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Title: Zen Reflections by Robert Allen ISBN: 1-58663-711-8 Publisher: Sterling Pub. Date: 28 October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Delightful!
Comment: Writing from the vantage point of his day-to-day experiences with Zen, Robert Allen offers a collection of short essays that show, in everyday language, how following a Zenlike path can contribute to both inner and outer harmony. Allen uses colorful, often humorous real-life anecdotes, interspersed with lighthearted illustrations, in presenting the way in which following the path has had an influence in his life and in which anybody can use it as a vehicle to personal growth.
This is not the book you want to read if you are looking to undertake a serious study of how Zen and Buddhism work -- there are no lists, no instructions, no dogmas. But that's part of what makes it different and so enjoyable. This is not a dry treatise on Zen philosophy written by a cloistered monk. It's a collection of observations by a regular guy who has done his best to take Zen's lessons to heart and put them to work, even learning from some mistakes along the way when, in one case, his practice got a bit too zealous. All of this makes "Zen Reflections" an eminently accessible book for the rest of us laypeople who also do our best to remain mindful of our practice in the hectic pace of family, work, community, and the rest of modern life, and all the struggles and tests they entail. Implicitly, Allen tells us that if he can do it, then so can we.
Each essay is short enough that it can be read as a meditation to take with you and reflect upon through the day. He does present his share of gentle criticisms, both of certain Western ideas and of Buddhism itself (the latter in relation to its view on sex). But the negative is never accentuated, and Allen always provides a positive spin in the end. And besides, Allen never tries to convince us that his ego and its accompanying leanings of mind still aren't with him. Instead, we get the sense that Zen has taught him to accept himself just as he is, with an eye toward continual refinement, and an important reminder to his readers that Zen isn't something you believe in; it's something you are and something you do. From reading "Zen Reflections," one gets the feeling of having Allen as a comfortable partner on the path who shares our experiences and even some of our foibles -- albeit a partner who may have a bit of a head start on us!
Rating: 2
Summary: try something different
Comment: a simple little book that neither adds nor detracts anything from the zen "canon." i found myself suffering through an accute sense of deja-vu as i read allen's book. nothing in this book hasn't been said or done before in other "zen for everyday man" or "zen for westners" type books. unfortunately, allen's book falls into the very dualism that he claims to reject from "disfunctional" western thought (i.e. zen thought good, western thought bad). occational attacks and pokes at the west quickly become part of this book's landscape. sadly, by the end of the book the only thing that stands out are the pictures. i would suggest exploring other books on the topic of zen that are less concerned with superflous judgements & dull ancedotes.
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Title: Buddhism Is Not What You Think : Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs by Steve Hagen ISBN: 0060507233 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 07 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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