In Infinite Circle, one of America's most distinctive Zen teachers takes a back-to-basics approach to Zen. Glassman illuminates three key teachings of Zen Buddhism, offering line-by-line commentary in clear, direct language: The Heart Sutra: the Buddha's essential discourse on emptiness, a central sutra of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. "The Identity of Relative and Absolute": an eighth-century poem by Shih-t'ou His-ch'ien, a key text of the Soto Zen school. The Zen precepts: the rules of conduct for laypeople and monks. His commentaries are based on workshops he gave as Abbot of the Zen Community of New York, and they contain within them the principles that became the foundation for the Greyston Mandala of community development organizations and the Zen Peacemaker Order.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Eric T
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
An enjoyably-easy-going, informative and corrective read. It has the potential to change your whole outlook on what you think life is.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By asp
Format:Paperback
This was one of my first books on Zen and it confused me more than it helped out. Years later I understand why: Glassman is not exactly an orthodox Zen teacher but more of a pan-spiritualist.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Each Reading A New Reward
4 Oct 2003
By John D. Buksbazen
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Infinite Circle: Teachings in Zen
by Bernie Glassman
by Bernie Glassman
This amazing little book is anything but little. It invites us into a world both familiar and inconceivable, and points to a practice which makes a difference in the world around us as well as within. Starting with the Heart Sutra, Roshi Bernie takes us into the relative realities we encounter moment by moment to the absolute oneness of life. Next, his commentary on The Identity of Relative and Absolute, presents the inseparability of the two seemingly opposite domains, and the implications of that . Finally, examining the Bodhisattva Precepts, he opens the aspects of the life of zazen in the everyday world. A wonderful wellspring to return to over and over again. Each reading a new reward.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tetsugen spells it all out
30 Jun 2002
By Andrew
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Bernie Glassman is one of the greatest American Zen teachers. In this book, he goes deeply into some core teachings of Zen. He starts with the Heart Sutra (Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra). When I started attending a Zen temple, the nightly chanting of this sutra always confused me, but Glassman's line-by-line analysis shows how this sutra contains great wisdom, and makes understanding clearer.
His analysis of the precepts has been the most helpful to me. He explains the various ways of interpreting each precept, and demonstrates the need for balance. For instance, one of the precepts is non-killing. Some sects of Buddhism extend this to not killing insects and micro-organisms. Glassman explains that to understand this precept, we need not follow it to this level, but we must be aware of it, and try to cause less damage. The precepts, on some level, are an admonition to try our best, and Glassman's discussion will help us to be peacemakers in each moment of our lives.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heart sutra explained
24 Sep 2003
By Shawn K. Smith
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Any Zen student could benfit from reading Bernie's analysis of the heart sutra, which is the subject of the first half of this book. Bernie throughly analyzes the sutra somtimes going as far as to analyze every syllable of a word. This may seem like it could be very dull. 70 or so pages of analysis on a 24 line sutra might seem a bit excessive, but Bernie some how keeps it interesting.
Considering the importance of the heart sutra in Zen practice it seems to me this book should probably be considered for required reading for all beginning Zen students. All of that withstanding there is still the second half of the book in which bernie offers more of the same insights on the identity of relative and absolute and the bodhisattva precepts. This is good stuff and a pretty easy read so I'd highly recommend it.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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