Dropping ashes on the Buddha

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1. dkarlJan 2022
   That's a really difficult question. Every aspect of Thich Nhat Hanh I think of, I think of people who are as old as him, or who predeceased him. Hopefully that is my own generational bias.

   For example, he was a Zen master whose writings reached a broad audience and provided a modern voice for a tradition where some of the foundational works such as the Platform Sutra are roughly a thousand years old. For other modern Zen voices, there are books such as Three Pillars of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Opening the Hand of Thought, and probably many others. (Albert Low is on my to-read list.) All of those are by authors who died before Thich Nhat Than, though.

   He also was an activist and an original proponent of "engaged Buddhism," in which compassion is seen to mandate action for social change. I'm sadly ignorant of the current landscape here; the Dalai Lama and Gary Snyder certainly count, but they are both getting on in years.

   He also wrote a lot of books that are light on doctrine but very direct, grounded, and gentle, that people have found comforting and supportive in a crisis. For that, many people look to the books of Pema Chödrön, Tara Brach, and Sharon Salzberg, who are at least a little bit younger, but all in their sixties or older.

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2. HedgedHumanJan 2020
   Dropping Ashes on the Buddha

   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/152640.Dropping_Ashes_on...

   Paraphrasing what one reviewer said on GR, it's a good read if you are taking life too seriously, or, the complete opposite.

   I didn't get it the first time I read it.

   I do find myself going back to the riddles and the poems in the essays now and then when I feel I'm stuck, blocked, or trapped in a loop. It made me ... more humble?

   Also a good read if you just want to learn more about Korean Buddhism and Kong-an's in general.

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3. greencoreFeb 2019
   "Dropping Ashes on the Buddha" by Zen Master Seung Sahn.

   I read it when I was a teenager and it helped me to overcome everyday drama and widely extend limits of my personality.

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4. montingOct 2014
   Watts gives great introductions to Zen concepts for the western audience, his The Way of Zen is a fantastic book for that purpose.

   If you find the "theoretical/analytical" side of Zen interesting, look into Seung Sahn's teachings. I recommend the book Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. I've yet to come across more direct pointing that's in the form of text.

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