Wanting Enlightenment is a Big Mistake: Teachings of ZEN Master Seung Sahn

WANTING ENLIGHTENMENT IS A BIG MISTAKE presents teaching stories by one of the foremost teachers of Zen in the West, whose influence spread far beyond the world of Korean Zen. Zen Master Seung Sahn established the Kwan Um School of Zen, with centers in Providence, Cambridge, New Haven, New York, Los Angeles, and Berkeley. (Today there are more than fifty centers of the Kwan Um School throughout the world.) Zen Master Seung Sahn was known for his powerful teaching style, which was direct, surprising, and often humorous. He taught that Zen is not about achieving a goal, but about dwelling in the realm “before thought” - and serving others. Zen Master Seung Sahn passed away in 2004, but one of his close American students has assembled a new collection of teachings stories, dialogues, and excerpts from the master’s talks. This book will be cherished by students of the Kwan Um School and by the many Zen students of other schools who enjoyed his popular earlier collection of teaching stories, DROPPING ASHES ON THE BUDDHA (Grove, 1976), and his book on Zen philosophy and practice, COMPASS OF ZEN (Shambhala, 1997).