Bookreview: Cave of tigers

Hi.

John Daido Loori was born in Jersey City, New Jersey 1931. He was raised Roman Catholic, and only later on found his way to Buddhism and was ordained as a priest in 1983 and later on received dharma transmission in both a Soto and a Rinzailineage and was the dharma heir of the influential Japanese Zen master Taizan Maezumi Roshi. He is the author of numerous books and also the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order and Abbot of Zen mountain monastery. He died of lungcancer On October 9, 2009.

Dharma encounter is an public interchange between a teacher and student.. The Dharma encounter can happen after a teaching or reading of a text, but it is not required. It has an long history, but can look very different depending on the sangha, although there are some very ritualized, formalised occurrences of its useage. In the book Cave of tigers we are invited to recapture edited dharma encounters (also know as dharma combat or dharma assembly) Zen mountain monastery between students an John Daido Loori.

The dharma encounters we encounter in this book are not the ritualized form, but rather a soft flowing back and forth between two long time friends. The subjects brought forth has something for the whole spectrum of zenpractitioners, whatever their level of understanding is at, presented in an modern context. What unfolds in the mix might sometimes confound you, and might require several readings before you get it, but when you do, it is a gem.

I like these kind of books who do not try to drag a specific teaching out. In the book, Daido Loori gives an short text and then adds an couple of friendly back and forths corresponding to the initial text. This gives the short text, and the Dharma encounters, an extra depth and although that is not really needed, it is very appreciated.

He covers both a lot off different subjects and an important part of the Buddhist tradition, that of the public back and forthdiscussion that is, in my view, a good practice. I only hope that we get to see more of that in the future, and it no be shyed away, because there is so much to be won in presenting it more..

But you don't have to wait that long, you can get engaged right now, right here.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

1 john 3:18

Hi.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

-1 john 3:18

Buddhism is all about action, or if you want, doings.

Put into words, Buddhism is all about verbs.

Not subjects, adjectives, but verbs.

And if you didn't know, verbs is what you get paid for.

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen

Bookreview: Inside the grass hut

Hi.

Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen priest in the Katagiri lineage at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. In the book he has taken on a thirty-two linepoem by Zen master Shitou (700-790) called "Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage" and uses it as a stepping stone to illuminate the meaning of spiritual practice, humility, simplicity, and living lightly.

Even though the language in the book, and poem, is easy, has an air of zen aesthetics, and talk about the simplicity of life in a down to earth kind of style, they are not an light read in the sense of thoughts and the impact they will leave on you. Both the poem and the book opens up a spectrum of thoughts and inklings to the features of our hut.

Each chapter in the book focuses on a single line of the poem.
By doing so Connelly lets the reader immerse himself thoroughly in each line, explore it and then step out for air before moving on to the next line/chapter.

Line by line, chapter by chapter, Connelly shows the reader how the poem draws on and expresses elements from the thousand years of Buddhist thought that preceded it, how it is applicable in living a daily, simple, life with a deep connection to all things.

The book is going to be an valueable companion to life in general and Shitou's poem for anyone, not just Zennies, who find these gems.

Song of the grassroof hermitage

I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.
After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
Now it’s been lived in – covered by weeds.
The person in the hut lives here calmly,
Not stuck to inside, outside, or in between.
Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.
Realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love.
Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.
In ten square feet, an old man illumines forms and their nature.
A Great Vehicle bodhisattva trusts without doubt.
The middling or lowly can’t help wondering;
Will this hut perish or not?
Perishable or not, the original master is present,
not dwelling south or north, east or west.
Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.
A shining window below the green pines –
Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare with it.
Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.
Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.
Living here he no longer works to get free.
Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?
Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.
The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.
Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instruction,
Bind grasses to build a hut, and don’t give up.
Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.
Open your hands and walk, innocent.
Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,
Are only to free you from obstructions.
If you want to know the undying person in the hut,
Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.

- Shitou Xiqian

Thank you for your practice.

Mtfbwy

Fugen