Beschrijving

The Shinjinmei (written in the 6th century by the monk Sosan) is the first of Zen’s four fundamental texts. Thus, it is central to all Zen lineages and schools, and an essential source of study for all Zen practitioners.Here, Philippe Coupey, a contemporary practicing monk for over 45 years, reflects on each of the 73 verses of this famous text. Despite its ancient roots, the Shinjinmei is still dynamic today, and Coupey’s commentaries are fresh and relevant to life in the 21st century. His remarks are not based on scholarly studies, as for some well-known translators, but on the understanding transmitted through a lineage of practice, teaching and commenting on the Shinjinmei by great teachers and masters of the traditions, including Coupey’s own teacher Taisen Deshimaru, who brought this practice to Europe in 1967.Zen today is often coopted by the dominant marketing paradigm, with all types of products branded this way, and loses its potency when it devolves into yet another form of relaxation. Not so here. Thanks to Philippe Coupey’s frank style of speaking and writing, like his teacher Deshimaru before him, Coupey reflects a raw, unreserved approach more in keeping with the ancient masters. His commentaries are also more exhaustive and detailed than others published so far. People who are tired of self-development “Zen” books might find real answers (and questions) here. The underlying message of the Shinjinmei is to avoid clinging to the extremes—left and right, good and bad, love and hate. The opening stanza reads: \