A lodestone of Zen Buddhism, the Platform Sutrapresents the life, work, and wisdom of Eno, or Huineng, the fascinating and much-loved seventh-century Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen. He was an illiterate woodcutter who famously attained enlightenment after only hearing a single line of the Diamond Sutra, and who went on to decisively upstage senior monks with a poem that demonstrated the depth and clarity of his insight. His example has demonstrated to generations of students and spiritual seekers worldwide that enlightenment is attainable regardless of education or social standing. His exhortations to directly perceive one’s true nature, right here and now, still reverberate in contemporary Zen.
Shodo Harada Roshi’s fresh reading of the Platform Sutra offers both the history behind the work and the lived experience of its wisdom. In a plain-English, conversational voice, Shodo Harada brings the sutra to life for his students, discussing and explaining its central points chapter by chapter and illustrating it with his own beautiful calligraphy. This is an essential Buddhist text brought to life.
BOOK INFORMATION- Paperback
- 248 pages, 6.00 x 9.00 inches
- ISBN 9781614291145
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shodo Harada Roshi is a highly respected Zen teacher and world-class calligrapher, whose students include many American and international Zen teachers. He is the disciple and Dharma heir of Yamada Mumon Roshi, also a renowned Zen master and calligrapher. In this lineage, calligraphies such as the ones in this book are used as one of several powerful means through which to teach the Dharma. Harada Roshi is the abbot of Sogenji Zen Monastery in Okayama, Japan, with plans to take up residence in Whidbey Island, Washington, amid his American Zen community.
Other books by Shodo Harada Roshi:
Moon by the Window
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