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Real Zen for Real Life
- Narrated by: Professor Bret W. Davis
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
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Real Zen for Real Life
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Summary
What do you think of when you hear the word Zen? Many Westerners may associate Zen with the counterculture of the 1960s and '70s, while others may associate it with today’s hipster culture. Many use the word to simply mean laid-back and relaxed.
But what does Zen really mean? Zen is a school of Buddhism and a rigorous spiritual discipline. To understand what Zen is really about, it is vital not only to study its profound philosophical teachings, but also to engage in the practice of Zen. The word Zen means meditation, and Zen meditation is a practice of “clearing the heart-mind”. For Zen, an open mind entails an open heart, and this open heart-mind is the source of both creativity and compassion.
Professor Bret W. Davis, professor of philosophy and the T. J. Higgins, SJ, chair in philosophy at Loyola University Maryland, has created a highly accessible introduction to the philosophical concept of Zen with Real Zen for Real Life. Bringing the academic purview of a philosophy professor, the view of an academic scholar, and the spiritual experience of a practitioner and teacher of Zen, this course reflects the push and pull between Eastern and Western traditions and cultures with the goal of making the study and practice of Zen more accessible and engaging to all viewers.
Over the course of 24 lessons, including the eight meditation checkups within lessons, you will learn both what Zen has traditionally meant for East Asians and what it can mean for contemporary Westerners. Prepare to be challenged as Professor Davis asks you to set aside your preconceptions in order to open yourselves to what Zen masters who lived in the past and in distant lands have to teach you. You will especially need to be open to the possibility that Zen may be able to teach you about yourself. This course aims to challenge and inspire you, both intellectually and personally.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
What listeners say about Real Zen for Real Life
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- The world's greatest idiot
- 15-12-20
Fantastic course...highly practical.
This is a cracker, super easy to listen to and highly pragmatic. A joy for the beginner and the seasoned Zen student.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- MR. MATTHEW J GUMBLEY
- 01-01-23
A thorough course covering all aspects of Zen
This course was very enjoyable, with some parts being easy to understand, and some that will certainly require another listen, perhaps several listens. The material is superbly narrated by the professor, whose experience, and aspiration for the listener to understand, and ultimately achieve enlightenment- shines through. I recommend this course for anyone seeking to know themselves.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- mark watkins
- 30-11-22
A Great Course
An excellent introduction to Zen. The lecturer is very clear and the content is well explained. I highly recommend this course.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-04-21
Great. With some noticeable BUTS.
This lecturer is obviously not a fool: he is a tried and tested philosopher, he wrote books about Heidegger, and his personal story is interesting, basically a Western philosopher who lived in Japan to learn Eastern philosophy first hand. Hats off.
However, I feel that sometimes he washes down philosophy with platitudes such as "we are all interconnected ". I don't believe that for one second, and now more than ever before I am convinced that "in the end, each of us must stand alone.", as Schopenhauer wrote.
Also, elsewhere he takes the most extravagant leap by stating that "nihilism is a mistaken view" (don't remember exact words, but it was a similar statement). Well, I wish I could agree! Unless people can be resurrected and I am missing something, and unless I am delusional, which I am not, there is indeed nothing. Yes there's something now, but it will be gone soon, one must read Marcus Aurelius multiple times to understand that (I recommend the Oxford Classics edition).
I am no Buddhism expert as the lecturer is, but I have dabbled with it when I trained briefly in martial arts. The notion that "we are interconnected" is alien to me. If by that we mean that when I go to the supermarket someone roasted some chicken legs that I then buy, well, duh.
But interconnection has never truly existed between people. Maybe the lecturer means people SHOULD be interconnected. Anyways, these are but fantasies. All I can do is try to strengthen my own mind and stare at this desert around me.
Frankly, I don't care anymore. Complete isolation doesn't scare me, and I am glad of this. As Schopenhauer wrote: "Your ability to be alone is directly proportional to whether you have a rich inner life, or a poor one. Most people are like children: they cannot bear to be left alone. But anyone who has any inner worth will gladly do without other people.". and "Great minds are like eagles: they are found only on the highest peaks of solitude.". Isn't that true? Of course it is. Why else the Buddha himself, the Musashis, the Tsunetomos, and others like them, meditated alone in a cave or under a tree? Even many Wester philosophers have been loners. Schopenhauer explains all this clearly in his brilliant "Parerga" especially in the "Wisdom of Life" and the amazing "Counsels and Maxims" sections.
I feel that the lecturer is washing down the truth. Undoubtedly, he is doing this as a sincere effort to ease the existential pain of people, but it is a bit like telling children about Santa. I see this tendency with all the best thinkers today: they are all too afraid to state the truth. Though I am sure in their heart they know it. Still, I try not to look for perfection, but for uselfuness, and even though there's several things that do not convince me at all as to what Zen is claimed to be, I fully recommend the course to anyone. Even to myself.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Andrew UK
- 10-11-23
brilliant coverage of Zen Buddhism
I thoroughly enjoyed this each chapter bringing forth nuggets to reflect on.
it not just the content, or the journey through the content, the speaker himself is a wonderful narrator who knows his subject and covers it in a way to draw out the listener.
I looked forward to each chapter.
One of the best, if not the best thing that I've listened to on Audible for content, delivery and engagement.
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