Who would want to criticise Suzuki-roshi, perhaps the best-loved figure in American Zen, or this wise, likeable book, the result of a lifetime's dedicated practice? Still it does show up the limitations of Sôtô Zen as practised in Japan, and still more when seeded overseas.

Sôtô Zen leads to an open-ended model of practice. You sit for the sake of sitting, not to achieve anything. Your practice goes on and on like a meandering river, now swift and narrow, now broad and slow, and now troubled by rocks and rapids. Whatever happens in meditation you "let go" of it and start again tomorrow with a "beginner's mind".
The notion of aiming at Enlightenment is anathema. That is Dualistic Thinking. Aren't Practice and Enlightenment one and the same?

But read the Pali Canon. You'll find that hundreds of times the Buddha urges his listeners to work with all their strength to attain Enlightenment. Why the contradiction?
From the highest standpoint, of course you can't attain Enlightenment: in Enlightenment there is no You, no Attainment. But this is a level of truth beyond most of us. No-one was ever nourished by pictures of food and no-one was ever enlightened by repeating words like "Nonduality" or "Must avoid Dualistic Thinking".

Have you experienced a Nondual state, with self and world perceived as One? Or a state of pure Unity beyond time and space, without subject or object? Can you "drop off body and mind" like Dôgen-Zenji or "dwell without thought-coverings" as in the Heart Sutra? If the answer is No, then saying that Practice and Enlightenment are one and the same is like someone stuck out in the snow and the freezing wind, miles from home, repeating, "My house is cosy and warm; my house is cosy and warm".

Read the teachings of two Japanese Sôtô Ancestors: Dôgen-Zenji's "Zazenshin" and Keizan-Zenji's "Zazen Yojinki". Both are findable online or in John Daido Loori's book "The Art of Just Sitting".
Better still read the "Practice-Instructions" of Hung-chih Ch'an-shih, in "Cultivating the Empty Field". Also purely Sôtô (Ts'ao-tung) in outlook, these haunting poetic paragraphs tell you as much as can be said: and all you need then is the courage to put it into practice.

I was looking for a Zen book to help relieve work stress. Reading this book helpped me understanding my ignorance. I cannot claim I now know Zen since that would defeat the author's goal of teaching "Beginner's Mind". Learning is a continuos process so Zen is a practice, not an end to understanding a subject. Other than the concept of "Begginer's Mind", I thought "No Gaining Thought" is intriguing in looking at the world and doing the things you want to do in life. A great book to go back repeatedly.

Nutshell review - This is a beautiful book on Zen. It is an excellent book both for the novice and the seasoned practitioner. There are some valuable insights and lessons in this little book for anyone interested in Zen.

I can't count how many times I have read this book. this book is the rudder in my life.

Again, I'll make this review very quick. A great book, although sometimes comfusing with apparently paradoxical language (which is fairly commen in zen buddhism). That aside, this book can be very helpful for beginner as well as long-practicing buddhists. It is especially helpful for any home-practicing buddhist out there who do not have the added benefit of a zendo nearby. An even better bonus is that it can be found online for free if you look hard enough. cheers.

When I began on the Zen path in the 1980's I read several books all of which helped some . Like a lot of people I preferred the more dramatic ones like Zen in the Art of Archery, The Method of Zen etc.. and they did sustain my interest but two books which I came to and began to read over and over were the Tao Te Ching and Zen Mind. And I believe the reason is that they resonated with my zazen practice. They seemed most like the actual event of sitting itself. In the chapter entitled Nothing Special Suzuki begins by saying " I do not feel like speaking after zazen. I feel the practice of zazen is enough...strictly speaking, for a human being there is no other practice than this practice. There is no other way of life than this way of life. Zen practice is the direct expression of our true nature."
If Zen verbal teachings are at their best just fingers pointing at the moon then the best teachings are those which most directly resemble the non-verbal ones and these words come close to doing just that. They are imbued with the highly elusive wisdom the Zen path conveys and are steeped in that wisdom. And they are simple ,direct and accessible to all.
The Tao has this same quality and like Zen Mind speaks directly to what is always already awake in all of us.

