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Prazen

These are zenish short stories merrily modified from various sources such as: Zen Comics by Ioanna Zalajan Radical Zen: The Sayings of Joshu by Youl Hoffmann A man of enlightenment and wisdom Become a Buddha Detachment Empty Essence Go away! Knowledge and Understanding More blind Seeing the tao So what boy? The duel The flag The precious stone The two dragons A man of enlightenment and wisdom Student: Oh master, where does the man of enlightenment and wisdom go after he dies?

Radical Zen

An intriguing book with many items about and attributed to Joshu. … many of our standard stereotypes of the Zen Master can be traced to this figure–irascible and blunt, down-to-earth and practical, prone to answer religious questions with seemingly off-the wall non-sequiturs and paradoxes if not a good sharp smack in the face. Amazon (Also available for previewing as a pdf from here.)

Understand Me

A zen master was teaching a class. One fidgety student was bored and gradually got irritated, because he had decided he couldn't grasp the ideas. This is not surprising since zen is not something to grasp. After all, when one asks "How do you carry zen?", the answer is often "in your empty hand." In any case, such koans were not something this student wanted to deal with, so eventually he spoke out in frustration: "I can't understand a thing you are saying.

Zen Comics

Truly an excellent way to encounter zen, these cartoons present many of the koans delightfully! Comics communicate the Zen spirit perfectly. Laughter deflates pretension and a good rap on the head sometimes transcends so-called logic. In the words of Zen, "Nothing is left for you but to laugh!" Goodreads

Zen Mind Beginners Mind

Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that's just the beginning. Amazon