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Buddha Facing the Wall: Interviews with American Zen Monks |
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| Author |
Jenkins, Sara
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| Date | 1999.03 |
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| Pages | 208 |
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| Publisher | Present Perfect Books |
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| Publisher Url |
http://www.presentperfectbooks.com/
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| Location | Lake Junaluska, NC, US |
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| Content type | 書籍=Book |
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| Language | 英文=English |
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| Note | From the Zen Monastery Practice Center under the guidance of Cheri Huber. |
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| Keyword | Zen Monastery Practice Center;Monastic and Religious Life of Zen Buddhism, California;Zen Priests, California;Interviews; |
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| Abstract | Buddha Facing the Wall presents firsthand accounts of life in an American Zen monastery. Under the guidance of Zen
teacher Cheri Huber, students come to the Monastery for periods of intensive spiritual training ranging from a month to many
years. Interviews with seventeen men and women living as monks offer vivid personal glimpses of how everything about the
Monastery - from the daily schedule, through meetings with the teacher, to the silence itself - is designed to support the
deep inner work that leads to spiritual transformation.
An introduction provides basic information on the aims of monastic practice in general and the means of this tradition in
particular, reflecting Robert Thurman's assertions that the goal of Buddhism is happiness, and the monastery is the
institution devoted exclusively to the highest development of the individual. Each chapter contains descriptions of Zen
practice in the context of monastic training, with examples drawn from personal experiences related by monks, along with
selected complete interviews. Topics addressed include:
* the paradox of solitude: Seeing through the illusion that we are separate selves allows us to discover a profound and
joyous intimacy with all life. * the misconception that monastic life is an escape from life's problems: On the contrary, as
these monks make clear, the monastery brings one face to face with one's suffering, and yet it is only by discovering the
true source of suffering that one can move beyond it. * the Monastery building as a metaphor for spiritual practice: During
the seven-year span (1991-98) in which three sets of interviews were conducted, the Monastery grew from 300 acres with two
large tents and a scattering of hermitages to a fully equipped residential center for meditation retreats and spiritual
training. The main Monastery building, constructed by the monks, joins rammed earth walls, tiled roof and floors, and
handmade casement windows in a visual testament to monastic training. Because every aspect of construction was treated as
meditation practice, qualities that flow from that practice -peace and clarity and compassion - seem to be embedded in the
building itself.
In the final interview, Cheri Huber describes her own experience as a monk and her extraordinary relationship with her
teacher. This remarkably candid, humorous, thought-provoking, sometimes unsettling interview will be of great interest to
readers of Cheri's books and to anyone who is curious about the personal experience of such a gifted spiritual teacher.
In addition to offering an unprecedented view of how Buddhist monasticism is taking root in the U. S., Buddha Facing the
Wall contains an unusual perspective on Buddhist-Christian practice. The Zen monks interviewed for this book include four
devout Catholics (one is a nun, another a director of campus ministry) who discuss how meditation enhances their deep
commitments to Christianity.
The title Buddha Facing the Wall refers to the functional emphasis in Cheri's style of teaching: to indicate that practice,
not personhood, is at the center of this tradition, the only Buddha figure is turned to face the wall, just like the
students sitting in meditation. As in all of Cheri's teaching, spiritual practice is presented in ordinary language and is
accessible to anyone.
This book is linked to our first title on the teaching of Cheri Huber, Turning Toward Happiness:Conversations with a Zen
Teacher and Her Students,, which included discussions with the people who originally went to live at this Monastery (four of
those people are represented again in these interviews).
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| Table of contents |
Preface
Introduction: Facing the Wall
1. Openness
2. Intimate and Nonpersonal
3. Silence
4. Solitude
5. Only One Rule
6. The Unexpected and the All Too Familiar
7. Building As Dharma
8. Compassion and the Paradox of No Escape
9. Freedom and the Paradox of Nothing to Do
10. Happiness
11. Monks in the World
12. From the Front of the Room: The Teacher's Perspective
Epilog: Walking Outside
From the Monastery Guidebood |
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| ISBN | 0963078437 |
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| Hits | 257 |
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| Created date | 2002.04.22
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