I've read this book a couple of times....the first time I had no idea what Roshi was talking about, but somehow I did. The second time around I had six months of Zen practice and the book took on a totally new meaning...although I still didn't quite get everything at great depth. I feel that each read will only deepen my understanding and lessen my ignorance. Great book.

This book is a great into to Zen. It describes how to meditate Zen style in great detail and clearly. The ideas are though provoking and different. It's a great book for those who have read a lot of self help and are looking for something 'deeper' and more challenging. Something to flex your mind muscles! The language is clear and the book is not as esoteric as other Zen writings. The ideas are sometimes complex and therefore difficult to absorb, but this is why you want to read it, because once you get it, the wisdom is priceless. It definitely is a good, serious read on the subject of Zen.

The information on this CD is well organized and insightful. I was a little dissapointed in the audio not being of good quality. Sometimes, though, the meaning of the words are more important than how they are heard.

This book is a must have for anyone looking to better understand the Zen philosophy or gain introspective on themselves. The title is a bit misleading as is explained within the preface. This is a book that would be well read with someone with no knowledge of Zen or expansive knowledge. It is a book that definitely can (and will be by me) read many times!!

As a meditation teacher I found this text invaluable in understanding Zen Buddhism's meditation methods. It is important when teaching to have knowledge of different philosophies and teachings of meditation. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a foundation text for this understanding. I have already recommended it to others. A great buy and, I should add great service from Amazon for us antipodeans. Cheers from Australia. Ed.

I really started off with this book to gain more spiritual knowledge about Zen and meditation. Like many of the Zen-less people who want to give it a try I found this book not stimulating enough to continue practice.

The book's contents should apply to anyone who is really willing to change their lives in order to Zen more and more. For me, this book was a personal adventure giving a shot at Zen but ending up not practicing it.

If you like to try out Zen, pick up this book. When you have a very busy life and want to use Zen to relax, this may not work though. If you like sports maybe you'd prefer to read 'Sacred Hoops' by Phil Jackson first.

Outstanding book on Zen theory and a little on practicing meditation. Basically this is like having a chance to sit in on a Dharma talk with a revered Master of the Soto tradition. I have read it over and over. It's easy to read, straightforward, and continues to provide great advice after several years of practice. I gave my last copy away to a friend and bought the hardcover version for my own collection so it will hopefully last a lifetime. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Zen, whether you're just curious or are already a committed practitioner.

Outstanding book on Zen theory and a little on practicing meditation. Basically this is like having a chance to sit in on a Dharma talk with a revered Master of the Soto tradition. I have read it over and over. It's easy to read, straightforward, and continues to provide great advice after several years of practice. I gave my last copy away to a friend and bought the hardcover version for my own collection so it will hopefully last a lifetime. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Zen, whether you're just curious or are already a committed practitioner.

"True understanding is actual practice itself." (page 97). "Moment after moment to watch your breathing, to watch your posture is true nature. There is no secret beyond this point." (page 135). The best way to develop Buddhism is to sit in zazen-just to sit, with a firm conviction in our true nature. This way is much better than to read books or study the philosophy of Buddhism." (page 130). "Teaching is no substitute for practice." (page 135). "If you want to be sincere Buddhist the best way is to sit." (page 130).
This is a too long a summery of the essence of Sazuki's message. Zen in the end is a practice that is beyond words. Words get in the way. My review already has too many words. This is good book but I give it only three stars to demonstrate that unlike many other reviewers I don't have "some kind of excitement" about the words in this book and don't focus on it and rave about it as if it is some kind of a Bible. That would not be Zen like. I have got to stop so that you can go and sit quietly. That is all you really have to do according to Shunryu Sazuki.