Zen

mumonkan
zen teaching huang po

zen is not buddhism

It doesn't make sense to start with "Zen Buddhism" without studying Buddhism in general first.

I always recommend the following procedure to find texts on a new topic:

google "syllabus __topic__ harvard.edu" (or Stanford or whatever you want) and get the reading list for an undergrad intro course.

This way you're getting recommendations from a scholar instead of an internet. Then mine the bibliographies of the introductory texts for more detailed reading.

>>9159243

*Hits you in the face*

Have you reached satori yet?

>>9160999
lmfao

>>9159243

If you want to learn about Buddhism(and Zen) then your best bet is going with D. T. Suzuki.

He made a career out of teaching, us, filthy round-eye, Buddhism.

Be warned that Zen Buddhism is...Different.

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154KB, 517x768px

>>9160999

>That comment + trips

instant lit hall of fame.

Mount Sumeru!

>>9159257
Ewk's influence is showing

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZerWs3aY5Sc

search alan watts zen on youtube

>>9159257
lol

OP start with the Diamond Sutra & then Hui Neng's commentary on it. You should also read at least the first half of the Lotus Sutra (especially the parts about "expedient means"). Then move on to the Vimalakirti Sutra. I strongly suggest finding some portions of the "Flower Ornament" Sutra as well. This is the foundation.

From there, I suggest Koun Yamada's translation of the Mumonkan ("The Gateless Gate"). This is a "koan collection." You should read a small number of cases per day and reflect on them. I suggest taking the advice of the masters seriously by this point and coupling your readings with some sort of meditative practice (e.g. vipassana or shikantaza). While you're reading Mumonkan you might want to read the "inner chapters" (1-7) of Zhuangzi as well (which is not not, strictly speaking, "Zen", but a highly influential Daoist text). Coupled with these two, you should power through Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika (I suggest Garfield's translation). This is the beginning.

After Mumonkan, you should tackle the Book of Serenity and the Blue Cliff Record. You should also read a substantial portion of the "Records of the Transmission of the Lamp" (I suggest Whitfield's two volumes). Again, read a chunk at a time and take your time to reflect on it. While you do this, I suggest reading "The Collected Sayings of Master Joshu." By now you're ready for a more substantial, even "philosophical" text like Dogen's Shobogenzo or some of the writings of the Hua Yen school (Cleary's "Entry into the Inconceivable" is the best collection I know of). Yeah, Nagarjuna's MMK was philosophical, but it's largely focused on the central idea of shunyata -- I digress.

All of the texts I mentioned have good introductions and scholarly notes, at least for the most part. Take your time and practice. Learning about Zen philosophy requires becoming involved in it, since Zen is a PHILOSOPHY OF ACTION.

I suggest this route for people who are interested because it allows the philosophical side of Zen to unfurl itself through contact with the sutras, grounded in one's own practice and insight. If you're really interested, study under a master. This doesn't necessarily mean "converting" to Zen or anything like that, as plenty of scholars of religion who have taken masters will tell you.

I hope this helps.

>>9161417
oh yeah and Huang Po's sayings are good too. I suggest doing him at the same time as Linji's, since the latter's are so difficult. (You should consider tackling Linji after some Dogen and/or Hua Yen).