Additional information
by Master Laughing Cloud (Author)
The Buddha's Teaching directly addresses the problems of birth, aging, sickness, and death, allowing its practitioners to transcend affliction. It is therefore the highest form of compassion. The heart of this teaching is Dhyana, sometimes called Zen or Chan.In this heart of Buddhism, it is understood that the ultimate compassion of the Buddha's Teaching is a self-evident truth that that can be realized in this life. The heart of this teaching is not foreign to Western mind because the fundamental human problems of birth, aging, sickness, and death are not foreign. However, when teachers' conduct and words do not match, there is a serious problem. Should Zen teachers be immune to the results of their actions, their transgressions buried to preserve teaching lines?Master Laughing Cloud is a Western lay practitioner who writes from the direct experience of more than forty years of arduous bare-knuckled practice that took the form of Western Zen, Chinese Chan, and, ultimately, Dhyana Buddhism.Taking The Buddha's Teaching is an odyssey of unlikely beginnings, courageous encounters, and overcoming betrayal through unrelenting practice. This approachable and sincere autobiography illuminates the way to realizing the nature of Self and Universe and how even when facing adversity, one can be a light unto oneself. In this present-day continuum of war, civil inequality, and financial instability, it is the greatest of blessings to come to the open gate of The Buddha's Teaching. If you aspire to fully enter The Great Way, this book is indispensable reading.
Author Biography
P.F. Martin (Master Laughing Cloud) was born into a sea of opulence. He saw from an early age that suffering was not eliminated by material comfort and peaceful surroundings. Inexplicably, at the age of 13, he heard a recording of Bach's organ works that unleashed a visage and resonance of ethereal and earthly energy in counterpoint to the suffering he saw. After building a harpsichord at age 16, Martin channeled this energy and power by studying university mathematics and physics in an attempt to fuse with the Universe beyond affliction. However, this fell far short. It was then that he came across a book on Chinese Zen (Chan) Buddhism offering a new dawn of possibility. This began over 40 years of unrelenting practice of Zen Buddhism that transcended betrayal by a teaching line, becoming a disciple of Great Master Sheng-yen, and ultimately practicing Dhyana Buddhism in solitude for 9 years.
