important historical and theoretical information and it is clearly written. The writing style is very inspiring and it contains practical advice regarding the practice of Zen itself. Being on a path of personal growth towards something close to enlightenment myself, I found this book very very educational. Although not exclusively on Zen, a general book concerning this path that is also an absolutely must read is "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. I recommend these two books for anyone on the path.
Rating: 5
Summary: Searching for Mu
Comment: There is a famous Zen koan (a Zen paradox which the student of Zen must resolve on the path to enlightenment) known as Mu. As recounted in this book (page 82) it goes like this: "A monk in all seriousness asked Joshu "has a dog Buddha-nature or not?" Joshu retorted "Mu!"
There is a great deal in Philip Kapleau's book discussing the Koan Mu and its role in Zen -- or some forms of Zen. Kapleau was trained as a court reporter and served as a court reporter after WW II for the war crimes trials in Nuremberg and Tokyo. While in Japan, he became interested in Buddhism.
In 1953 at the age of 46 Kapleau gave up his business and his possessions in New York City to travel to Japan to study Zen. He remained in Japan for 16 years. Upon returning to the United States he founded the Rochester Zen Center and published "The Three Pillars of Zen". Over the years, the book has been instrumental in introducing Americans to Zen. The book has appeared in a 25th anniversary edition and in this 35th anniversary edition.
And why Zen? Why the Koan Mu? The most valuable part of this book is the freshness, enthusiasm, and zeal which Kapleau brought to his subject 35 years ago and which strikes the reader today. In describing his own experiences and the experiences of other students set out in the book, Kapleau gives a good picture of the discontent and the suffering -- arising from an experience of death, illness, restlesness, or disillusion -- that lead him to leave his established life in 1953 and search for meaning in Zen. The discussion in the book (never stated explicitly) of why people look to Zen and how Zen responds to the needs of its seekers is what gives meaning to the book.
The book describes long hours, months and years of sitting in monasteries. Another excellent feature of the book is Kapleau's realistic picture of the rigors of Zen life. This is something that, with the spread of Zen in the United States, might be too easily forgotten. Kapleau emphasizes the long hours of painful sitting, the use of the rod to strike students during the sitting to keep them awake, the sometimes stormy and discouraging interviews with the master teacher -- or roshi, and the frustrations and difficulties in wrestling with the Koan Mu and other Zen teaching techniques. He describes how some people, after deep effort attain to a degree of realization. He does not stint the difficulty and endlessness of the process, which ultimately returns the seeker to himself and to living in the everyday.
The book itself includes materials from a variety of sources including introductory lectures on Zen by one of Kapleau's teachers, Yasutani Roshi, a commentary on Mu, a discussion of the famous Zen "oxherding" pictures, and much more. For me, the most revealing section of the book was the discussion in Part II of "Eight Contemporary Enlightenment Experiences of Japanese and Westerners". These discussions gave me some insight, I think, into what the Zen path was about. I particularly learned from Kapleau's own account of his experience and from the account of the woman who became his wife.
Another excellent part of the book is the enlightenment letters written by a young woman named Yaekeo Iwasaki on her deathbed to her teacher, Harada-Roshi. The letters are poinnant and Harada-Roshi's comments are revealing.
In reading this book, I saw that the Zen path was difficult and not for everyone. I learned something of it and about why people are attracted to it. Zen and other forms of Buddhism have made great strides in the United States since Kapleau wrote his book. The Three Pillars of Zen survives due to its sincerity and freshness. It can't be institutionalized. Every seeker must find his own path -- find Mu -- for him or herself.
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Title: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, Shunryu Suzuki ISBN: 0834800799 Publisher: Weatherhill Pub. Date: December, 1997 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: An Introduction to Zen Buddhism by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Carl Gustav Jung ISBN: 0802130550 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: November, 1991 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Zen Meditation in Plain English by John Daishin Buksbazen, Peter Matthiessen ISBN: 0861713168 Publisher: Wisdom Publications Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Not Always So : Practicing the True Spirit of Zen by Shunryu Suzuki, Edward Espe Brown ISBN: 0060957549 Publisher: Quill Pub. Date: 27 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitken ISBN: 0865470804 Publisher: North Point Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 1982 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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