Women Living Zen

Author : Paula Kane Robinson Arai
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0195344154
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.58/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Women Living Zen written by Paula Kane Robinson Arai and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-08-26 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this study, based on both historical evidence and ethnographic data, Paula Arai shows that nuns were central agents in the foundation of Buddhism in Japan in the sixth century. They were active participants in the Soto Zen sect, and have continued to contribute to the advancement of the sect to the present day. Drawing on her fieldwork among the Soto nuns, Arai demonstrates that the lives of many of these women embody classical Buddhist ideals. They have chosen to lead a strictly disciplined monastic life over against successful careers and the unconstrained contemporary secular lifestyle. In this, and other respects, they can be shown to stand in stark contrast to their male counterparts.

Author : Grace Schireson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0861719565
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.63/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Zen Women written by Grace Schireson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-11-10 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This landmark presentation at last makes heard the centuries of Zen's female voices. Through exploring the teachings and history of Zen's female ancestors, from the time of the Buddha to ancient and modern female masters in China, Korea, and Japan, Grace Schireson offers us a view of a more balanced Dharma practice, one that is especially applicable to our complex lives, embedded as they are in webs of family relations and responsibilities, and the challenges of love and work. Part I of this book describes female practitioners as they are portrayed in the classic literature of "Patriarchs' Zen"--often as "tea-ladies," bit players in the drama of male students' enlightenments; as "iron maidens," tough-as-nails women always jousting with their male counterparts; or women who themselves become "macho masters," teaching the same Patriarchs' Zen as the men do. Part II of this book presents a different view--a view of how women Zen masters entered Zen practice and how they embodied and taught Zen uniquely as women. This section examines many urgent and illuminating questions about our Zen grandmothers: How did it affect them to be taught by men? What did they feel as they trying to fit into this male practice environment, and how did their Zen training help them with their feelings? How did their lives and relationships differ from that of their male teachers? How did they express the Dharma in their own way for other female students? How was their teaching consistently different from that of male ancestors? And then part III explores how women's practice provides flexible and pragmatic solutions to issues arising in contemporary Western Zen centers.

Author : Paula Arai
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824860136
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.34/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bringing Zen Home written by Paula Arai and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Healing lies at the heart of Zen in the home, as Paula Arai discovered in her pioneering research on the ritual lives of Zen Buddhist laywomen. She reveals a vital stream of religious practice that flourishes outside the bounds of formal institutions through sacred rites that women develop and transmit to one another. Everyday objects and common materials are used in inventive ways. For example, polishing cloths, vivified by prayer and mantra recitation, become potent tools. The creation of beauty through the arts of tea ceremony, calligraphy, poetry, and flower arrangement become rites of healing. Bringing Zen Home brings a fresh perspective to Zen scholarship by uncovering a previously unrecognized but nonetheless vibrant strand of lay practice. The creativity of domestic Zen is evident in the ritual activities that women fashion, weaving tradition and innovation, to gain a sense of wholeness and balance in the midst of illness, loss, and anguish. Their rituals include chanting, ingesting elixirs and consecrated substances, and contemplative approaches that elevate cleaning, cooking, child-rearing, and caring for the sick and dying into spiritual disciplines. Creating beauty is central to domestic Zen and figures prominently in Arai’s analyses. She also discovers a novel application of the concept of Buddha nature as the women honor deceased loved ones as “personal Buddhas.” One of the hallmarks of the study is its longitudinal nature, spanning fourteen years of fieldwork. Arai developed a “second-person,” or relational, approach to ethnographic research prompted by recent trends in psychobiology. This allowed her to cultivate relationships of trust and mutual vulnerability over many years to inquire into not only the practices but also their ongoing and changing roles. The women in her study entrusted her with their life stories, personal reflections, and religious insights, yielding an ethnography rich in descriptive and narrative detail as well as nuanced explorations of the experiential dimensions and effects of rituals. In Bringing Zen Home, the first study of the ritual lives of Zen laywomen, Arai applies a cutting-edge ethnographic method to reveal a thriving domain of religious practice. Her work represents an important contribution on a number of fronts—to Zen studies, ritual studies, scholarship on women and religion, and the cross-cultural study of healing.

Author : Paula Kane Robinson Arai
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780190258405
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Women Living Zen written by Paula Kane Robinson Arai and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Angel Kyodo Williams
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101199458
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Being Black written by Angel Kyodo Williams and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2002-01-08 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Honest, courageous... Williams has committed an act of love."—Alice Walker "A classic."—Jack Kornfield There truly is an art to being here in this world, and like any art, it can be mastered. In this elegant, practical book, Angel Kyodo Williams combines the universal wisdom of Buddhism with an inspirational call for self-acceptance and community empowerment. Written by a woman who grew up facing the challenges that confront African-Americans every day, Being Black teaches us how a "warrior spirit" of truth and responsibility can be developed into the foundation for real happiness and personal transformation. With her eloquent, hip, and honest perspective, Williams—a Zen priest, social activist, and entrepreneur—shares personal stories, time-tested teachings, and simple guidelines that invite readers of all faiths to step into the freedom of a life lived with fearlessness and grace.

