Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin

If you are looking for some straight talk on Zen, Hakuin dishes it up without ketchup. Essential for the library of all Zen students. And a fascinating read for anyone interested in Zen, eastern religion, traditional wisdom, or just fresh perspectives on the nature of life, death, reality and the human condition. Norman Waddell has done us all a great service by providing this lovely translation of the Zen teachings of this popular, no holds barred Zen master. Pure blood and guts Zen from page one right through to the index!

This is an excellent and compelling work. Hakuin's teachings are well represented and this is an excellent source for those interested in deepening their "intellectual" understanding of Buddhism.

It would be easy to underestimate this thin little book, both because of its unprepossessing format and its blandly generic title vaguely suggesting a dull if edifying anthology. That would be a mistake. In typical Zen fashion it's short and to the point, and it's a translation of a single text that would change the course of Rinzai Zen history forever. Indeed, whatever Rinzai Zen may have been before Hakuin came along in the 1700's, his reforms redefined it thoroughly, utterly reformulating and reorganizing it according to his keen firebrand religiosity. Rinzai Zen as we know it today (and as it was introduced to the West by D.T. Suzuki) is for all intents and purposes Hakuin's Rinzai Zen, and the entirety of his approach is more or less thoroughly outlined in the text translated here, the "Sokko-roku Kaien-fusetsu" of 1743. Based on a lecture given by Hakuin in 1740, it's ostensibly a introductory pep talk to encourage his disciples along in their Zen practice, but it quickly bursts the confines of this usually stilted genre and winds up as an impassioned statement of what Hakuin considered authentic Zen practice and a harshly and yet humorously polemic denunciation of what he felt was the moribund state of Zen in his day. This is Hakuin's Zen in a nutshell, folks, unequivocally announced to the world for the first time in this important text. Hakuin's prose is incredibly engaging, full of hyperbole and humor, sarcasm and spirituality, entertaining asides and startling diatribes, erudite scriptural references and crassly vulgar remarks. And Norman Waddell's virtuoso translation does full justice to Hakuin's eccentric style, capturing his shifts in tone perfectly and not afraid to take the kid gloves off and let him sound as colloquial as he wants to be (and that includes bad words, boys and girls). That he can do this with such careful craftsmanship and thus make Hakuin sound alive and current without being euphemistically goody-two-shoes or else uncharacteristically contemporary shows a fine-tuned, balanced translating sense that in the end makes this key Zen document a joy to read. Extensive yet unobtrusive notes, appendixes, and a fine introduction complete this text well, and samples of Hakuin's calligraphy and painting round it off nicely. Zen practitioners will find Hakuin's exhortations extremely moving and inspiring, and students and scholars of Zen Buddhism and Japanese religious history will find this essential formulation of Hakuin's Rinzai Zen Buddhism a significant and highly useful text. It's also nice and short, and so would serve very well as a primary source in a university course on these subjects. Highly recommended for all concerned.

Currently Professor of International Studies at Otani University in Kyoto and editor of 'The Eastern Buddhist,'Norman Waddell has made a name for himself with some sterling translations of Buddhist material('Unborn:.The Life & Teachings of Bankei.'Hakuin Zenji's 'Itsumadegusa' etc.). He has excelled himself with this latest endeavour, a translation of Hakuin Zenji's (1686-1769)'Sokko-roku Kaien Fusetsu' - a key text from the renowned reformer of Zen in the Tokugawa. For convenience sake, Waddell has titled this work 'The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin.' It is certainly that, of course, but it shows Hakuin's indebtedness to his precursors, being Hakuin's commentary on the records of the Chinese Sung master Sokko (Chin. Hsi-keng, 1185-12699), more commonly known in Japanese Zen circles as Kido Chigu - or simply 'Kido.' Texts of this sort have been required reading for Zen students - as a spur to their training. Happily, this translation is the nearest you could get to reading the original text - and, as such, it will undoubtedly fulfil similar needs among Western Zen students. Waddell has captured well the terse, relentless flow of Hakuin's thought - geared up to encourage Zen practice. As such, it will seem like being thrown at the deep end, to a reader taking a first glimpse into Zen material, but such was Hakuin's purpose. Seasoned practitioners will derive immense benefit from this text. The English translation, with extensive notes, appendices and index, amounts to a mere 137 pages, but so much energy has been compressed into Hakuin's words, this little text seems rather like one of those mysterious, tiny white stars, emitting radiation seemingly disproportionate to their size. In the hands of a less skilful translator, that effect would have been dissipated - but,Waddell has made Hakuin's words live, all over again, in this sterling piece of translation. The extensive notes and appendices are very helpful -without being tedious or cumbersome. I recommend this text to anyone, with a serious interest in Zen. It will take its place as a classic in Western Zen sources.

The "golden age" of Zen was in the T'ang Dynasty (619-906) in China. By early eighteenth century, what was left of Zen in Japan wasn't much. But the strength of Zen is in the individuals, the truly liberated spirits, it produces, and early eighteen century Japan saw one of the greatest ever: Hakuin Zenji (1685-1768). This book is a translation of what is considered the most important text by this legendary exponent of the Rinzai Zen tradition. Hakuin was a man of high standards, and he had little patience for the soft soothing "Zen" of his day. He pulls no punches in his criticism: "At present, this country is infested with a race of smooth-tongued, worldly-wise Zen teachers who feed their students a ration of utter nonsense" (pp. 24f); "Now that's not even good rubbish" (p. 52); "Phffmp! What graveyard did you pillage for those old left-over offerings?" (p. 92). (Waddell's lively translation contributes to one's appreciation of this dynamic personality.) For Hakuin, what was most important was the breakthrough *kensho* experience, reached after years of rigorous meditation practice; apart from *kensho*, the words and ideas of Zen are worthless and meaningless. Hakuin's Zen represents a level of authenticity consonant with the height of Zen in the T'ang Dynasty. It is a Zen that focuses on the central matter relentlessly, and has absolutely no use for anything that serves to distract from this. In this respect, Hakuin's words may be a useful corrective to some of the more diffuse, feel-good, self-satisfying elements of the New Age. I would not necessarily recommend this book to someone who knew nothing about Zen; at least a cursory knowledge of classical Zen is useful in making sense of Hakuin's many references to great Zen Masters of the past. Not the best starting book, but any serious study of Zen will eventually involve confronting this fiercely determined defender of authentic Zen, and this book is undoubtedly the best English introduction to Hakuin.