A good, but not great, guide to beginning meditation.

books:


	• Zen Meditation in Plain English John Daishin Buksbazen, Peter Matthiessen Wisdom Publications, 2002 - 128 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great introduction to the basics of Zazen meditation

However, if you are looking for something with more depth (perhaps after you have read "Zen... In Plain English") would be Robert Aitken's "Taking the Path of Zen". A much richer book! But I still think Plain English is still worthy.

Destined to be a Classic

You can always pretty much guarantee that if Wisdom Books publishes the book, it's guaranteed to be concise and helpful to followers of the "Way" ; and so it is in this book.
This book is destined to become in the future a classic guide for beginner's of Zen meditation. In loving and uncomplicated prose, John Daishin Buksbazen uncovers the actual core of Zen: the straightforward practice of following our breath and in so doing awakening to our life as the Buddha.

Zen Meditation in Plain English offers a durable foundation for meditation, illuminating the significance of finding ourselves a good teacher practicing with a community of practitioners, while also giving us instruction on how to practice in the meantime on our own (or in addition to with others). John Daishan Buksbazen was another great student of the late Taizan Maezumi Roshi, one of the most prolific Zen masters of modern times. Don't miss this book! It's a must have for any beginner.

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A good, but not great, guide to beginning meditation.

I thought this book was pretty good, and it addressed most concerns, but I felt it could have had a bit more meat on it. Here's a quick breakdown of the sections:

PART ONE: BUDDHAS
*Background
*The Story of Shakyamuni Buddha
*The Lineage
*Buddhas in America

PART TWO: SITTING
*The Problem and Its Solution
*The Nature of the Problem
*The Nature of the Solution
*The Practice
*Starting to Sit
*Laying the Foundations
*Some Rules of Thumb
*Sitting Supports
*Positioning the Body
*Positioning the Legs
*Positioning the Rest of the Body
*Zazen Checklist
*Breathing
*Breathing in Zazen
*The Mind in Zazen

PART THREE: COMMUNITY
*What is Community
*Group Practice
*An Intensive Period in a Zen Monastery
*Sesshin
*Realizing the Harmony

AFTERWARD, FAQ's, and APPENDIXES
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As you can see, many different aspects of Zen and meditation are covered in this book. However, I feel like the book would benefit from offering more meditation instruction. For some reason the author decided to not include a picture of the half-lotus position. This is OK, but slightly annoying, and I would be bummed if I were a novice and had to rely on description alone. The author states on page 37 that starting by sitting about 15 or even 10 minutes a day is enough, but then on page 107 in the FAQ's the author states that even a few minutes a few times a week is OK. So which is it? As a beginner I would not appreciate this apparent contradiction.

The book is listed as 128 pages, but this only exaggerates the amount of material that is actually in this book. This number includes ABOUT THE AUTHOR and PUBLISHER pages, and a lot of other pages in the beginning of the book devoid of actual content. The text on each page is pretty big, and the spacing between the book's content is liberal. All I'm saying is that this could all be condensed into about 40 or 50 pages with all of the exact same material. There's really not a lot of material in this book, which is OK, but it's unfair to exaggerate the material with numbers.

I did find the FURTHER READING and stretching exercises included in the appendixes to be very helpful. That said, this is a pretty good beginner's meditation book, and I would recommend it, but I definitely think the book could have been better.

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Simple, practical and straightforward

This is a very concise introduction to Zen meditation. It is particularly well suited to a beginner, particularly a Western beginner. The author is also credible with a background in both the Zen tradition and Western psychology.

Zen Meditation in Plain English

It is practical guide for beginners who are interested in
meditation. It shows the precise way to sit. The supplementary exercises written in the appendices are indeed very useful. It limbers up and allows one to sit longer. Secondly, it is written in simple English. Anyone who does not have a glossary of Buddhist Terminology can understand. Thirdly, it teaches one to be aware and mindful - sitting is just sitting; be it a "good" or "hard" sitting.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

An excellent, practical introduction to Zen meditation. Written in a warm and easily accessible style, the book appeals to anyone with an interest in meditation, Zen, or, as is often the case today, a combination of the two.

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