First English language edition published. 1994 by
Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc.
of Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan, with editorial offices at
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 U.S.A.
English translation © 1994 Ansata-Verlag
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without prior permission from the publisher.
German language edition published in 1991 by
Ansata-Verlag, Interlaken,© 1991 Wolfgang Kopp
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kopp, Wolfgang, 1938-
[Befreit euch von allem. English]
Free yourself of everything : radical guidance in the spirit of Zen and Christian mysticism I by Wolfgang Kopp ; translated from the German by Barbara Wittenberg-Hasenauer.
p. cm.
1. Spiritual life—Zen Buddhism. 2. Mysticism—Comparative studies. 3. Zen Buddism—Relations—Christianity. 4. Christianity and other religions—Zen Buddhism. I. Title.
BQ9268.6.K6614 1994
294.3'444—dc20
94-7393
CIP
ISBN 978-1-4629-0134-0
Text design by Jill Winitzer
First Edition
3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4
(TP)
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
| TRANSLATOR'S NOTE | xi |
| FOREWORD | xiii |
| Chapter One | |
| THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE MIND | 1 |
| The World Is an Illusion | 1 |
| The Illusion of Multiplicity | 4 |
| The Mind-The Source of Everything | 7 |
| Chapter Two | |
| THE DEPERSONIFICATION OF THE PERSONALITY | 9 |
| The Teaching of the Skandhas | 9 |
| The Teaching of Anatman | 11 |
| I Am That I Am | 14 |
| Chapter Three | |
| THE WAY TO LIBERATION | 17 |
| The Consistency of the Spiritual Way | 17 |
| The Cheerfulness of the Soul | 19 |
| The World as Our Reflection | 23 |
| Turning to the Divine | 24 |
| The Noble Truth of Suffering | 27 |
| The Deceptive Nature of Phenomena | 30 |
| Radical Letting Go | 31 |
| Chapter Four | |
| FROM AN IMAGINED GOD TO A NAMELESS DIVINITY | 35 |
| It Is for Your Good That I Go Away | 35 |
| Liberation From Signs and Symbols | 37 |
| The Inexpressible Divine Reality | 39 |
| The Finger Is Not the Moon | 41 |
| Birth and Death | 44 |
| Chapter Five | |
| THE WAY OF ACTIVE MEDITATION | 47 |
| Longing for a Direct Experience of God | 47 |
| The Mystery Beyond the Scriptures | 48 |
| The Prayer of Silence | 50 |
| The Pitfall of the Dead Void | 52 |
| Active Meditation | 55 |
| Meditation Practice | 58 |
| Grace and Surrender | 59 |
| Beyond Life and Death | 62 |
| At the Moment of Death | 66 |
| Chapter Six | |
| CRUCIFIXION AND TRANSFORMATION | 71 |
| The Misunderstood Crucifixion |
|
