The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching,
Practice, and Enlightenment by Philip
Kapleau Roshi
There It Is!
World-renowned Buddhist teacher Roshi Kapleau brings a new
introduction to his twenty-five-year-old classic. Useful to both initiates and
long-term disciples alike, the comprehensive guide is an overview of the
profundities of Buddha. (Philosophy)
Personal Review: The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice,
and Enlightenment by Philip Kapleau Roshi
Truly a Masterpiece. Mine is the 35th Anniversary Edition. I am grateful
for the previous reviews covering this book. The only other Zen book I
have read is The Way of Zen by Alan Watts that of which Philip Kapleau
references with criticism as being a false work in many respects.
Shakyamuni Buddha's first words upon achieving enlightenment seem to
have been "Wonder of Wonders! Intrinsically all living beings are
Buddhas, endowed with wisdom and virtue, but because people's minds

have become inverted through delusive thinking they fail to perceive this."
The nature of every entity is without flaw. "Yet human beings, restless and
anxious, live half-crazed existences because their minds, heavily
encrusted with delusion, are turned topsy-turvey. We need therefore to
return to our original perfection, to see through the false image of
ourselves as incomplete and sinful, and to wake up our inherent purity and
wholeness."
"Through the practice of Bompu Zen you learn to concentrate and control
your mind. It never occurs to most people to try to control their minds, and
unfortunately this basic training has been left out of contemporary
education, not being what is called the acquisition of knowledge."
Thus Zen training works towards the "realization of our true nature" by
using tools such as ZaZen and Koans to directly point towards Self
realization. These tools work towards removing all delusive thought. The
Roshi or Zen priest is the catalyst to be used by the Zen student to achieve
an awakening and ultimately enlightenment. For Zen water represents
universal consciousness. Our minds have become clouded with impure
delusions. The goal is to remove the impurities that exist as delusions in
our mind in order to see our true or Buddha nature.
What I truly enjoyed from this book is the confidential discussions between
Roshi and students made public with student/Roshi consent. Specifically
that these students for the most part were common laypersons NOT
monks. Not just easterners but westerners. It was truly a joy to read about
the struggles to reach satori (enlightenment) and the subsequent peace
that is sustained in each of their lives.
In one discussion from a Roshi to a student; "It is true that the majority of
people think of themselves as a body and a mind, but that doesn't make
them any the less mistaken. The fact is that in their essential nature all
sentient beings transcend their body and their mind, which are not two but
one. The failure of human beings to perceive this fundamental truth is the
cause of their sufferings. As I said in my lecture this morning, human
beings are forever seeking and grasping. Why? They grasp for the world
because intuitively they long to be rejoined with that from which they have
been estranged through delusion."
And finally from the "Afterward" section of the book, Bodhin Kjolhede
candy coats the ironical American condition; "This core sense of
unworthiness would seem to be an outgrowth of our Western notion of the
autonomous self (in discussion at East-West conferences, Asian teachers
have been unable to grasp what we meant by it). It can be seen as the
underside of the American celebration of self, or even the shadow cast by
our Judeo-Christian God-concept. It may be masked by grandiosity or
self-confidence, but peel away enough layers and, more often than not,
there it is."

There it is! What fascinates me most about this book and Zen is how
closely it follows the teachings of "A Course In Miracles" or ACIM. To me
ACIM is the answer to the delusional Christian belief system. Yet Zen or
even Theravada Buddhism has been around for thousands of years. Our
True Self is perfect. Only a delusional thought system like Christianity
points you towards church every Sunday to convince you that you were
born a sinner and that you fall short of the glory with an unhealed healer
asking all to bow their heads in prayer (meditation) as it gets impressed
into their subconscious mind week after week after year after lifetime.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment by Philip Kapleau Roshi
5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!