Zen flesh, zen bones
by Paul Reps, Nyogen Senzaki · first published 1998
62% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short Zen stories and translated koans, each making a single point, with a classic Buddhist-precursor selection; suits readers who want brief teachings they can pick up and think over.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
When Zen Flesh, Zen Bones was published in 1957 it became an instant sensation with an entire generation of readers who were just beginning to experiment with Zen. Over the years it has inspired leading American Zen teachers, students, and practitioners. Its popularity is as high today as ever. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a book that offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can struggle over the meaning of Zen for themselves. It includes 101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers over a period of more
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…non-fiction, though I believe the central premise is a little tongue in cheek. An ancient Roman manuscript that's rediscovered and helps set off the enlightenment and our modern culture. For Buddhism I enjoyed Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps, mainly a collection of translated koans. If you've never it I recommend Godel Escher Bach : An Eternal Golden Braid, as it also likes to play with Buddhism. It's a book that tends to get…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books? I'm bored” ↗…Game" (Orson Scott Card) First SF book I remember reading. For me, it introduced the idea that it was okay being smarter than the adults around me as well as the beauty of having to rely on yourself. "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" (Paul Reps) Short zen stories that drive home a point per story. Suggest thinking about one of the stories for a whole day each and every day. Helped me relax and be okay with who I am and what I am…
on “Books That Changed My Life” ↗…help us see through the useful illusions we collect as a way of getting by in the world. [1] From http://www.101zenstories.com/index.php?story=1 and I'd encourage interested parties to buy Paul Reps's "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones", a delightful book of similar and related material. [2] You might also find a useful analogy in the Native American notion of a sacred clown, a heyoka: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heyoka
on “What Kind of Buddhist was Steve Jobs?” ↗Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Godel Escher Bach - Douglas Hofstadter Zen Flesh, Zen Bones - Translated by Paul Reps Maus I & II - Art Spiegelman Battle Angel Alita (original series) & B.A.A. Last Order - Yukito Kishiro
on “Ask HN: Which books have you re-read the most?” ↗Not a single one I haven't read more than three times... "Godel Escher Bach: An eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas Hoffstadter "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones" a collection by Paul Reps "Slaughterhouse Five" Kurt Vonnegut "Replay" by Ken Grimwood "Maus I" & "Maus II" by Art Spiegleman
on “Ask HN: Which books would you highly recommend?” ↗Zen flesh, Zen bones. - Translated by Paul Reps If I only had one book this would be it.
on “Ask HN: Which is the best spiritual book you have read?” ↗10 years ago - The Gulag Archipelago (Abridged) or One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich : Solzhenitsyn 20 years ago - Meditations : Marcus Aurelius 30 years ago - Zen Flesh Zen Bones : Paul Reps Any time: Anything by: Robert Sapolsky, John Gottman, Early Jonathan Lethem novels, Peter Clines, Margaret Atwood
on “Ask HN: What book would you recommend to your younger self?” ↗…dillard - goatwalking, jim corbett - Impostors of God: Inquiries into our favorite Idols, william stringfellow - the new testament, trans. by david bentley hart - the sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel - zen flesh, zen bones - moral man, immoral society -- neibuhr - principia discordia - the poetry and sermons of john donne - many other poets.
on “Ask HN: Books that gave you different perspective on religion” ↗…out of the subway and headed to work in the middle of a fierce snowstorm. “I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ and she said, ‘Why, where should I be?’” he recalled. It reminds me of a favorite bit from "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones": > Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees. > The pupils felt sorry to see the old…
on “96-Year-Old Secretary Quietly Amasses Fortune, Then Donates $8.2M” ↗On the topic - I found these books helpful: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Flesh,_Zen_Bones (which includes 101 zen stories) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Mind,_Beginner%27s_Mind
on “Zen Stories” ↗Agreed... ..also "Zen Flash, Zen Bones" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Flesh,_Zen_Bones http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl https://terebess.hu/zen/101ZenStones.pdf
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗I've read both. Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, is very good, but Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a transcendent and very useful classic if you are actively engaged in zazen practice.
on “Zen Stories” ↗"Zen Flesh Zen Bones" -Anonymous Buddhist precursors and a pile of Koans.
on “What Would You Recommend to a Bright 14 Year Old?” ↗The 101 stores were compiled in 1919 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101_Zen_Stories), and then reprinted by Paul Reps as Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (which is how I originally read them). The originals were written in the 13th century called Shasekishū (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shasekish%C5%AB) by the zen master Mujū. I'm not sure how copyrights…
on “101 Zen Stories” ↗…that is rung randomly a few times a day for exactly that purpose. One old form of mindfulness practice is to use breath changing from in to out or out to in as moments of mindfulness. See Centering in Zen Flesh Zen Bones translated by Paul Reps (from a document predating Buddhism): https://shivayashiva.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/centering-prac... There is also a kind of meditation practice called "just note gone" where…
on “Brain-stimulation trials get personal to lift depression” ↗