Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen - Softcover

Shunryu Suzuki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060957549 ISBN 13: 9780060957544

Publisher: Bravo Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

A companion volume to Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, the bestselling book on Zen ever published.

"When you are not thinking that you have another moment, then naturally you can accept things as they are, you can see things as they are." ―Shunryu Suzuki

Thirty years after his death, Suzuki's first book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind continues to be one of the world's bestselling books on Buddhism. Now, this second volume contains his final lectures, given when he knew he was dying.

Rich with Suzuki’s simple, powerful words, the topics include living in each moment, expressing yourself fully, and "wherever you are, enlightenment is there." Whether speaking on changing karma or walking like an elephant ("Slowly without idea of hasty gain"), Suzuki Roshi's guidance empowers freedom rather than prescribing thought.

This extraordinary new collection allows Suzuki Roshi's presence to enter your life in the form of a wise, warm-hearted friend. Entirely in Suzuki’s own words, Not Always So is a special gift for anyone seeking spiritual growth and inner peace.

About this title

About the Author

Zen master Shunryu Suzuki (1904 - 1971) was a much beloved spiritual teacher. Born the son of a Zen master, Suzuki began his Zen training as a youngster in Japan. Suzuki came to San Francisco in 1959, and established the Zen Center in San Francisco with a training temple at Tassajara―the first such temple in the West. After a lengthy illness, he died of cancer in December, 1971.

From the Back Cover

Practising the true spirit of Zen.

Not Always So is based on Shunryu Suzuki's lectures and is framed in his own inimitable, allusive, paradoxical style, rich with unexpected and off–centre insights. Suzuki knew he was dying at the time of the lectures, which gives his thoughts an urgency and focus even sharper than in the earlier book.

In Not Always So Suzuki once again voices Zen in everyday language with the vigour, sensitivity, and buoyancy of a true friend. Here is support and nourishment. Here is a mother and father lending a hand, but letting you find your own way. Here is guidance which empowers your freedom (or way–seeking mind), rather than pinning you down to directions and techniques. Here is teaching which encourages you to touch and know your true heart and to express yourself fully, teaching which is not teaching from outside, but a voice arising in your own being.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bravo Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060957549
• ISBN 13: 9780060957544
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176