My introduction to formal practice was thusly: I read Buddha by Karen Armstrong, found that attentively reading about the eight fold path lead me to the feeling I needed to fix my work situation to accord with right livelihood, so I determined to leave my job and become a stay at home parent. Figuring if I was going to take this path that seriously, I should try the meditation. So I read my father's (already dead by that time) copy of the Three Pillars of Zen, rather intensely, probably more than once. Resolving to set my foot upon the path, I did find innumerable bodhisattvas springing up to assist. I found a local Zendo that had hours of sitting that I could make, arranged to go to an intro session in a month or two, and set about readying myself to sit on a zafu for 25 minutes. I read some Thich Nhat Hanh intro to sitting, different chapters on numbering the breath on the intakes, numbering the breaths on the exhales, etc. I gave it away to the Zendo library in a fit of burn the writings zeal so I'm not sure.
I sat five minutes the first day I think and worked my way up to 25. So I have a fond spot in my heart for The Three Pillars of Zen, despite ending up with much mellower training in a more Soto lineage. Thanks, Chris Austin-Lane Sent from a cell phone On Dec 12, 2012, at 11:09, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote: > Chris, Merle, > > That's right!, it is great! > > Kapleau Roshi obtained very special permission from the Roshi and from the > students to take and to publish those records, for all our benefit, in his > book THE THREE PILLARS OF ZEN. Kapleau's mission was to give a flavor of > formal Zen practice before it was much established in the West. Very > influential and successful, his book. > > Kapleau had been a court reporter during the Nuremberg trials, and his > shorthand was good, so I think we can trust his Dokusan accounts, even if > they have been edited. > > --Joe > >> Chris Austin-Lane <chris@...> wrote: >> >> Tho the Three Pillars of Zen has a great section of dokusan transcripts. > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are > reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links > > > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
