Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn

Echoing many other reviewers: this book is great. It's funny, it's. serious. It's the voice of a Korean Zen master who has just arrived in the US (written in 1977), just-learned English, who coins his own idioms to get things across. It does not at all read like a "spiritual" book, or like any other Zen book. It's as though the mind and spirit of Huck Finn were fused with a riddling chessmaster and used to present Zen.When I first read this -in 1979 - it was like: I've never seen anything remotely like this. I had read 2 or 3 Zen books previously - they seemed interesting but "normal" - whereas this was anything but normal. Only decades later -helped by Seung Sahn's later "Compass of Zen" and some about the Chinese and Korean antecedents - do I see how this fits.You can read this for the ideas, or the stories, or for the history (as a record of the arrival of a new religion from a very foreign shore). And for practise: his colorful:English expressions (only go straight-don't know) are like "seeds" for meditation, aids to "cut off all thinking". So I found this useful as a meditation guide even though it does not give anything like formal instruction (the group's web site does, though).This is maybe more useful as a "second" book on eastern spirituality - after a "first" more conventional one. It also some tolerance for certain types of questions: when you see objects are they outside your mind or inside? (But these are meditation seeds, not philosophical treatises.). That's how I came to it - and found it fresh and compelling and unexpected.

Very interesting read indeed... I found the intermittent cursing to be quite humorous. It's without a doubt - an entertaining, and mind boggling adventure. It makes you feel as if you're right in the classroom, getting smacked with Seung Sahn's stick.I'd be lying if I said I was able to figure out the various kong-ans, but I'm sure I'm not the only one (I wish there were answers to these riddles, BUT that's probably asking for way too much). However, I did notice that even though I didn't understand the kong-ans that certain things did make more sense as the chapters went on... So, by the end of the book, you have a slightly better understanding than you did at the beginning. This book definitely needs to be reread. Some stories are just plain funny, some are puzzling, and some have a story to tell. *It seems that every other page someone is getting hit hard, hahaha... It's a good thing that hitting is a sign of affection from student to teacher. I've never read a book even close to something like this - it makes you wonder how amazing this man was in person. I subsequently purchased another book from Soen-sa, "Wanting Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake". I want to see how this one fares as well.I'm hesitant to take a stab at this BUT, if I had to write something that I learned through these pages:Naturally scriptures, holy reading and their corresponding history are very important (so is growing up and learning all the necessary skills we need to survive in this crazy world). Additionally vital is at some point in our life, we have to stop thinking we know everything. Human beings today are at a point where we just think our way through life. We think we have an explanation for everything --- I think, I think, I think.... We forget our true nature of just feeling or experiencing `things as it is'. Instead of simply experiencing something right in front of our eyes --- we sit, stare, try to break it down and explain it all... With all of this going on, we fail to realize that this precious moment is fleeing from us... What should we do? We must drop everything - `put it all down' and realize these things staring us in the face, every second of every day. We have to lose our overactive mind, and just see with our eyes what is in front of us - appreciate it for what it is, and experience it for all it has to offer...I can honestly say that after reading this book: what I thought I knew - I DON'T KNOW...

Comprised of over a hundred personal letters, lectures, stories and anecdotes, this book is arranged in small chunks that make it easy to set aside, and then come back to later, or devour all at once.'Dropping Ashes on the Buddha' gives an excellent description of Zen teaching, and the mindsets that come with different levels of understanding within the framework of Zen. It engages in active puzzle solving, using both ancient parables, humor and dharma speeches to convey how to use this puzzling to cut off thinking, and achieve a quieting of the mind. I give it five stars, because it gently explains, in plain English, some very subtle points of experience and understanding that have taken hundreds of masters many years to articulate. It is an enjoyable reading experience, despite the circular and repetitive nature of Zen teaching. I have read this book over and over, at different points in my life, and I have learned many things from it.I would recommend this book to beginners interested in Zen, and to people who have followed the path for a very long time. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in what Zen has to offer insofar as peace and the prospect of letting go are concerned.

This book is great! - and is that next step after you're done with "intro" booksI spent so much time reading "intro" books, and they've all been great - and I've been searching for that next level -- and I've either found books way to sophisticated for me - or that are transcripts of speeches/teachingsAgain, those are good - but I wanted a stepping stoneTHIS book is that stepping stone -- packed with stories, lessons, poems, letters and everything in between -- it's a great great book and not only teaches, but befriends --

People who like this must be more “with it” or “connected” than me. Maybe it is supposed to provoke the opposite of thinking. I liked some of the silly stories but most of it is garbage.

I've leaned more about myself from just the story of Chapter 6: A Child Asks About Death than any other Zen books. May I call this as a enlightenment?? ☺️💕Thank you Stephen, I love all your books!!❤️

The quality of this book is good. This story is a simple understanding of the teachings of Buddhism.

Alles ist gleichzeitig wichtig und unwichtig. Muss man mal verstehen.

Very good product.

Un libro muy difícil de encontrar. Incomprensible para los que no sean estudiantes de Zen Rinzai avanzado. Pero por otro lado genial. Recuerda los libros de los viejos maestros de Zen

there are around 100 conversation between the master and the students .. and every conversation says the same underlying theme.Some ppl might get bored .. No in depth concepts are covered. Good book to understand what Zen actually is...

In this book there is a collections of the teachings of the Seon Master Seung Sahn, his lectures, his letters and his dialogues with his students. His words are of profound enlightenment but are also full of humor and joy for life. A very touching book and a must read for those interested in the Korean Zen (Seon).