Reviews
“The Blue Cliff Record in One Volume” _Yuanwu Keqin / Kim Youngsa “Its subtlety is like rice flour, and its coldness is like ice and frost. It fills the heavens and earth, relinquishing brightness and severing darkness. When viewed from the lowest place, there is ample space; even from the highest place, it is insufficient to level it. Both clinging and acting are all within this; could there be a place of origin?” The statement that it is “subtle like rice flour and cold like ice and frost”
The *Blue Cliff Record* is famous for being a very difficult book. First of all, it is extremely thick because it is divided into a total of 100 precepts; furthermore, since it was not written all at once but rather collected and synthesized from lectures given in various places, it has a very complex structure. Therefore, I dared to take on the challenge of reading this book. Of course, I did so through *Reading the Blue Cliff Record in One Volume*. To be honest, even while reading *Reading
"A Must-Read for Zen Practitioners"—*The Blue Cliff Record* has been ceaselessly read by Zen practitioners for over 900 years. Despite being a highly abstruse and complex book, why do Zen practitioners seek it out? This book is said to be a collection of *Kongan* (Zen dialogues), formalized "dialogues of enlightenment" exchanged between a master and a disciple, intended to serve as a textbook for practice. It is truly a vivid guide for Zen practice. "While Zen originated from 'Dhyana' in India,
"Finding the path in koans, the world of inexpressible truth." While Zen originated from ‘Dhyana’ in India, it was Chinese Zen Buddhism that defined Zen as ‘true self-discovery.’ In India, Zen merely signified ‘mental stability and unity,’ whereas in Zen Buddhism, it means ‘realizing human nature.’ The history of Zen Buddhism is the very story of Zen masters who have embodied and practiced their own nature as the true Buddha, known as ‘purity.’ Danxia’s act of burning a wooden Buddha is the
Won-o Geuk-geun: The Blue Cliff Record in One Volume
The *Blue Cliff Record* has been cherished as an excellent guide to Zen practice for over 900 years since the Song Dynasty in China. It is the pinnacle of "Word-based Zen," which depicts the realm of truth beyond language, and can be considered the matrix of *Koan Zen*, which engages in direct inquiry through *Hwadu*. However, as a text renowned as the "foremost book of the Zen school," the *Blue Cliff Record* is so abstruse that it has long reigned as a formidable peak inaccessible to the general public. In response, Master Huiyuan, familiar from *The Record of the Buddha's Teachings in One Volume*, sheds light on a new path to ascend the majestic peaks of the *Blue Cliff Record*. "Reading the Blue Cliff Record in One Volume" is a masterpiece containing the experience and insight of an orthodox Zen scholar who has researched and lectured on Zen principles for over 30 years. It provides a detailed and accessible explanation of the precise meaning of the original text and the profound significance hidden within. Through this commentary, which is deep and detailed yet manageable in length, not only experts but also general readers will be able to appreciate the lively strategies of the Zen masters.
Korean title: 한 권으로 읽는 벽암록
Korean author: 원오 극근
Korean publisher: 김영사
ISBN-13: 9788934989578
Reviews
“The Blue Cliff Record in One Volume” _Yuanwu Keqin / Kim Youngsa “Its subtlety is like rice flour, and its coldness is like ice and frost. It fills the heavens and earth, relinquishing brightness and severing darkness. When viewed from the lowest place, there is ample space; even from the highest place, it is insufficient to level it. Both clinging and acting are all within this; could there be a place of origin?” The statement that it is “subtle like rice flour and cold like ice and frost”
The *Blue Cliff Record* is famous for being a very difficult book. First of all, it is extremely thick because it is divided into a total of 100 precepts; furthermore, since it was not written all at once but rather collected and synthesized from lectures given in various places, it has a very complex structure. Therefore, I dared to take on the challenge of reading this book. Of course, I did so through *Reading the Blue Cliff Record in One Volume*. To be honest, even while reading *Reading
"A Must-Read for Zen Practitioners"—*The Blue Cliff Record* has been ceaselessly read by Zen practitioners for over 900 years. Despite being a highly abstruse and complex book, why do Zen practitioners seek it out? This book is said to be a collection of *Kongan* (Zen dialogues), formalized "dialogues of enlightenment" exchanged between a master and a disciple, intended to serve as a textbook for practice. It is truly a vivid guide for Zen practice. "While Zen originated from 'Dhyana' in India,
"Finding the path in koans, the world of inexpressible truth." While Zen originated from ‘Dhyana’ in India, it was Chinese Zen Buddhism that defined Zen as ‘true self-discovery.’ In India, Zen merely signified ‘mental stability and unity,’ whereas in Zen Buddhism, it means ‘realizing human nature.’ The history of Zen Buddhism is the very story of Zen masters who have embodied and practiced their own nature as the true Buddha, known as ‘purity.’ Danxia’s act of burning a wooden Buddha is the
