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  1. #1

    ANNOUNCEMENT: Our Next Book Club Book! - Book of Equanimity

    JUST REPOSTING HERE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ANOTHER THREAD ...

    Hi All,

    I would like to announce our next book selection for the Treeleaf "Beyond Words & Letters" Book Club (to follow our current reading, the wonderful 'Zen Seeds') ...

    The Book of Equanimity, Illuminating Classic Zen Koans, commentary by Gerry Shishin Wick.

    http://www.amazon.com/Book-Equanimit.../dp/0861713877

    http://www.wisdompubs.org/pages/disp...ction=&image=1

    The Book of Equanimity (從容録, in Japanese the Shōyōroku, sometimes called the Book of Serenity in English), is a collection of Koans gathered by the great exponent of Silent Illumination Chan Hongzhi Zhengjue (Wanshi Sh?gaku, 1091–1157), and is much prized in the Soto flavor of Zen. Shishin Wick is the current head of the White Plum Lineage, which usually mixes Kan'na (Koan Instrospection) Zen and Shikantaza ways, but in this case, he approaches each Koan with a gentle-not so gentle 'piercing in and out through the sacred core' Soto style. Shishin brings each Koan into living Practice and practical life, very much grounded in this day-to-day world, worlded in the Timeless Ground. Lovely.

    There are other translations available, by Thomas Cleary and others. However, even if you have one of those already, I ask you to find the edition by Rev. Wick, as the life-filled commentaries by him will be at the heart of our reflections.

    The Book of Equanimity is as central to koan practice in the Soto Zen tradition as the better-known 'Blue Cliff Record' is in the Rinzai tradition. ... At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Shishin Wick gave a series of talks on each of the hundred cases to Zen students in Colorado, and now with this new publication he offers his commentary and translation to a wider audience. Shishin Wick was trained as a physicist and oceanographer, and his scientific background comes through in his rigorous examination of each case. His poetic sensibility is also evident in the book, such as in his commentary on 'Joshu's Dog,' which describes the noble futility of the bodhisattva vow, by using the image of someone attempting to fill up a well with snow. He draws upon examples ranging from the scholarly (comparisons with other koan collections) to the everyday (a friend's paralyzed dachshund) to show the importance of The Book of Equanimity in the Zen tradition and its relevance to the lives of his students and readers.
    Public opinion often holds that Koans are not much cherished and Practiced in the Soto Way. That is not the case (little pun there). The way of handling and opening the Koans is a bit different in the Soto Way and the Ka'na Zazen of the Rinzai way (same, but different ... different, but just the same), something we will have a chance to experience in moving through-and-through these cherished "classic" Koans.

    Gassho, Jundo
    Last edited by Jundo; 01-17-2014 at 03:20 AM.

  2. #2
    Could we jump in at any time with this or should we start from the beginning of the book with the first koan.
    Gassho,
    Lee

  3. #3
    There is no start ... no finish ... jump on in anywhere to the void!

    Gassho, J
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  4. #4
    Kantai
    Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Jundo View Post
    There is no start ... no finish ... jump on in anywhere to the void!

    Gassho, J
    I have ordered the book as a birthday present to myself and will catch up when I get it.

    Gassho
    Kantai

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Kantai View Post
    I have ordered the book as a birthday present to myself and will catch up when I get it.

    Gassho
    Kantai
    Hey, Happy Birthday!! It's a wonderful book. You'll like it

    Gassho,

    Kyonin
    Hondō Kyōnin
    奔道 協忍

  6. #6
    Can one catch up on the timeless universe? Need it be ordered, and when does "just this" arrive?

    Hey, a Koan right there!

    Gassho, J

    Happy Birthday, by the way. Happy No-Birthday too!
    Last edited by Jundo; 03-21-2014 at 04:17 PM.
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  7. #7
    Kantai
    Guest
    Thank's for the congratulations and the koan!

    Gassho
    Kantai

  8. #8
    Mp
    Guest
    Well Happy Birthday Kantai! =)

    Gassho
    Shingen

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