Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership

by Thomas Cleary (Translator)

Overview

This guide to enlightened conduct for people in positions of authority is based on the teachings of several great Chinese Zen masters. Drawing on private records, letters, and long-lost documents of the Song dynasty (tenth to thirteenth centuries), Zen Lessons consists of short excerpts written in language that is accessible to the reader without any background in Eastern philosophy. This book serves as a guide to recognizing the qualities of a genuine Zen teacher; it also serves as a study of the character and conduct necessary for the mastery of any position of power and authority—whether religious, social, political, or organizational.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570628832
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	04/20/2004
Pages:	168
Sales rank:	764,381
Product dimensions:	6.01(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

Thomas Cleary holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. He is the translator of more than fifty volumes of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Islamic texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Pali, and Arabic.

Table of Contents

	Translator's Introduction	xiii
	Notes on Sources	xxi
1.	Enlightened Virtue	1
2.	Study and Learning	1
3.	Great and Small Evil	2
4.	Honesty	2
5.	A Vessel of Enlightenment	3
6.	Modesty	4
7.	Rules	4
8.	Worry and Trouble	5
9.	A Swift Bird	6
10.	Work and the Way	6
11.	Hot and Cold	7
12.	Safety and Danger	7
13.	Three Essentials of Leadership	8
14.	Incompatibility	9
15.	Leadership and the Community	10
16.	Vermilion Outhouses	11
17.	Mastering Mind	11
18.	Mistrust	12
19.	The House of Homeleavers	12
20.	Chan Adepts	13
21.	Chan Communities	14
22.	Knowing People	14
23.	Virtue and Benevolence	15
24.	Mastery in Both Worlds	16
25.	An Inscrutable Buddha	17
26.	Great Light	17
27.	Essentials of Leadership	18
28.	Worry	18
29.	The Self-Pointer	19
30.	Defeatism	20
31.	Speech and Action	20
32.	Seeing Through	21
33.	Study without Turning Away from People	22
34.	Acting Too Early	23
35.	Continuing Education	23
36.	Decisions	24
37.	Personnel Problems	25
38.	Graduate Studies	25
39.	Sages and Ordinary People	26
40.	Being in the World without Misery	26
41.	Communication of Hearts	27
42.	Make the Way Wide	29
43.	No Deception	29
44.	The Chief Elder	30
45.	Passing the Test	30
46.	Farther and Farther	31
47.	Will	31
48.	Adding Dirt to a Mountain	31
49.	Loss of Integrity	32
50.	Mind and Traces	32
51.	Don't Rush	33
52.	The Call of Duty	33
53.	Hypocrisy	34
54.	Genuine Care	35
55.	The Use of Finery	35
56.	Advice to a King	36
57.	The Just	36
58.	Adaptation	37
59.	Selecting Associates	37
60.	Knowing People	38
61.	Insects	38
62.	Loftiness of Spirit	39
63.	Sincere Liking for Learning	39
64.	Timing	40
65.	Too Late	40
66.	Back to Basics	41
67.	Gradual Development	41
68.	Narrowmindedness and Indulgence	42
69.	Gain and Loss	42
70.	Overreaching Oneself	43
71.	Be Careful	44
72.	Good Leadership	45
73.	Two Winds	46
74.	The Obvious and the Unknown	47
75.	Beyond the Range of Arrows	48
76.	Commitment	49
77.	An Inimitable Teacher	49
78.	Self-Examination	50
79.	Storage and Development	51
80.	Sincerity and Truthfulness	51
81.	Correcting Faults	52
82.	The Phoenix and the Wolf	53
83.	Winning People	53
84.	The Community Mind	54
85.	Leadership and Pride	54
86.	Beginning and End	55
87.	Precedents	55
88.	Election	56
89.	The Best People	57
90.	Mind and Environment	57
91.	Frugality	58
92.	Deep and Shallow	58
93.	Lasting Peace	59
94.	Conduct	60
