Shohaku Okumura Books

A Sot Zen priest and Dharma successor of Kosho Uchiyama Roshi explores eight of Zen's most essential and universal liturgical texts and explains how the chants in these works support meditation and promote a life of freedom and compassion.

Abandon your treasured delusions and hit the road with one of the most important Zen masters of twentieth-century Japan. Eschewing the entrapments of vanity, power, and money, "Homeless" Kodo Sawaki Roshi refused to accept a permanent position as a temple abbot, despite repeated offers. Instead, he lived a traveling, "homeless" life, going from temple to temple, student to student, teaching and instructing and never allowing himself to stray from his chosen path. He is responsible for making Soto Zen available to the common people outside of monasteries. His teachings are short, sharp, and powerful. Always clear, often funny, and sometimes uncomfortably close to home, they jolt us into awakening. Kosho Uchiyama expands and explains his teacher's wisdom with his commentary. Trained in Western philosophy, he draws parallels between Zen teachings and the Bible, Descartes, and Pascal. Shohaku Okumura has also added his own commentary, grounding his teachers' power and sagacity for the contemporary, Western practitioner. Experience the timeless, practical wisdom of three generations of Zen masters.

"A story for all ages about interconnection and learning to live in harmony amid differences, from a leading light of contemporary Zen-based on a parable from Kosho Uchiyama's classic bestseller Opening the Hand of Thought. Features a contextualizing afterword by Shohaku Okumura. [Amplify what kids will benefit from reading this book] "It's true that we are all different squashes . . . some are bigger and some are smaller . . . some are rounder and some are longer. But even if we are different, we are all connected. We are all growing together. We don't have to be such squabbling squashes.""--

The book features contributions from first and second generation dharma descendants of Shohaku Okumura, exploring the four embracing actions: giving, loving speech, beneficial action, and identity action. The authors represent diverse backgrounds, including householders balancing jobs and family life with dharma teaching, as well as those immersed in residential temple practices. Their collective experiences span multiple continents and languages, offering a rich tapestry of perspectives on living and sharing the dharma in contemporary contexts.

An indispensible map of a classic Zen text. “Mountains and waters are the expression of old buddhas.” So begins “Sansuikyo,” or “Mountains and Waters Sutra,” a masterpiece of poetry and insight from Eihei Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of the Soto school of Zen. Shohaku Okumura—renowned for his translations of and magisterial teachings on Dogen—guides the reader through the rich layers of metaphor and meaning in “Sansuikyo,” which is often thought to be the most beautiful essay in Dogen’s monumental Shobogenzo. His wise and friendly voice shows us the questions Dogen poses and helps us realize what the answers could be. What does it mean for mountains to walk? How are mountains an expression of Buddha’s truth, and how can we learn to hear the deep teachings of river waters? Throughout this luminous volume, we learn how we can live in harmony with nature in respect and gratitude—and awaken to our true nature.

Dieses äußerst nützliche Buch erforscht die reiche Tradition der Rezitationstexte im Zen-Buddhismus und die kraftvollen Wege, wie diese Rezitationen die Meditation unterstützen, unser Wesen ausdrücken und uns helfen, unser aufrichtiges Gelübde zu verwirklichen, ein Leben voller Freiheit und Mitgefühl zu leben. Zen-Meister Sh haku Okumura erforscht hier acht der grundlegendsten und universellsten Rezitationstexte des Zen. In klarer und direkter Sprache erläutert und veranschaulicht er die tiefe persönliche und praktische Bedeutung und die Auswirkung dieser Rezitationen - insbesondere der Bodhisattva-Gelübde - und nutzt hierfür seinen reichen Erfahrungsschatz als Zen-Schüler wie auch als Zen-Lehrer. Als Gelehrter der buddhistischen Literatur deckt er meisterhaft das subtile, komplizierte Netz von Kultur und Geschichte auf, das diese großartigen Texte durchdringt. Eng an den Urtexten orientiert, beseitigt er zudem häufige Fehldeutungen und Missverständnisse. Durch Gelübde leben ist somit sowohl ein unentbehrliches Handbuch für den interessierten Laien als auch ein lehrreicher Begleiter auf dem Zen-Pfad für jeden Praktizierenden, sei er noch Anfänger oder bereits fortgeschritten.