21st Century Zen: For The Self-Guided Practitioner (The Dharma Chronicles: Walking the Buddhist Path) - Softcover

Tuffley, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1539018350 ISBN 13: 9781539018353

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

Synopsis

The cultivation of Zen is the stripping away of the many layers of cultural conditioning that have grown up over the course of our lives. Zen is therefore about taking away, not adding to your knowledge. It might seem counter-intuitive to subtract when we believe adding is the path to follow. The principles that underlie Zen are timeless, unlike the form in which they were originally expressed, all those centuries ago. This book is for 21st Century folk who want to cultivate their Zen practice in a self-guided way by following instructions expressed in modern, easily understood language. Follow its advice day-by-day and you will create the right conditions in yourself for spiritual growth to occur naturally. Begin by being someone who: · has good will towards the world, · breathes deeply and is · peacefully mindful most of the time. And remember that it does not require learning, rather the un-learning of the orthodox knowledge that you have accumulated over time. You are aiming to return to the beginner’s mind, the fresh open mind of the child. Good will towards the world means selflessly serving others and not living only for yourself. As the philosopher Daniel Dennett said, the key to happiness is to find something more important than yourself, and devote your life to it. Breathing deeply, from the abdomen, brings more oxygen into your body which gives you a feeling of well-being. It seems obvious to say breathe deeply, yet when you are preoccupied and stressed your breathing tends to be shallow, using the ribs not the diaphragm. You may not be conscious of this, but the decrease in oxygen to your body has a profound effect on your sense of well-being, and over time, your health. Mindfulness helps you to cultivate the correct breathing habit. In the Indian tradition, oxygen contains prana, the universal life energy that permeates the Cosmos. Being mindful has several aspects; whatever you are doing, be fully present when you do it. If you are washing your hands or peeling potatoes, you are fully present doing it, not thinking about something else, and certainly not multi-tasking. You can cultivate the right conditions for mindfulness by simplifying your life, getting rid of the clutter and unnecessary possessions. Establishing daily routines or rituals is also helpful. A full chapter on mindfulness follows. Reading this book should be a leisurely journey, not a quick read. Keep your expectations low, your mind judgment-free. As Lao Tzu observed, a good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. Read slowly and carefully, vocalising the words in your mind as you go. The sentences have been written for the ear, not the eye. Satori You know it is working when you start to have “satori” moments. Sometimes translated as “enlightenment” the satori experience is a felt sense of connectedness with all things. This is known as “kensho” – the experience of your true nature. The phenomenon of satori is mentioned in many spiritual traditions, being variously described as transcendence, enlightenment, awakening. In trans human psychology it is called a “peak experience” as described by Abraham Maslow. Satori is not something you can call up on demand. The only way to experience it is to create the right conditions and wait for it to happen spontaneously. The best way to understand this transcendent state of consciousness is to see it as the natural state of mind of a person who is approaching their full human potential. I sicerely invite you to join me on this most rewarding of journeys - David Tuffley.

About this title

About the Author:

David Tuffley (PhD) has been a Zen practitioner since the early 1990's. This book is the culmination of 25 years of patient Zen practice, written in language easily accessible to the 21st Century mind. David has written over 60 titles across a broad range of interests; from Comparative Religion, Anthropology, Psychology, Ancient and Modern History, Linguistics, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Architectural History, Environments and Ecosystems.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1539018350
• ISBN 13: 9781539018353
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 289