Nothing Holy about It: The Zen of Being Just Who You Are

by Tim Burkett, Norman Fischer (Foreword by)

Overview

When Bodhidharma, the legendary first ancestor of Zen, was asked about the main principle of his holy teaching, he’s said to have replied: “A vast emptiness—with nothing holy about it!” A millennium-and-a-half later, Tim Burkett finds that the answer still applies: you don’t need to go looking for something holy—buddha nature is right here in front of you. The concise summary of Zen teaching he presents in this book is expressed precisely in terms of what he found right in front of him: beginning with the delightful non-holiness he experienced in the presence of his original teacher, Shunyru Suzuki, and continuing through a lifetime of further teaching experiences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611801941
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	04/28/2015
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

TIM BURKETT, PhD, is Guiding Teacher of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also a licensed psychologist and director of a large mental health agency. He was a student of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and later of Dainin Katagiri Roshi, in whose lineage he is a dharma heir.

Table of Contents

Foreword Norman Fischer vii

Editor's Introduction xi

Part 1 Commitment to the Unknown

1 Awakening to the Longing 3

2 From Longing to Aspiration 18

3 Becoming Who We Already Are 35

Part 2 Calling in the Shards-We Start with the Self

4 To Study Buddhism Is to Study the Self 55

5 Making Peace with the Fear Body 71

6 Eating the Globefish 85

7 Healing the Splits 96

8 Bringing It All Back Home 109

Part 3 When Snow Falls, It Falls on Everything-Cultivating Equanimity and Compassion

9 Accommodating Ourselves to the Environment 117

10 Touching the Heart That Suffers 130

11 Forgetting the Self Is Our Only Refuge 148

Part 4 Staying on the Track-Even When the Sun Rises in the West

12 Five Hindrances That Point the Way 165

13 Training with the Hindrances 176

14 Continuous Practice-the Circle of the Way 188

15 Skin, Flesh, Bones, and Marrow 204

Part 5 Time Dissolving into Timelessness

16 Turtle Mountain Has Finally Awakened 225

17 Delusion and Enlightenment Have No Fixed Nature 240

18 Buddha's World-What a Wondrous Counterculture! 255

Epilogue: To Forget the Self Is to Become Intimate with All Life 273

Acknowledgments 277

Credits 279

Index 281

Editorial Reviews

"Amidst Tim Burkett's insights into Buddhism and life, there emerges a wonderful, intimate picture of Shunryu Suzuki. I learned a lot from this book."—David Chadwick, author of Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki

“Fresh and personal and full of great stories culled from a life devoted to the cultivation of wisdom and compassion. A wonderful testament.” —Red Pine, author of Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits

“I have long been aware of Tim Burkett’s deep respect and appreciation for his teacher, Suzuki Roshi. Now I know why. Here’s a touching account of how great an impact one life can have upon another.” —Steve Hagen, author of Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs

"Enjoy this wonderful, useful, profound yet modest book that expresses the true spirit of Zen. It and its warm-hearted author are blessings for the world, and I am honored and very pleased to introduce them to you."—from the foreword by Norman Fischer, author of Training in Compassion

From the Publisher