Practical Zen (Julian Daizan Skinner)
A Spectrum of Zen Practices
[My 4-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Practical Zen: Meditation and Beyond” by Julian Daizan Skinner.]
There is a lot to like about this book. The writing is crisp, clear, and engaging, and author Daizan Skinner not only elaborates a spectrum of Zen practices, but also provides plenty of useful information pertaining to spiritual life in general.
Skinner, a veteran monk and the Dharma successor to Shinzan Miyamae, is intimately familiar with both Soto and Rinzai Zen. He spent a decade-and-a-half as a Soto monk before he soured on the tradition and moved on to Rinzai. Why did he sour on Soto? Because he realized that the passive Soto practice of “just sitting” didn’t work for most people, that people in general needed a “means of ignition” to get their spiritual life going. Hence, he turned to Rinzai and became a student of Miyamae.
Although Skinner describes a variety of practices, it’s clear which ones he favors. Because all Rinzai practitioners in Japan are now in Hakuin’s lineage, he emphasizes Hakuin’s dual system of Rikan (practices that help you connect with the truth of things and Nikan (practices that develop a grounded, energized system). While Rikan pertains to koans and counting/following the breath, Nikan is the Taoist alchemical practice of drawing energy down the front of the body into the hara, and even below to one’s feet. Regarding koans, the one Skinner favors is the question “Who am I?” He writes: “The most important koan is ‘Who am I?’ Everything comes from that.”
What’s there not to like about this book? While it’s a fine text for beginner-to-intermediate meditators, it won’t impress the cognoscenti, because it lacks an esoteric dimension and doesn’t “crack the code” of the Enlightenment project. In fact, the entire Zen tradition needs to be upgraded—and until a Zen teacher comes along who can do this, we won’t see great new Zen texts written.
[My 4-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Practical Zen: Meditation and Beyond” by Julian Daizan Skinner.]
There is a lot to like about this book. The writing is crisp, clear, and engaging, and author Daizan Skinner not only elaborates a spectrum of Zen practices, but also provides plenty of useful information pertaining to spiritual life in general.
Skinner, a veteran monk and the Dharma successor to Shinzan Miyamae, is intimately familiar with both Soto and Rinzai Zen. He spent a decade-and-a-half as a Soto monk before he soured on the tradition and moved on to Rinzai. Why did he sour on Soto? Because he realized that the passive Soto practice of “just sitting” didn’t work for most people, that people in general needed a “means of ignition” to get their spiritual life going. Hence, he turned to Rinzai and became a student of Miyamae.
Although Skinner describes a variety of practices, it’s clear which ones he favors. Because all Rinzai practitioners in Japan are now in Hakuin’s lineage, he emphasizes Hakuin’s dual system of Rikan (practices that help you connect with the truth of things and Nikan (practices that develop a grounded, energized system). While Rikan pertains to koans and counting/following the breath, Nikan is the Taoist alchemical practice of drawing energy down the front of the body into the hara, and even below to one’s feet. Regarding koans, the one Skinner favors is the question “Who am I?” He writes: “The most important koan is ‘Who am I?’ Everything comes from that.”
What’s there not to like about this book? While it’s a fine text for beginner-to-intermediate meditators, it won’t impress the cognoscenti, because it lacks an esoteric dimension and doesn’t “crack the code” of the Enlightenment project. In fact, the entire Zen tradition needs to be upgraded—and until a Zen teacher comes along who can do this, we won’t see great new Zen texts written.
