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The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan
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The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan Paperback - 2011

by James Ishmael Ford (Editor); Melissa Myozen Blacker (Editor); Foreword by John Tarrant


From the publisher

The word "mu" is one ancient Zen teacher's response to the earnest question of whether even a dog has "buddha nature". Discovering for ourselves the meaning of the master's response is the urgent work of each of us who yearns to be free and at peace. "Practicing Mu" is synonymous with practicing Zen, "sitting with Mu" is an apt description for all Zen meditation, and it is said that all the thousands and thousands of koans in the Zen tradition are just further elaborations of Mu.

This watershed volume brings together over forty teachers, ancient and modern masters from across centuries and schools, to illuminate and clarify the essential matter: the question of how to be most truly ourselves.

Includes writings from: Dogen, Hakuin, Dahui, Thich Thien-An Zenkei Shibayama, Seung Sahn, Taizan Maezumi, Sheng Yen Philip Kapleau, Robert Aitken, Jan Chozen Bays, Shodo Harada Grace Schireson, John Daido Loori, John Tarrant Barry Magid, Joan Sutherland, and many more!

Details

  • Title The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan
  • Author James Ishmael Ford (Editor); Melissa Myozen Blacker (Editor); Foreword by John Tarrant
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: repri
  • Pages 352
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Wisdom Publications, Somerville, Ma, U.S.A.
  • Date 2011-05
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780861716432 / 0861716434
  • Weight 1.05 lbs (0.48 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 in (22.35 x 14.99 x 2.29 cm)
  • Themes
    • Religious Orientation: Buddhist
  • Library of Congress subjects Koan, Zhaozhou
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2010052125
  • Dewey Decimal Code 294.385

About the author

James Ishmael Ford is a senior guiding teacher of Boundless Way Zen. James has been a student of Zen Buddhism for over forty years. He is also a senior Unitarian Universalist minister serving at the First Unitarian Church of Providence and a member of both the American Zen Teachers Association and the Soto Zen Buddhist Association. He lives outside Providence. Melissa Myozen Blacker, Roshi, is a Zen teacher and the abbot of Boundless Way Zen, a school of Zen Buddhism with practice centers throughout New England. She is one of the resident teachers at Boundless Way Zen Temple in Worcester. From 1993 to 2012, Melissa was on the staff of the Center for Mindfulness (CFM), founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Her positions at the CFM included Director of professional training programs and senior teacher and Associate Director of the Stress Reduction Clinic. In addition to Zen teaching and writing, Melissa also offers private meditation consulting and spiritual direction. She is co-editor of The Book of MU, published by Wisdom Publications in April of 2011. Her chapter from The Book of MU was included in Best Buddhist Writing, 2012, edited by Melvin MacLeod and published by Shambhala Publications.
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The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan

by Editor-James Ishmael Ford; Editor-Melissa Blacker; Foreword-John Tarrant

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The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan
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The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan

by James Ishmael Ford (Editor), Melissa Blacker (Editor), John Tarrant (Foreword)

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The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan
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The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zen's Most Important Koan

by Ford, James Ishmael [Editor]; Blacker, Melissa Myozen [Editor]; Tarrant, John [Foreword];

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