Serene Reflection Meditation

Meditation is "the gateway to repose and joy." It is the heart of our Buddhist practice. Through meditation we open to our True Nature, the Unborn Buddha Nature and to the source of our -suffering. This introduction to Serene Reflection (Soto Zen) -meditation is presented in a simple, practical and thorough -manner with articles on the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of this type of meditation. The Buddha taught that there is -suffering or unsatisfactoriness and that there is a way to find the cessation of or liberation from suffering. -Articles include teachings on how to bring the Buddha's Teaching into all aspects of our lives and how we can live in harmony with ourselves and all living beings. The articles in this book were written by male and female Buddhist monks and lay trainees within the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives.

This book, first published in 1994, is a compendium of new translations of certain works regarded as fundamental texts in the Serene Reflection Buddhist Tradition (Sōtō Zen). All the texts were in Chinese, either as original works or as translations from Sanskrit. Several of them are central to the ceremonial not only of the Sōtō Zen Tradition but also of other Mahayana Buddhist traditions as well.

An introduction to Buddhist thought by the Chief Abbot of Soji-ji monastery. The book explains the origins and development of Zen, as well as the key doctrines of Soto Zen. It also contains the teachings of some of the most prominent masters.

This book contains short and medium-length Buddhist texts fundamental to the study and practice of Serene Reflection Meditation (Soto Zen). It includes complete translations of The Scripture of Brahma's Net, The Scripture on Fully Perfected Enlightenment, Bodhidharma's Discourse on Pure Meditation,Keizan's Instructions on How to Do Pure Meditation and The Scripture of the Buddha's Last Teachings, as well as three key sections from the Lotus Scripture and poems by Chinese Meditation Masters.

British Buddhism presents a useful insight into contemporary British Buddhist practice. It provides a survey of the seven largest Buddhist traditions in the United Kingdom, including the Forest Sangha (Theravada) and the Samatha Trust (Theravada), the Serene Reflection Meditation tradition (Soto Zen) and Soka Gakkai (both originally Japanese), the Tibetan Karma Kagyu and New Kadampa traditions and Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. Based on extensive fieldwork, this fascinating book determines how and to what extent British Buddhist groups are changing from their Asian roots, and whether any forms of British Buddhism are beginning to emerge. Despite the popularity of Buddhism in Britain, there has so far been no study documenting the full range of teachings and practice. This is an original study that fills this gap and serves as an important reference point for further studies in this increasingly popular field.

This book, first published as Selling Water by the River in 1972, is a practical and inspirational manual for all who wish to practice Zen. Rōshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, the founder and former abbess of Shasta Abbey, expertly combines an introduction to the basic tenets of Buddhism with original translations of the teachings of Zen Masters Dōgen and Keizan.

Thirty years after the publication of his classic work Dōgen Kigen—Mystical Realist, Hee-Jin Kim reframes and recasts his understanding of Dōgen's Zen methodology in this new book. Through meticulous textual analyses of and critical reflections on key passages primarily from Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō, Kim explicates hitherto underappreciated aspects of Dōgen's religion, such as the ambiguity of delusion and also of enlightenment, intricacies of negotiating the Way, the dynamic functions of emptiness, the realizational view of language, nonthinking as the essence of meditation, and a multifaceted conception of reason. Kim also responds to many recent developments in Zen studies that have arisen in both Asia and the West, especially Critical Buddhism. He brings Dōgen the meditator and Dōgen the thinker into relief. Kim's study clearly demonstrates that language, thinking, and reason constitute the essence of Dōgen's proposed Zen praxis, and that such a Zen opens up new possibilities for dialogue between Zen and contemporary thought. This fresh assessment of Dōgen's Zen represents a radical shift in our understanding of its place in the history of Buddhism.