Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

I just finished rereading this classic, partly because it is frequently referenced as one of those transformative books read by the "big names" in modern American Buddhism, and partly because the first time I read it I was very new to practice and probably didn't give it a fair chance.

On a second read, I am still left wanting. There are bits and pieces that I can pull out and really grok, but on the whole I still feel as though I am missing a great deal. Maybe it is not mean to be read cover to cover but instead one "talk" at a time, that you then let simmer for a number of days (and which I did not do).

I know that a number of you here really like this book, so I am opening this thread to enable it to be discussed more fully.

Discuss.

IMHO, Dogen is much better

IMHO, Dogen is much better

-cmarti

Well, Suzuki does quote Dogen a fair bit. And I have to admit having read very little of Dogen, although I do have a PDF of "Shobogenzo". But I don't think at this stage I am ready for poetry: I need straight talk. Which might have contributed to my grasping for meaning in ZMBM, because he often used that elliptical Zen-speak that I have such a hard time with.

That, plus just about every other page had a "this is the most important point".-)