Zen Keys

Zen Keys by Thich Nhat Hanh does a wonderful job of introducing the reader to the world of Zen, explaining ideas in easy to understand language that makes sense. You learn that Zen is not something external to seek - not a mysterious pearl that only seasoned gurus can get their hands on. Rather, Zen exists, fully, within every single person. That awakening is right there and is waiting to be found.

The book can get a little heavy at times in names and history, but there will be some who appreciate all of that information.

Thich explains that zen is about being mindful of every step, every action you take. It is not about hiding away in a monastery, necessarily - but rather about being fully engaged in every moment of your day. Where many people are caught up in a producing-consuming treadmill, we need to be comfortable with quite, calm, and just "being".

I'm a little hesitant about Thich claiming that "Zen seems to be more authentic" than other religions, I would rather consider that there are multiple paths which can be equally authentic.

There are a number of koans included in the book. Thich makes a point of explaining that koans are not a one-size-fits-all riddle that every person can decipher and figure out. Rather, koans were created for a specific person, in a specific time of their life. It's as if a football coach said to his quarterback "breathe the juice". For outsiders that might be complete nonsense. But if the coach and quarterback had talked about metaphors for years about how juice flows your body, and how juice is an energy which comes from a calm mind, and so on, this might be the perfect thing for the coach to say to him at this moment. It would NOT be the perfect thing for a piano coach to say to her student - she would choose her own metaphor and words to get her message across. So trying to "figure out" someone else's koan can be an exercise in futility.

Still, it's always fun to read through koans, and I did have a favorite in the listing. It was:

"Only the one who drinks
knows exactly whether
the drink is warm or cold."

Well recommended.

Buy Zen Keys from Amazon.com

Buddhist Basics