Defeat, A Zen Teaching

by Yao Xiang Shakya

[brokentune]

This book(let) started out with a plausible and coherent introduction explaining the concept of defeat from a zen perspective.

And then it happened: The author based the rest on the book not actual real life examples but on one movie and a historical personality at home in ancient Egypt.

What was most disturbing about it was that there was an actual advert to watch the movie online through Amazon! Wow. I did not expect this. Nor, of course, did referencing a movie make for a persuasive argument.

As for the second example - my mind drifted after reading the following:

"Sexual craving is one of, if not the most, potent forces of human desire. It promises pleasure and delivers constant craving. It is perhaps the strongest rival of disclosing defeat. Many are bested by it."

Erm, ...

You know what my mind drifted to?

I got to thinking that there is an abundance of songs, poetry, and other art out there that express the thoughts in Defeat: A Zen Teaching in much more style, on more sophisticated levels, and without patronising the living hell out of the reader.