Name: Zen training
ISBN: 9781590302835

Zen training

First published in 1975, Zen Training has become a classic of Zen literature. It was one of the first books to demystify religion without debunking it, to explain hitherto esoteric practices in lucid, everyday terms. It offers concrete guidelines for practicing zazen, seated meditation. Posture, breathing, the function of the abdominal muscles, muscle tone, and the mechanisms of wakefulness and attention are clearly and scientifically explained, so that one learns what actually happens in doing zazen, why it leads to certain psychological experiences, and what their significance is. There is also a chapter on koans that goes far to clarify what for many has seemed one of the most frustrating and baffling aspects of Zen. Again, the reader is told how actually to deal with koans and how they operate as catalysts of enlightenment. The author also draws many significant parallels between Zen and Western philosophy and psychology, comparing traditional Zen concepts with the theories of being and cognition of such thinkers as Heidegger and Husserl. Zen Training marked a turning point in Zen literature in its critical reevaluation of the enlightenment experience called kensho, which the author believes has often been emphasized at the expense of other important aspects of Zen training.

What Hacker News says

mtalantikiteOct 2020

For sure, lots of things start changing with a meditation practice. I had a similar experience of needing to stop when I was younger and was practicing with no teacher in my early 20s, it became overwhelming.

I picked it back up about a decade later and found some texts really helpful that I'd recommend to anyone working at a meditation practice:

- "The Other Shore" by Thich Nhat Hanh

- "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryū Suzuki

- "Zen Training" by Katsuki Sekida

There are of course tons of others, but better to start with fewer than an overwhelming collection of things when getting situated.

Also, yeah, the sinuses thing is weird and was also surprising when I started noticing it!

Edit: Also, a physical yoga asana practice really brought me a whole lot deeper into my meditation practice. Find a teacher you connect with. Typically yoga studios that have "Mysore" or "Hatha" practices on their schedules will be teaching something that isn't just calisthenics. That'd be enough to open the doors and get going.

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joshcorbinNov 2010

The best prescriptive book that I have found has been: http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Training-Philosophy-Shambhala-Clas...

Additionally I find that reading a good translation of the Tao helps, my personal favorite so far is: http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Perennial-Classics/dp/006...

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b-manJul 2009

Did you ever tried meditation (I recommend zen style sitting, aka zazen)?

There is some nice, simple and to the point books about it, and for me it is something that really helps with concentration, sadness and focus.

list of good books

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Training-Philosophy-Shambhala-Clas...

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Brain-Understanding-Meditation-Con...

http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Plain-English-Updated-Expa...

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maqrJun 2010

What book was this? I learned this same technique from Sekida's book called "Zen Training".

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