Discovering the True Self
Kodo Sawaki's Art of Zen Meditation
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
In easy-to-understand language, a 20th-century Zen master explains profound teachings from Zen Buddhism, offering an essential resource for anyone interested in Zen meditation.
“You can’t see your true Self. [But] you can become it. Becoming your true Self is zazen.”
Having come of age as an orphan in the slums of Tsu City, Japan, Kodo Sawaki had to fight his way to adulthood, and became one of the most respected Zen masters of the 20th century. He had a great understanding of Dogen Zenji’s teaching and he knew how to express Dogen’s philosophy in clear, easily–understood language. Sawaki’s primary mission was to bring all people to an awareness of the Self, which he believed came through Zen meditation.
His humor and straightforward talk garnered Sawaki followers from all walks of life. Though he remained poor by choice, he was rich in spirit. Two of his students who became known in America as well as in Japan were Kosho Uchiyama, abbot of Antaiji Temple and author of Opening The Hand of Thought, and Gudo Nishijima, Zen teacher and translator of Dogen’s Shobogenzo.
A student of Kosho Uchiyama, Arthur Braverman has compiled an anthology of Sawaki’s writings and a garland of sayings gathered from throughout his lifetime. One of a few collections of Sawaki’s teachings published in English, his life and work bracket the most intriguing and influential period of modern Zen practice in Japan and America.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The life and writings of Kodo Sawaki (1880 1965) receive a thorough introduction and translation from scholar Braverman (The Grass Flute Zen Master) in this collection. Sawaki, Braverman writes, was a social outcast who grew up in poverty in Tsu, Japan, and was raised by neglectful adoptive parents. He turned to religion and ran away from home at 16 to take up the practice of zazen, or Zen meditation. Sawaki became one of the most influential Zen teachers of the 20th century and was known for his energetic, direct expression of the Buddhist teachings. In the second section, Sawaki's teachings on meditation are translated by and presented without commentary or exposition from Braverman. At the core of Sawaki's work is his devotion to "the divine posture" of zazen which requires removing any gainfulness or sense of being exceptional from the practitioner. Braverman's sharp, modern translations make Sawaki's wisdom largely accessible for the first time to English-language readers. This is an essential resource for those interested in Zen meditation.
