Description
Book SynopsisRevered by Buddhists in the United States and China, Master Sheng-yen shares his wisdom and teachings in this first comprehensive English primer of Chan, the Chinese tradition of Buddhism that inspired Japanese Zen. Often mistunderstood as a system of mind games, the Chan path leads to enlightenment through apparent contradiction. while demanding the mental and physical discipline of traditional Buddhist doctrine, it asserts that wisdom (Buddha-nature) is innate and immediate in all living beings, and thus not to be achieved through devotion to the strictures of religious practice. You arrive without departing. Master Sheng-yen provides an unprecedented understanding of Chan, its precepts, and its practice. Beginning with a basic overview of Buddhism and meditation, ''Hoofprint of the Ox'' detials the progressive mental exercises traditionally followed by all Buddhists. Known as the Three Disciplines, these procedures develop moral purity, meditiative concentration, and enlightening in
Trade Review"Master Sheng-Yen has written another inspiring introduction to the Chan buddhist tradition in China, more familiar to Americans as Zen, its incarnation in Japan.... Aided by a masterful introduction by well-known scholar Dan Stevenson, this book brings introductory books on Chan/Zen to a new level of sophistication, accuracy and relevance to both the more advanced and the novice American practitioner."--Publishers Weekly "In this illuminating treatise readers will discover a Chan practice that is marvelously alive.... A very special book; highly recommended."--Library Journal
