Brief Description
Thich Nhat Hanh brings his warmth to this unique explication of Zen Buddhism. Beginning with stories from his first years in a Zen monastery, he illustrates the character of Zen as practiced in Vietnam and gives the reader clear explanations of Zen practice and its philosophical background. From Doubleday Books.
"Zen Keys conveys the authentic 'feel' and flavor of Zen."--Philip Kapleau, Roshi
"...explains the nuts and bolts of Zen without pretension or mystery...much food for thought."--Oklahoma Gazette
Sample Chapter
The essence of Zen is awakening. This is why one does not talk about Zen, one experiences it. But awakening is a great phenomenon that radiates like the sun. The "awakened" person is recognizable by particular signs. First of all is liberty; he does not allow himself to be tossed about by the vicissitudes of life, by fear, joy, anxiety, success, or failure. Then there is the spiritual force that reveals itself in calmness, an ineffable smile, and deep serenity. The smile, the look, the word, and the action of the awakened person constitute the language of awakening. This language is used by Zen masters to guide practitioners. A Zen master uses words and concepts like everyone else, but he is neither conditioned nor captivated by these words or concepts. The language of Zen always aims at destroying the habit-energies of those who only know how to think conceptually. It tends to provoke crises, whose function it is to bring to fruition the precious moment of awakening.