4.0
The Other Side of Nothing
ByPublisher Description
A reader-friendly guide to Zen Buddhist ethics for modern times
In the West, Zen Buddhism has a reputation for paradoxes that defy logic. In particular, the Buddhist concept of nonduality — the realization that everything in the universe forms a single, integrated whole — is especially difficult to grasp. In The Other Side of Nothing, Zen teacher Brad Warner untangles the mystery and explains nonduality in plain English. To Warner, this is not just a philosophical problem: nonduality forms the bedrock of Zen ethics, and once we comprehend it, many of the perplexing aspects of Zen suddenly make sense.
Drawing on decades of Zen practice, he traces the interlocking relationship between Zen metaphysics and ethics, showing how a true understanding of reality — and the ultimate unity of all things — instills in us a sense of responsibility for the welfare of all beings. When we realize that our feeling of separateness from others is illusory, we have no desire to harm any creature. Warner ultimately presents an expansive overview of the Zen ethos that will give beginners and experts alike a deeper understanding of one of the world’s enduring spiritual traditions.
In the West, Zen Buddhism has a reputation for paradoxes that defy logic. In particular, the Buddhist concept of nonduality — the realization that everything in the universe forms a single, integrated whole — is especially difficult to grasp. In The Other Side of Nothing, Zen teacher Brad Warner untangles the mystery and explains nonduality in plain English. To Warner, this is not just a philosophical problem: nonduality forms the bedrock of Zen ethics, and once we comprehend it, many of the perplexing aspects of Zen suddenly make sense.
Drawing on decades of Zen practice, he traces the interlocking relationship between Zen metaphysics and ethics, showing how a true understanding of reality — and the ultimate unity of all things — instills in us a sense of responsibility for the welfare of all beings. When we realize that our feeling of separateness from others is illusory, we have no desire to harm any creature. Warner ultimately presents an expansive overview of the Zen ethos that will give beginners and experts alike a deeper understanding of one of the world’s enduring spiritual traditions.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Other Side of Nothing Reviews
4.0
“Booooooy this was a toughie. Took me quite a while to get through, but we did it!! And I really enjoyed it too. Definitely a more thorough examination of Zen philosophy than Brad's other books, but also accessible enough for a stupid dummy like me.
"Even when we seem to be blundering heedlessly, we're still just as much an expression of complete, unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment as we might be during some rarified moment of satori, or awakening. At this moment - right now - you are just as enlightened as anyone ever was or ever will be...
Life doesn't usually feel like a moment of Great Awakening. It feels like taking out the trash, or forgetting to pick up some bread on the way home. It feels like a traffic jam, or a long drawn-out meeting that didn't go anywhere at all. Or sometimes it feels good. You're having a great day with a close friend or a really good gig with the band. But even those times don't really match the kinds of fantasies people like us make up about Great Awakening."”
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