Seung Sahn: 5 books

Zen is famous for koans (called kong-ans in Korean, and in this book), those bizarre and seemingly unanswerable questions Zen masters pose to their students to check their realization (such as "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"). Fear of koans keeps some people from ever giving Zen...

Here is the inimitable Zen Master Seung Sahn up close and personal—in selections from the correspondence that was one of his primary modes of teaching. Seung Sahn received hundreds of letters per month, each of which he answered personally, and some of the best of which are included here. His frank...

This remarkable Zen book is of great importance not only for the variety of the 365 kong-ans, but for Zen Master Seung Sahn's own questions and commentary which accompany each kong-an. This prodding and guidance serve as guideposts along a difficult road to enlightenment. The kong-ans themselves and...

A major figure in the transmission of Zen to the West, Zen Master Seung Sahn was known for his powerful teaching style, which was direct, surprising, and often humorous. He taught that Zen is not about achieving a goal, but about acting spontaneously from "don’t-know mind." It is from...

The Compass of Zen is a simple, exhaustive—and often hilarious—presentation of the essence of Zen by a modern Zen Master of considerable renown. In his many years of teaching throughout the world, the Korean-born Zen Master Seung Sahn has become known for his ability to cut to the heart of Buddhist...