Zen In The Vernacular: Things As It Is,New

Buddhas core teachings explained in accessible, everyday language Shows how Zen offers a creative problemsolving mechanism and moral guide ideal for the stresses and problems of daily life Shares the authors secular, vernacular interpretations of the Four Noble Truths, the Three Treasures, the Eightfold Path, and other fundamental Buddhist ideasDuring the nearly 3,000 years since the Buddha lived, his teachings have spread widely around the globe. In each culture where Buddhism was introduced, the Buddhas teachings have been pruned and modified to harmonize with local customs, laws, and cultures. We can refer to these modifications as gift wrapping, translating the gifts of Buddhas teachings in ways sensible to particular cultures in particular times. This giftwrapping explains why Indian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesian Buddhism have significant differences.In this engaging guide to Zen Buddhism, awardwinning actor, narrator, and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote helps us peer beneath the Japanese giftwrapping of Zen teachings to reveal the fundamental teachings of the Buddha and show how they can be applied to contemporary daily life. The author explains that the majority of Western Buddhists are secular and many dont meditate, wear robes, shave their heads, or believe in reincarnation. He reminds us that the mental/physical states achieved by Buddhist practice are universal human states, ones we may already be familiar with but perhaps never considered as possessing spiritual dimensions.Exploring Buddhas core teachings, the author shares his own secular and accessible interpretations of the Four Noble Truths, the Three Treasures, and the Eightfold Path within the context of his lineage and the teachings of his teacher and the teachers before him. He looks at Buddhas teachings on our singular reality that appears as a multiplicity of things and on the self that perceives reality, translating powerful spiritual experience into the vernacular of modern life.Revealing the practical usefulness of Buddhist philosophy and practice, Zen in the Vernacular shows how Zen offers a creative problemsolving mechanism and moral guide ideal for the stresses and problems of everyday life.