Song of Mind

October 25, 2004
This book combines commentary on a seventh-century classic poem from Chinese Zen (Chan) Buddhism with dharma, or teaching, talks from retreats. The format works: it gives focus to the talks while also making textual commentary livelier and very 21st-century in application. Chinese Zen is not as well known in America as the Japanese forms, so the book is fresh in that respect. Sheng Yen is not as poetic as some Zen masters, such as Shunryu Suzuki and others in his lineage, but the Chan master has compelling command of the challenging mental paradoxes at the heart of Zen. This down-to-earth book is not for beginners, but it is eminently practical because of its derivation from retreat talks. The master describes many problems common to sitting meditation—chronic wandering thoughts, pains in the legs and pseudo-enlightenment states—and his responses to them essentially boil down to, unsurprisingly, practice, practice, practice. He also helpfully throws cold water on the pretentiousness of those who believe that Buddhism is an excuse for bizarre behavior. This practice-oriented book is like a good "incense board"—the stick used on students who request it during sitting meditation to prod them to greater effort.