Free Yourself of Everything. Wolfgang Kopp

      

      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	71
Church Dogma	76
The Abyss of the Divine Void	80
Chapter Seven
ASCENT TO LIGHT	85
The Cave of the Heart