Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and TextsThis immensely useful book explores Zen's rich tradition of chanted liturgy and the powerful ways that such chants support meditation, expressing and helping us truly uphold our heartfelt vows to live a life of freedom and compassion. Exploring eight of Zen's most essential and universal liturgical texts, Living by Vow is a handbook to walking the Zen path, and Shohaku Okumura guides us like an old friend, speaking clearly and directly of the personal meaning and implications of these chants, generously using his experiences to illustrate their practical significance. A scholar of Buddhist literature, he masterfully uncovers the subtle, intricate web of culture and history that permeate these great texts. Esoteric or challenging terms take on vivid, personal meaning, and old familiar phrases gain new poetic resonance. |
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Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts Shohaku Okumura No preview available - 2012 |
Common terms and phrases
absolute ancestor attain Avalokites’vara awakening become free bodhi bodhisattva vows body and mind Buddha’s teaching called chant Chinese Daowu darkness deluded delusion desires Dharma disciple discrimination Dogen Zenji egocentricity egolessness emptiness enlightenment everything exist eyes field fifth final find fingers fire first five skandhas fixed flower four noble truths fulfill go of thought Guishan Heart Sutra Huineng human Ifwe impermanence important infinite Japan Japanese Katagiri Roshi let go live Lotus Sutra Mahayana Buddhism mantra meal means monastery monks MZMC Nagarjuna negate nirvana ofall ofBuddhism oflife ofpractice ofsuffering ofthe Buddha ofthis ofzazen okesa one’s origination oryoki ourselves paramitas path person prajna prajna-paramita precepts refers repentance Roshi samsara sangha Sanskrit Sariputra Satra Shakyamuni Buddha Shitou Shohaku Okumura Soto Zen suffering take refuge teacher things Three Treasures tion translation Uchiyama Roshi understand verse wisdom word Yunyan zazen Zen master Zongmi