Author : Stephen Addiss
Publisher : Hackett Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0872209091
Total Pages : 309 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Zen Sourcebook written by Stephen Addiss and published by Hackett Publishing. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction by Paula Arai. This is the first collection to offer selections from the foundational texts of the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Zen traditions in a single volume. Through representative selections from their poetry, letters, sermons, and visual arts, the most important Zen Masters provide students with an engaging, cohesive introduction to the first 1200 years of this rich -- and often misunderstood -- tradition. A general introduction and notes provide historical, biographical, and cultural context; a note on translation, and a glossary of terms are also included.

Author : Michael Paul
Publisher : Frances Lincoln Childrens Books
ISBN 13 : 9780711215894
Total Pages : 156 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Living Zen written by Michael Paul and published by Frances Lincoln Childrens Books. This book was released on 2000 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zen Buddhism is a spiritual practice that influences not only how we viewurselves and one another, but also the aesthetic of our environment. Thisolume places the wisdom of Zen Buddhism in a modern, everyday context,howing how Zen can shape every aspect of lifestyle from home interiors toarden design. It explores Zen's role in nurturing creativity, and the way inhich Zen's timeless, spiritual insights enhance the well-being of those whoollow it. The photographs seek to embody the Zen experience, encouraging uso see beyond the surface, and to have a deeper awareness of ournvironment's natural beauty.;The book is designed for anyone who wishes tontroduce simplicity, calm and peace into their live and surroundings. Theesthetic it embraces is not about new possessions or interior design.nstead, it invites the reader to open up to every moment, so that we arrivet our true nature and transform ordinary experiences into something special.

Author : Grace Schireson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 086171475X
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Zen Women written by Grace Schireson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-10-27 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This landmark presentation at last makes heard the centuries of Zen's female voices. Through exploring the teachings and history of Zen's female ancestors, from the time of the Buddha to ancient and modern female masters in China, Korea, and Japan, Grace Schireson offers us a view of a more balanced Dharma practice, one that is especially applicable to our complex lives, embedded as they are in webs of family relations and responsibilities, and the challenges of love and work. Part I of this book describes female practitioners as they are portrayed in the classic literature of "Patriarchs' Zen"--often as "tea-ladies," bit players in the drama of male students' enlightenments; as "iron maidens," tough-as-nails women always jousting with their male counterparts; or women who themselves become "macho masters," teaching the same Patriarchs' Zen as the men do. Part II of this book presents a different view--a view of how women Zen masters entered Zen practice and how they embodied and taught Zen uniquely as women. This section examines many urgent and illuminating questions about our Zen grandmothers: How did it affect them to be taught by men? What did they feel as they trying to fit into this male practice environment, and how did their Zen training help them with their feelings? How did their lives and relationships differ from that of their male teachers? How did they express the Dharma in their own way for other female students? How was their teaching consistently different from that of male ancestors? And then part III explores how women's practice provides flexible and pragmatic solutions to issues arising in contemporary Western Zen centers.

Author : Rōshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317214684
Total Pages : 374 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Zen is Eternal Life written by Rōshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-05 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, first published as Selling Water by the River in 1972, is a practical and inspirational manual for all who wish to practice Zen. Rōshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, the founder and former abbess of Shasta Abbey, expertly combines an introduction to the basic tenets of Buddhism with original translations of the teachings of Zen Masters Dōgen and Keizan.

Author : Ruben L. F. Habito
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0861718968
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.62/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Living Zen, Loving God written by Ruben L. F. Habito and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-02-08 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The release of Ruben Habito's new book, Living Zen, Loving God has coincided with a rave review from Publishers Weekly magazine: "Habito may not seem himself as a revolutionary, but his humble life calling - to illuminate the commonalities between Zen Buddhism and Christianity - seems a profound gift. Habito excels in illuminating the connective spiritual tissue between the two religions, while explaining the principles of Buddhism. This is an excellent book for readers who want to deepen their understanding of Christianity, as well as Buddhism." - Publishers Weekly Exactly right. This wonderful book, in its friendly, informative tone, carefully explains Buddhist ideas - from key concepts like Emptiness and The Truth of Suffering to an in-depth and enlightening examination of the Heart Sutra - all in terms that will help modern Christian practitioners to deepen their faith, and Buddhists, to revitalize and broaden their perception and understanding. This is a book with immense value to anyone interested in interreligious dialogue and studies, and as such, has already won accolades from Habito's contemporaries. (See below.) Habito, a practicing Catholic and former Jesuit priest - as well as an acknowledged Zen master and professor in the School of Theology at Southern Methodist University - makes a clear case that Zen practice can deepen a Christian's connection to God, further clarify the Gospel teachings of Jesus, and enable one to live a more joyous, compassionate, and socially engaged life. Habito demonstrates that the practice of Zen meditation and even some elements of the Buddhist worldview can enable one to love God more constantly and commit to the service of the Realm of Heaven and the human community more wholeheartedly. Ruben L.F. Habito is the author of numerous publications, in both Japanese and English, on Zen and Christianity and is a prominent figure in the Buddhist-Christian Dialogue. A native of the philipines, Habito served as a Jesuit priest in Japan under the guidance of the great spiritual pioneer Father Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle and studied Zen with renowned teacher Koun Yamada. He lives in Dallas, Texas.