The Whole World Is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-Ans for Everyday Life (Tuttle Library of Enlightenment): Seung Sahn, Jane McLaughlin, Paul Muenzen: 9780804817820: Amazon.com: Books
세계일화(The Whole World is a Single Flower)’,
The Whole World Is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-Ans for Everyday Life (Tuttle Library of Enlightenment) Paperback – March, 1992
by Seung Sahn (Author), Jane McLaughlin (Author), & 1 more
5.0 out of 5 stars 3 customer reviews
Editorial Reviews
The Whole World Is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-Ans for Everyday Life (Tuttle Library of Enlightenment)
Product details
Series: Tuttle Library of Enlightenment
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Tuttle Pub; 2nd Edition edition (March 1992)
Language: English
3 customer reviews
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Swing King
5.0 out of 5 starsNot EntertainmentJanuary 15, 2005
Format: Paperback
Zen master Seung Sahn drew me in from the moment I first read his Compass of Zen (probably still one of the best works out there on the subject to date). I probably should have put the book down like he said before reading it, but I couldn't resist frankly. See the thing is, books like that are a blessing and a curse. Here you stand, on the verge of an entirely new horizon, yet your still attempting to approach this life academically. Okay, I was approaching life in that way; maybe you can or cannot relate. I developed a philosophical and theoretical illness, and I was constantly using my philosophy to try and "mend" the illness. In short, I was going absolutely insane. There I was, surrounded by piles of Zen books with no practice, no ZAZEN. Man I must have looked a mess sitting there, real disheveled.
Anyway, me and Zen went on a hiatus for a year or so as a result (I was mad at her). Then one holiday, my sister gives me some dharma talks on tape of various teachers , and that old spark was started again. But I knew (really, I did!) that things would have to change. I vowed to myself that I COULD NOT approach practice in the way I had previously, otherwise I may as well not bother at all. So I ordered a zafu and zabuton instead of another book. Let me tell you, that was a very wise investment. If you want a good grasp of Zen Buddhism, I highly recommend you get yourself one of each.
So where does "The Whole World is a Single Flower" fit into all of this? Good question. I had to provide all of that background information (I know, I'm sorry) in order to say the following: This is the best book on Zen I've ever read. It's not about entertaining you or making you feel real cuddly inside. It's certainly not going to spoon feed you and then send you to naptime. It will merely ask us all some really tough questions, which cannot be answered outside of zazen. That's it. That's awesome! Questions we cannot answer, without a completely empty and reflective mind. YES! YES! Shakyamuni Buddha himself gave up all other routes and simply sat in Bodh Gaya with his questions. He didn't understand them really. He just had them, so in a way he did away with all convention and just sat.
The previous reviewer said this book has no author. Quite a keen way of putting it, really. This is public stuff inside, and without practice you'll HATE IT. I guarantee you will HATE this book without practice. End of story. You'll be ogling over some "spoon feed me" book perhaps. Which is fine really. Maybe you'll end up like I did, tired of that means and on the true path of zazen. So order this book when your done with all the others, and after you've finally gotten that zafu!
7 people found this helpful
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Jennifer
5.0 out of 5 starsan enticement to practiceOctober 26, 2000
Format: Paperback
I felt very sad when I read the review from someone in Winslow, Arizona. This person missed the point. I practice koans with one of the editors of this book, Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz, a Zen Master who received transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn. She is a completely alive teacher who brings the teaching of this book alive in practice. The entire point of koan practice is to connect the teachings with everyday life, so that there is no separation between you and this world. This book presents some of these koans, or questions, to entice you to more deeply explore your mind before critical, analytical thinking. Zen Master Seung Sahn calls this your "don't know mind". By allowing yourself to be absorbed by these questions and respond from your gut, you may come to trust yourself, to believe in yourself. Through this belief, you will be able to participate in your life 100%, with compassion and vital presence. This is something that 100 books about Zen cannot give you. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Zen practice, or koan practice, as an introduction to this centuries old path to cutting through the mind of opposites and returning to the source. If you have some idea about the path to enlightenment, you will have a big problem. This book may help you see through your ideas and wake up! I sit a seven day retreat every year and I read this book and it always helps me, I hope it will help you too.
19 people found this helpful
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C.A. Montana
5.0 out of 5 starsBeyond UnderstandingJuly 16, 2000
Format: Paperback
Most of us spend our days up in our heads, we learn a lot, we think a lot, study a lot, understand a lot, we 'know it all'. Until we come across that one question, that one situation where all thinking stops, all ideas are frozen.
One hundred volumes of Zen literature cannot help us, one hundred centuries of study cannot help us, one hundred milleniums of self-proclaimed mastery cannot help us. Stuck! Now what? ...
This wonderful book offers us not one, not two, but 365 of such rare moments. Allow yourself to get joyfully stuck, let your thinking slide away, and see, feel, smell, touch, hear, do, live... for the first time again.
10 people found this helpful
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The previous reviewer said this book has no author. Quite a keen way of putting it, really. This is public stuff inside, and without practice you'll HATE IT. I guarantee you will HATE this book without practice. End of story. You'll be ogling over some "spoon feed me" book perhaps. Which is fine really. Maybe you'll end up like I did, tired of that means and on the true path of zazen. So order this book when your done with all the others, and after you've finally gotten that zafu!
7 people found this helpful
HelpfulComment Report abuse
Jennifer
5.0 out of 5 starsan enticement to practiceOctober 26, 2000
Format: Paperback
I felt very sad when I read the review from someone in Winslow, Arizona. This person missed the point. I practice koans with one of the editors of this book, Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz, a Zen Master who received transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn. She is a completely alive teacher who brings the teaching of this book alive in practice. The entire point of koan practice is to connect the teachings with everyday life, so that there is no separation between you and this world. This book presents some of these koans, or questions, to entice you to more deeply explore your mind before critical, analytical thinking. Zen Master Seung Sahn calls this your "don't know mind". By allowing yourself to be absorbed by these questions and respond from your gut, you may come to trust yourself, to believe in yourself. Through this belief, you will be able to participate in your life 100%, with compassion and vital presence. This is something that 100 books about Zen cannot give you. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Zen practice, or koan practice, as an introduction to this centuries old path to cutting through the mind of opposites and returning to the source. If you have some idea about the path to enlightenment, you will have a big problem. This book may help you see through your ideas and wake up! I sit a seven day retreat every year and I read this book and it always helps me, I hope it will help you too.
19 people found this helpful
HelpfulComment Report abuse
C.A. Montana
5.0 out of 5 starsBeyond UnderstandingJuly 16, 2000
Format: Paperback
Most of us spend our days up in our heads, we learn a lot, we think a lot, study a lot, understand a lot, we 'know it all'. Until we come across that one question, that one situation where all thinking stops, all ideas are frozen.
One hundred volumes of Zen literature cannot help us, one hundred centuries of study cannot help us, one hundred milleniums of self-proclaimed mastery cannot help us. Stuck! Now what? ...
This wonderful book offers us not one, not two, but 365 of such rare moments. Allow yourself to get joyfully stuck, let your thinking slide away, and see, feel, smell, touch, hear, do, live... for the first time again.
10 people found this helpful
HelpfulComment Report abus
