Review: Understanding Zen Buddhism
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2013
This is a translation of the Chinese Hsin Hsin Ming. The Book of Nothing.  The Zen poem itself is beautiful.  The commentary is exceptional.The Hsin Hsin Ming advises giving up opinions and judgements so you can see the Oneness and Nothingness of what reality really is.  It also advises practicing living in a state of non-duality while living in a dualistic world.  The Path to enlightenment is realizing there's nothing to find, nowhere to go, nothing to achieve.  Truth is revealed by dropping all attachments and all desires.These are difficult concepts for the average Westerner to understand and accept.  Duality is a part of our lives.  We are goal-oriented achievers.  We have strong attachments and strong desires.  I have struggled to "get" Buddhism since college.  One of my professors was a Buddhist and I was a part of a group that studied with him.I wish this book had been available back when I was in school.  Dennis Waller's translation  helped me to better understand and to get a better feeling for  Buddhism.I very much liked the bamboo analogy."So what does this have to do with Bamboo?  Bamboo is considered a symbol of  Zen.  It is a tree that has great roots firmly planted into the soil.  Strength comes from its strong roots.  It is this strength  of being so grounded into the soil that allows it to be yielding when confronted with adversarial winds and storms.It is always green in winter, spring, summer or fall, always green, always full of life, always growing, always unchanging.  Bamboo is empty inside, clinging to nothing in this world other than the substance needed to support its life.  Its soul isn't cluttered with senseless desires or opinions.  It remains empty, one with the nothingness. "