Only Don't Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn

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 and funny style, familiar to readers of Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, is seen here in a most intimate form. The beloved Zen master not only answers questions on Zen teaching and practice, but applies an enlightened approach to problems with work, relationships, suffering, and the teacher-student relationship.

The Dear Abby of Zen, Seung Sahn must be one the most prolific letter writers in history, not to mention one of the most successful Zen masters. With more than 60 centers on six continents, Seung Sahn has inspired thousands of students to take up Zen practice and has managed the seemingly impossible task of nurturing a genuine monastic Zen tradition on Western soil. Many of these students write him letters with their questions, and he never fails to respond. Only Don't Know is a collection of some of these letter's and Seung Sahn's replies, the title being an abbreviation of his cryptic refrain, "If you don't know, only go straight--don't know." The inquirers range from beginners wanting to know what to expect of enlightenment to monastics seeking direction on their path. A man who works in a windowless office, a woman preparing for a chanting retreat, a professor of religion--the writers and the topics come from all corners, Seung Sahn cajoling, versifying, ranting, or telling stories as the situation requires. He even resorts to drawing, as demonstrated in a series of pictorial correspondence that is a priceless example of wordless communication. --Brian Bruya