ZEN COMPENDIUM: Zen for Beginners: Zen Buddhism, Zen Meditation, Mindfulness and Japanese Buddhist Practice Zazen (The Great Paths of Wisdom Book 12)

Understanding Zen, Meditating, and Living It in Everyday Life

In this comprehensive Zen compendium, you will find everything you should know about Zen Buddhism – and much more. Instead of reading countless separate books on Zen, meditation, kōans, history, and Buddhist philosophy, you will find the most important foundations, teachings, and practical exercises gathered here in a single volume.

Clearly structured and suitable even for readers with no prior knowledge, this book guides you from the origins and central teachings of Zen all the way to your own meditation practice.

Among the topics covered are:

the origin and development of Zen and Chan
Sōtō Zen, Rinzai Zen, and Ōbaku Zen
Buddha-nature, emptiness, awakening, Satori, and Kenshō
Zazen and the introduction to Zen meditation
breathing, thoughts, and typical difficulties in meditation
Shikantaza, kōans, Kinhin, and Samu
masters, Sesshin, retreats, sutras, and rituals
Zen monastic life and important Zen masters
Zen, samurai, art, and Japanese culture
Zen in family life, work, and everyday life
a practical 30-day training plan

The book is complemented by a glossary of important Zen terms, a timeline, overviews of Zen schools, masters, sutras, and kōan collections, as well as a compact introduction to Zazen.

This Zen compendium is therefore suitable both as a comprehensive introduction to Zen Buddhism, as a companion for your own Zen meditation practice, and as a reference work for anyone who wants to explore and understand Zen in its full breadth.