Book Extracts

    Record of Rinzai book cover

    Curated book extracts for people interested in the Dharma, Zen and Buddhist culture who might be looking for additions to their bookshelf.

    Hidden Zen by Meido Moore

    Practices for Sudden Awakening & Embodied Realization
    In his latest book the abbot of Korinji monastery in Wisconsin introduces us to the less-well known (at least in the West), Rinzai practices of internal energy.

    Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge

    By B. Alan Wallace
    In this extract Alan Wallace explores the question, why Western science is disposed against a science of introspective investigation.

    The Myth of Redemptive Violence

    By Walter Wink
    The story that the rulers of domination societies told each other and their subordinates is what we today might call the Myth of Redemptive Violence.

    Buddhist Magic

    Divination, Healing, and Enchantment through the Ages, By Sam van Schaik
    Sam van Schaik is head of the Endangered Archives Programme at the British Library. In this book he shows how the use of magic has been used to help spread...

    Monkey

    By Wu Ch’êng-ên, tr. Arthur Waley
    This classic of Chinese literature from the 16th century was a satire on courtly life at the imperial palace as well as a political statement on the...

    Hua-Yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra

    By Francis H. Cook
    The Chinese Huayen school is said to provide the philosophical basis for the Zen school.

    How to Read Buddhist Art

    By Kurt Behrendt
    A lavishly illustrated art book from The Met in New York details the development of artistic styles and iconography through the countries of Asia that...

    ‘A Pilgrim’s Guide to Forty-Six Temples'

    By Shiro Usui
    In this book extract we look at the history of Daitokuji temple, a sometimes controversial yet prolific Zen temple.

    ‘Discourse on the Inexhaustible Lamp'

    Torei Enji Zenji, comments Daibi Zenji pub. The Zen Centre London 1989
    The sword of Shiya is so sharp that it cuts through a hair blown across it. Twenty years of honing it! The arm that cuts down Buddhas and patriarchs. Kanzan...

    A Sermon on the Original Face

    Book Extracts
    The 'Original Face', sometimes called 'True Face', is a descriptor in Zen for 'Buddha-nature' which is the ground of all Being.

    The Three Pillars of Zen

    At Hosshin-ji, noted for its severe sesshin, there is a unique discipline for combatting the fatigued, faltering mind.

    The Record of Rinzai

    A collection of stories and teachings by Rinzai Gigen, the founder of Rinzai Zen, this record captures the essence of Zen training and practice.

    In Ghostly Japan

    By Lafcadio Hearn
    When the famous Chinese fortune teller Shōko Setsu threw a tile at a rat, the shattered pieces contained an impossible message that would change his life.

    The Book of Five Rings by Myamoto Musashi

    Book Extracts
    Considered a classic by modern martial artists, the book of 5 rings extends far beyond the art of fighting and into the realms of the transcendental.

    Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

    By Chögyam Trungpa
    Chögyam Trungpa's spent many years living and teaching in the west.

    C. G. Jung - Forward to D.T. Suzuki’s Introduction to Zen Buddhism

    By Carl Jung
    In this book extract Carl Jung, a pioneer of western psychology, writes a forward for D.T. Suzuki, a pioneering Buddhist teacher for the west.

    Magic and Mystery in Tibet

    By Alexandra David-Neel
    In 1924 when Tibet was closed to foreigners, Alexandra David-Neel gave the west a unique glimpse into a land shrouded in mystery.
    Series

    Peaks and Lamas

    By Marco Pallis
    Marco Pallis (1895-1989) was a member of the Traditionalists, a group of writers who believed in the ‘Perennial Wisdom’ of all religions.

    Original Nature

    Zen Comments on the Sixth Patriarch's Platform Sutra, tr. Sokei-an
    From the chapter on Prajnaparamita, living in accord with original nature is the teaching of the Sixth Patriarch, Enō Daikan.

    The Embossed Tea Kettle

    By Hakuin Ekaku
    Following a life-threatening sickness Master Hakuin was advised to take up a new practice by a mountain mystic.

    Extract of 'The Record of Rinzai' | PART II

    Book Extracts
    Master Rinzai points directly towards the true nature of mind in this powerful excerpt of The Record of Rinzai’ .

    Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in...

    Compiled and introduced by Lorne Ladner
    In this book about Tibetan prayer wheels, Lorne Ladner gives a moving account of his experience with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, teacher to the Dalai Lama.

    The Tiger’s Cave and Translations of Other Zen Writings

    By Trevor Leggett
    When it is attained in Zazen, the result is called Satori or realization. Zazen is, practice of infinity, conforming to the infinity which is the principle...

    Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu; pub. Penguin Classics 1963

    Book Extracts 
    In this extract from the Tao Te Ching, we can see the overlap in wisdom between Taosim and Buddhism.

    The Zen Koan

    By Isshū Miura & Ruther Fuller
    In this Book Extract, Zen Master Hakuin tells us how to find the  Buddha, urging us not to seek it in the sutras or words of men.

