Invoking Reality: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen

by John Daido Loori

There is a common misconception that to practice Zen is to practice meditation and nothing else. In truth, traditionally, the practice of meditation goes hand-in-hand with moral conduct. In Invoking Reality , John Daido Loori, one of the leading Zen teachers in America today, presents and explains the ethical precepts of Zen as essential aspects of Zen training and development.

The Buddhist teachings on morality—the precepts—predate Zen, going all the way back to the Buddha himself. They describe, in essence, how a buddha, or awakened person, lives his or her life in the world.


Loori provides a modern interpretation of the precepts and discusses the ethical significance of these vows as guidelines for living. “Zen is a practice that takes place within the world,” he says, “based on moral and ethical teachings that have been handed down from generation to generation.” In his view, the Buddhist precepts form one of the most vital areas of spiritual practice.

Genres: Buddhism, Zen, Nonfiction, Spirituality

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 1998

About the author

John Daido Loori was a Zen Buddhist rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery. He was the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism and CEO of Dharma Communications.

Reviews

[Dan Patel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great piece on the value of the precepts and their grounding of absolute truth. Only hang-up I had was on the precept “do not cloud the mind,” where I found his discussion to be dated. Specifically, the phrase “there is no connection whatsoever between [psychedelics] and genuine spiritual practice.” Im fine with saying that drugs do not have a place in the zen tradition, but I’m also not gonna say that Native American religions that use peyote are not “genuine spiritual practice.” I don’t know anything about them!

Also, the phrase “there is an enormous difference between taking a puff on a cigarette and filling your lungs with crack.” Especially in light of Daido being a heavy cigarette smoker all his life, he sounds here like an old white man trashing the “criminals” he hears about on tv (though to be fair I’m sure he watched very little television). This book also was released in 2007, before the first iPhone, so I find the concept of digital numbing and “clouding the mind” was not around yet, but it would certainly be relevant here.

Outside of the discussion of that precept, I loved this book!

[Ivan L Hutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good (short) book explaining the basics of Buddhist ethics and morality. John Daido Loori, a late American Zen Master (1st Western Zen Master generation), deep dives into the earliest teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama (Sakyamuni, the 7th Buddha, approx. 5th century BCE), explicating the Three (3) Treasures and the Ten (10) Grave Precepts (stated in both the negative and positive versions, as in the 10 do's and don'ts) which are the foundations of Buddhist ethics and morality. Well written. Clear. Easy to understand.

[Mr. Wakiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book insightful

[Tom Derderdien · Rating 5 out of 5]

yes, now the most important book we can read to invoke wholeness. Pairs well with my other book reads.

[Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The substance of Invoking Reality by John Daido Loori is two-fold. First, it is to disabuse the reader of a historical misconception, erroneously communicated by respected Buddhist writers at the time Zen was becoming more well known in the West, that Zen was beyond morality. Second it is to clearly delineate what the Precepts are, how vital they are to the practitioner, and what it means to responsibly manifest them in one's life in the personal, the public and global spheres. He states that there are thousands of practitioners who have "taken refuge" in the Precepts and yet remain unsure as to what they are and what implications they have for realizing the Dharma. He also invites the reader to ask themselves the questions: "What is refuge? What really are the Three Treasures? What does that really signify when we respond "Buddha, Dharma, Sangha?" He invites us to look more deeply beneath all that we think we may know or understand, and to make the Precepts our own.

The first purpose he addresses stating that "Zen is a practice that takes place in the world, based on moral and ethical teachings"which, by truly receiving them not as rigid codes but as fluid, dynamic expressions of what arises, illustrate in the very arising that "morality is enlightenment and enlightenment morality." He relates this directly to nonduality expressed by the Buddha : "My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand." What we do directly affects the world and all beings, in the ten directions.

The Three Pure Precepts 1) "not creating evil," "practicing good," and "actualizing good for others", he positions as true harmony or the fundamental natural state arising in the world. He lays them as the foundation or cause for understanding how to effect their activity in our lives. He describes this means by which this can be done as the Ten Grave Precepts. The Ten Grave Precepts are:

1) affirm life; do not kill, 2) be giving; do not steal, 3) Honor the body; do not misuse sexuality, 4) Manifest truth; do not lie, 5) Proceed clearly; do not cloud the mind, 6) See the perfection; do not speak of other's errors and faults, 7) Realize self and other as one; do not elevate the self and blame others, 8) Give generously; do not be withholding, 9) Actualize harmony; do not be angry, 10) Experience the intimacy of things; do not defile the Three Treasures.

The final Sixteen Precepts identify the interdependent, whole dynamic of taking refuge in the Three Treasures, the Three Pure Precepts and the Ten Grave Precepts. John Daido Loori describes these as arising within the context of time, space, circumstance. When properly understood and realized they provide a reference point to allow the practitioner to always see situations they encounter of the moment in their appropriate context and to respond appropriately from their Buddha nature to manifest Wisdom and Compassion.

He urges practitioners to accept total responsibility for the burden they share as the "first generation of Western Buddhists" that was not carried by past practitioners in China, Japan and Korea, and will not be carried by future practitioners. Namely, that what we are engaged in in our practice is the realization of our Buddha nature and the historical process of transmission of the Buddhadharma from East to West. That "what we do, how we practice our lives, how we manifest Buddhadharma by what we do, tells the whole world about these incredible teachings of the Buddha."

[Min · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regrettably, I found this book to be highly repetitive and heavy with using lists to express the author's point.
I felt over-burdened with having to remember the lists, their inter-connection and new ideas.
In a hope to give an audience to Zen Ethics, the reader is lost and longing for the direct simplicity of Zen thinking while the author gives another series of precepts to examine as proof Zen has a moral standard.

[Walter Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a good book to help better understand the connection of the precepts and how they link to living a non-dualistic life. I would recommend this to those studying Zen and even non-buddhist. The lesson provided present a lifestyle we can all strife to aim for.

[M. Todd Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the best book on ethics I have ever read: A Zen perspective on acting with integrity and without harm.