95.	The Air of the Ancients	60
96.	Considered Action	61
97.	Culture	61
98.	Rules	62
99.	Slogans	63
100.	See Yourself	63
101.	Recognizing a Teacher	64
102.	Balance	64
103.	Habit	65
104.	The Bequest of Extravagance	65
105.	The State of the Community	65
106.	What Are You Doing?	66
107.	The Influence of Conduct	67
108.	Retirement Home	68
109.	Education	68
110.	Great Teaching	69
111.	Expectations	70
112.	Nothing to Be Ashamed Of	70
113.	Beyond the Reach of Monks	71
114.	Signs of Good Government	72
115.	Insidious Destruction	72
116.	Iron Face Bing	73
117.	Inner Mastery, Outer Rectitude	73
118.	Someone of Perception	74
119.	Reflection	74
120.	A Wearer of the Patchwork Robe	75
121.	Energy and Will	76
122.	Persecution	76
123.	Human Figures	77
124.	A Life of Freedom	77
125.	Rich and Noble	78
126.	Learners and Dilettantes	79
127.	Self and Others	79
128.	Not in the Forefront	80
129.	The Quickest Shortcut	80
130.	Sincerity and Trustworthiness	81
131.	Materialism and the Way	81
132.	Impartiality	82
133.	Nature	82
134.	Feelings	83
135.	Discerning Feelings	83
136.	Natural Selection	84
137.	Controlling Bias	85
138.	Objectivity	86
139.	Heart-to-Heart Communication	86
140.	Government	87
141.	The Mean	88
142.	Peace amid Violence	88
143.	Whom to Elect	89
144.	Impartiality	89
145.	Examples	90
146.	Nominees	91
147.	Common Sense	91
148.	Misrepresentation	92
149.	A Memorial	92
150.	The Quality of Candidates	93
151.	Division of Responsibilities	94
152.	Exile of a Master	94
153.	Criticism	96
154.	Safety in the Community	96
155.	Making a Community Flourish	97
156.	Troubles	98
157.	Charades	98
158.	Grandees and Chan Teachers	99
159.	Authoritarianism	100
160.	Chan History	100
161.	Some Bad Habits	102
162.	A False Teaching	102
163.	Gifts of Teaching	103
164.	A Chan Master	104
165.	Buddhahood in This Life	104
166.	Casual Attire	105
167.	Showboats	106
168.	Personal Responsibility	106
169.	Uniforms	106
170.	The Discipline of Awareness	107
171.	Four Limbs of Leadership	107
172.	Thinking of Trouble	108
173.	A Direct Shortcut	109
174.	Nipping in the Bud	110
175.	A Thousand Days of Effort	110
176.	Trading Off	111
177.	Moving People	111
178.	A Retirement	112
179.	The Derelict Age	113
180.	Watering Melons at Midday	115
181.	A Testimonial	116
182.	A Demonstration	116
183.	A Diagnosis	117
184.	The Blue Cliff Record	118
185.	No Fixed Classes	119
186.	Leadership Training	119
187.	Penetrating Obstruction by Reason	120
188.	Teaching Government Officials	121
189.	The Peril of Leadership	121
190.	Killed but Not Shamed	122
191.	Choosing Assistants	122
192.	Superficiality and Depth	122
193.	The Mind of Saints and Sages	123
194.	History Review	123
195.	The Revival of the Linji School of Chan	124
196.	Custom	125
197.	The Good and the Corrupt	126
198.	Three Don'ts	126
199.	Wolves in Sheep's Clothing	127
200.	The Revealing Mirror of Truth	127
201.	Making Choices	128
202.	Loss of Order	128
203.	Making Distinctions	129
204.	Selecting Buddhas	130
205.	Recognition	130
206.	Fulfillment of Conditions	131
207.	An Impromptu Talk	131
208.	Governing Wild Foxes	132
209.	Balancing	133
210.	Talent and Capacity	133
211.	A Moment in History	133
212.	Sharing	134
213.	Growth	135
214.	A Successor to the Ancients	136
215.	The Ordinary Condition of Human Beings	137
216.	A Chan Master	138

Editorial Reviews

"Yuanwu's teaching, happily available to modern audiences in a vast body or literature, has a universality that transcends dogma and the narrow parameters of established religions."— The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health & Fitness

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