SŌKŌ MORINAGA : NOVICE TO MASTER An Ongoing Lesson in the Extent of My Own Stupidity

Everybody loves Novice to Master! As you’ll see in the glowing endorsements and reviews included below, this modern spiritual classic has been embraced by readers of all types.

In his singularly humorous and bitingly direct way, Zen abbot Sōkō Morinaga tells the story of his rigorous training at a Japanese Zen temple, his spiritual growth and his interactions with his students and others. Morinaga’s voice is uniquely tuned to the truth of the condition of the human mind and spirit and his reflections and interpretations are unvarnished and succinct. His great gift is the ability to lift the spirit of the reader all the while exposing the humility and weakness in the lives of people, none more so than his own.

Read on to see what everyone from Publishers Weekly to well-known Buddhist figures and even New York Timesbestselling author Anthony Swofford have to say about this one of a kind book!

• Paperback
• 160 pages, 5.00 x 8.00 inches
• ISBN 9780861713936

Sōkō Morinaga, was head of Hanazono University and abbot of Daishu-in in Kyoto, one of the twenty-four sub-temples of Daitoku-ji. After finding himself adrift following World War Two, he took up Zen training at Daishuin under Goto Zuigan, formerly abbot of Myoshin-ji and at that time abbot of Daitoku-ji. Morinaga later became the Dharma successor to Oda Sessō Rōshi, becoming head monk of Daitoku-ji. He taught regularly at Rinzai temples in California and in England during the latter part of his life. He is author of Pointers to Insight: Life of a Zen Monk, The Ceasing of Notions: Zen Text from the Tun-Huang Caves, and Novice to Master: An Ongoing Lesson in the Extent of My Own Stupidity. Morinaga Roshi passed away in 1995.

Other books by Sōkō Morinaga:
The Ceasing of Notions