    Forward from 'The Daily Devotional Chants of The Zen Centre'

    Book Extracts 
    Given that Buddhism is so concerned with self inquiry and self realisation, why is Buddhism also so devotional?

    Chögyam Trungpa: Working with negativity

    Book Extracts
    Chugyum Trungpa examines how negative emotions lead the way to liberation, but also at what point this ‘negativity’ actually becomes a ‘negative’ influence...

    Mindfulness: The Path to the Deathless

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    Ajahn Sumedho reveals the secret to mindfulness of breath in this book extract.

    The Breakthrough

    By Ajahn Amaro
    While meditating we can get so wrapped up in the mind that we forget the body. Meditation master Ajahn Amaro gives us a method for reintroducing the body...

    The Wheel of Truth

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    Ven. Ajahn Sumedho recounts his experience as an 'arrogant', 'stubborn' and 'rebellious' foreigner, starting life as a monastic...

    The Wheel of Truth | II

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    Venerable Ajhan Sumdeo on the difference between trying to be a ‘good’ person and being a ‘whole’ person.

    The Wheel of Truth | III

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    Ven. Ajahn Sumedho teaches us how to become aware of the ‘no-thing’.

    The Wheel of Truth | IV

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    Ven. Ajahn Sumedho explains how our relationship to everything we experience can produce (or not produce) an awakened mind.

    A First Zen Reader

    Compiled and translated by Trevor Leggett
    In this extract from Trevor Leggett, we have a description of what the state of realisation feels like, and the next step that has to be taken afterwards.

    The Five Houses of Zen

    By Thomas Cleary
    This Book Extract looks at the history of early Buddhism in China and it’s symbiotic development with Chinese spiritual traditions of the time.

    Bankei Zen: Translations from the Record of Bankei

    By Peter Haskel
    After pushing his body too far in the pursuit of insight, a young Master Bankei finds himself on the verge of death when something miraculous suddenly happens.

    The Wisdom of the Zen Masters

    By Irmgard Schloegl
    If there is still an  ‘I’ (or ego) then there is no point in trying to deny it. What then, is the correct approach to empty the heart of ‘me’?

    The Daily Devotional Chants of the Zen Centre | Part II

    Zen master Daiyu explains what taking refuge in the Buddha really means

    Arresting the Stone Buddha

     A judge has a stone Buddha arrested for theft in this book extract. 

    The Shadow Book of Ji Yun

    Imperial librarian and Investigator of the Strange
    A strange dancing creature appears every night on a family's estate. Bewildered and afraid, the family investigates.

    The Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects

    By Alexandra David Neel & Lama Yongden
    In this Book Extract, a Tibetan Lama explains why even when secret teachings are freely given they still remain a secret to the listener.

    Joseph Campbell, Myths to Live By

    Religious scholar Joseph Campbell, on the power that myths have in shaping the individual and his or her place within society.

    Zen at Daitokuji

    By Dr. Jon Covell & Abbot
    A historic debate takes place between the Zen school and one hundred monks representing all the other Buddhist sects from the local area.

    The Four Noble Truths

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    "when I first started meditating, I had the idea that meditation would make me kinder and happier...

    Bankei Zen

    Translations from the Record of Bankei
    Zen Master Bankei points out how to spot the Buddha Nature by becoming aware of the traces it leaves from moment to moment.

    C.G. Jung Letters, vol. 1

    Psychologist C.G.Jung writes about with the ‘shadow’ personality, which has much in common with the Bull (emotional energies) that Zen practitioners also...

    The Four Noble Truths | Part II

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    Ajahn Sumedho remembers discovering why he couldn't be at peace in the 'now'.

    The Catalpa Bow

    A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan
    When a Buddhist priest finds out that his kinsman has been reborn into an agonising hell, a yamabushi holds the key to helping his friend

    A Global History of Buddhism and Medicine

    As well as being saints and gods, the Bodhisattvas are also considered to be manifestations of the Buddha nature which can be used for healing.

    The Four Noble Truths | Part III

    By Ajahn Sumedho
    Ajahn Sumedho explains how to let go when suffering arises through the contemplation of the Four Noble Truths.
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    More from Extracts

    Gentling the Bull | Chapter 7

    A reading from a foundational text about Zen training.

    The Zen Way

    Life in a Japanese Zen Monastery by Irmgard Schloegl

    This audio extract from Irmgard Schloegl’s book explores the daily routines of Zen monks and the entrance begging ordeal all aspiring monks must endure to.

    Mumonkan: The Gateless Gate

    By Mumon Ekai, with commentary by Soko Morinaga Roshi

    Soko Morinaga Roshi describes what it is like to experience the passions in a state of emptiness.
    Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra

    Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra

    By D.T. Suzuki

    D.T Suzuki on the history and development of Mahayana Buddhism in China.