E-Book Overview
Bestselling author and renowned Zen teacher Steve Hagen penetrates the most essential and enduring questions at the heart of the Buddha's teachings: How can we see the world in each moment, rather than merely as what we think, hope, or fear it is? How can we base our actions on reality, rather than on the longing and loathing of our hearts and minds? How can we live lives that are wise, compassionate, and in tune with reality? And how can we separate the wisdom of Buddhism from the cultural trappings and misconceptions that have come to be associated with it? Drawing on down-to-earth examples from everyday life and stories from Buddhist teachers past and present, Hagen tackles these fundamental inquiries with his trademark lucid, straightforward prose. The newcomer to Buddhism will be inspired by this accessible and provocative introduction, and those more familiar with Buddhism will welcome this much needed hands-on guide to understanding what it truly means to be awake. By being challenged to question what we take for granted, we come to see the world as it truly is. Buddhism Is Not What You Think offers a profound and clear path to a life of joy and freedom.
E-Book Content
BUDDHISM I S N O T W H AT Y O U T H I N K
BUDDHISM I S N O T W H AT Y O U T H I N K
Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs
Ste ve Hagen
To all my students
Contents
Epigraph Prologue: See for Yourself
xi
P a r t o n e : M u d d y Wat e r
1
Paradox and Confusion
3
2
Stepping on Reality
7
3
The Problem with Eradicating Evil
12
4 We’ve Got It All Backward
17
The Itch in Your Mind
24
5
6 A Mind of Winter
28
7 No Mystery
37
Rebirth, Not Reincarnation
42
9 The Deep Secret in Plain View
47
10 The Warp and Woof of Reality
50
Neither Sacred nor Profane
52
8
11
12 Canyons in a Cup
56
Contents
13
Just Seeing
60
14
The Revelation of the World
71
15
Liberation, Not Resignation
80
16 The Host Within the Host
86
Before Ideas Sprout
91
17
18 True Freedom
95
19 Misguided Meditation
99
20 Turning Things Around
104
21 It’s Enough to Be Awake
110
22
Life Without Measure
23 The Most Valuable Thing in the World
117 122
24
Before We Say
127
25
Needle in the Water
133
26 Why Seek Liberation?
140
Pa rt t w o : P u r e M i n d
27
Pure Mind
147
28
The Thing Well Made
151
29 Transforming Heart and Mind
158
30 Truth Is Nothing in Particular
164
31
Without Religious Egotism
168
32
Getting Out of Your Mind
174
[ viii ]
Contents
33
Forsaking Understanding
179
34
How Do We Know?
185
35
Nothing Else
192
36 It’s Not a Matter of Belief
196
Pa rt t h r e e : P u r e ly M i n d
37
How to Be Liberated on the Spot
203
38
This Will Never Come Again
208
39 The Elixir of Immortality
214
Ice Forming in Fire
222
40
41 Purely Mind
227
Time and Now
235
43 Enlightenment
243
42
Epilogue: Reality Is Not What You Think Acknowledgmen