Inside the grass hut : living Shitou's classic Zen poem

Inside the grass hut Living Shitou's classic Zen poem

Ben Connelly

Book - 2014

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Subjects
Shitou, > 700-791. > Cao an ge.
Spiritual life > Zen Buddhism.
Published
Boston : Wisdom Publications [2014]
©2014
Language
English
Main Author
Ben Connelly (author)
Physical Description
207 pages
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781614291213
  • Foreword
  • Introduction
  • A Note on Chanting and Recitation
  • Song of the Gross-Roof Hermitage by Shitou
  • 1. Living Simply in the Changes
  • I've built a grass hut where there's nothing of value.
  • 2. Enjoying the Middle Way
  • After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
  • 3. Unwithering Fertility
  • When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
  • 4. Here with the Weeds
  • Now it's been lived in-covered by weeds.
  • 5. Who Is This Person?
  • The person in the hut lives here calmly...
  • 6. Cultivating the Way, Inside and Out
  • Not stuck to inside, outside, or in between.
  • 7. Retreat and Living in the World
  • Places worldly people live, he doesn't live.
  • 8. What Do You Mean When You Say "Love"?
  • Reolms worldly people love, he doesn't love.
  • 9. Everything's Included
  • Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.
  • 10. Ten Feet Square
  • In ten feet square, an old man illumines forms and their nature.
  • 11. Trust, Faith, and Ease
  • A Great Vehicle bodhisattva trusts without doubt.
  • 12. Don't Judge
  • The middling or lowly can't help wondering...
  • 13. Life and Death Is the Great Matter
  • Will this hut perish or not?
  • 14. Who Is the Original Master?
  • Perishable or not, the original master is present...
  • 15. Have You Ever Transcended Space and Time?
  • Not dwelling south or north, east or west.
  • 16. The Foundation of Freedom
  • Firmly based on steadiness, it can't be surpassed.
  • 17. Light on the Mountain
  • A shining window below the green pines...
  • 18. Zen Plays with Irony
  • Jade palaces or vermilion towers can't compare with it.
  • 19. Protection, Shelter, Refuge
  • Just sitting with head covered, all things are at rest.
  • 20. Only Don't Know
  • Thus, this mountain monk doesn't understand at all.
  • 21. Home Is Where You Are
  • Living here he no longer works to get free.
  • 22. Host and Guests
  • Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?
  • 23. Buddhism Is Meditation and Kindness
  • Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.
  • 24. What Do You Depend On?
  • The vast inconceivable source can't be faced or turned away from.
  • 25. Meeting Our Teachers
  • Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instruction...
  • 26. Don't Give Up
  • Bind grasses to build a hut, and don't give up.
  • 27. Freedom from the Past
  • Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.
  • 28. Lay Down My Sword and Shield
  • Open your hands and walk, innocent.
  • 29. The Joys of the Human Mind
  • Thousands of words, myriad interpretations...
  • 30. One Taste
  • Are only to free you from obstructions.
  • 31. Timeless Intimacy
  • If you want to know the undying person in the hut...
  • 32. Here and Now
  • Don't separate from this skin bag here and now.
  • Acknowledgments
  • Selected Bibliography
  • Index
  • About the Author
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Shitou's "Song of the Grass-Roof Hermitage" is not as well-known as his poem "Harmony of Difference and Sameness." Connelly, a Soto Zen priest in Minnesota, turns his attention to the a deceptively simple 32-line poem, which depicts the quiet lifestyle and worldview of a person living in a grass hut. Connelly offers line-by-line meditations, extracting lessons on how to live simply, let go of habitual thoughts, and connect with the world as it is encountered. His analysis will speak to those familiar with Buddhist thought, but it also provides gentle guidance about accepting both oneself and one's surroundings to the uninitiated. Above all, his wish for this book is that he "[hopes] it helps you to be kind", reinforcing his emphasis on living the Buddhist path in all its difficulties rather than reading or thinking one's way through it. Connelly's reconsideration of a poem that still has much to teach the modern world is a welcome addition to the literature. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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