Summary of Roshi Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The lack of written information on the practice of Zen meditation has always been an obstacle for Westerners who want to learn. This translation provides an authoritative exposition of the five levels of Zen, the aims and essentials of zazen, and the relation of zazen to enlightenment.

#2 The lack of written information on the practice of Zen meditation has always been an obstacle for Westerners who want to learn. This translation provides an authoritative exposition of the five levels of Zen, the aims and essentials of zazen, and the relation of zazen to enlightenment.

#3 To truly understand zazen, you must let go of all conceptions of body and mind. To realize perfect enlightenment, you must let fall all ideas of your body and your mind.

#4 The koan system may be misused in the Soto sect, as it is in the Rinzai sect. Soto masters do not assign shikan-taza to beginners, as they prefer to have them concentrate on counting their breaths or a burning desire for enlightenment before they introduce koans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Sep 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798350000696

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Insights on Roshi Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The lack of written information on how to practice Zen has always been an issue for Westerners eager to practice Zen. But with the help of these lectures, which were written by Yasutani-roshi for beginners, they can start their spiritual journey and eventually reach enlightenment.

#2

The focus on faith in Zen Buddhism, which is a prerequisite to enlightenment, may come as a surprise to Western readers. This stems from the teachings of Dogen-zenji, one of the imposing religious personalities of Japanese history, who brought the doctrines of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism from China to Japan.

#3

The practice of shikan-taza, a form of zazen, involves neither a koan nor counting or following the breaths. The foundation of shikan-taza is an unshakable faith that sitting as the Buddha sat, with the mind void of all conceptions, is the actualization or unfoldment of the inherently enlightened Bodhi-mind with which all are endowed.

#4

The koan system is not limited to the Rinzai sect. Soto masters also use koans in their teaching. They prefer to have the student first unify the mind through concentration on counting the breaths, or where a burning desire for enlightenment exists, to exhaust the discursive intellect through the imposition of a special type of Zen problem.

#5

Zazen is the foundation of satori. It is not just any kind of sitting, but the regulation of the breath, the stilling of thoughts, and the unification of the mind through special modes of concentration.

#6

Zazen practice for the student begins with counting the inhalations and exhalations while seated in the motionless zazen posture. This is the first step in the process of stilling the bodily functions, quieting discursive thoughts, and strengthening concentration.

#7

Zazen is not meditation, and it does not involve the visualization of an object or reflection on an idea. It simply involves the intense self-inquiry of What is Mu. The mind is freed from its bondage to thought forms and brought to a state of absolute emptiness, from which it may one day perceive its own true nature.

#8

The drive toward enlightenment is powered on the one hand by a painfully felt inner bondage, and on the other hand by the conviction that through awakening one can gain liberation. But it is in zazen that these energies are preserved and channeled into a unity.

#9

The Zen novice is instructed to focus the mind constantly at the tanden and to radiate all mental and bodily activities from that point. With the body-mind’s equilibrium centered in the hara region, a seat of consciousness is established there which influences the entire organism.

#10

The ability to think and act from the hara is only indirectly related to satori. Satori is a psychological experience conferring inner knowledge, while hara is simply what has been indicated. Masters of the traditional Japanese arts are all accomplished in thinking and acting from the hara, but few achieve satori without Zen training.

#11

Zazen, the practice of meditation, helps us understand the three characteristics of existence: that all things are impermanent, that life is pain, and that ultimately nothing is self-subsistent. Through zazen, we come to understand that our sufferings are rooted in a selfish grasping and in fears and terrors which spring from our ignorance of the true nature of life and death.

#12

Zazen, the practice of