Essential Zen

Yet the teachings of ancient Chinese masters were recorded by their students, discussed, sometimes chanted, and given out as objects of meditation or koans. And, as Kazuaki Tanahashi points out, "However weird or enigmatic they are, or perhaps because of those very qualities, Zen stories have touched the hearts of people for over a thousand years." In Essential Zen, Tanahashi and Schneider present many of the classic writings regarded as "essential" in the East Asian Zen traditions along with a vibrant assortment of American Zen stories, poems, and teachings that reflect the present flowering of Zen in the West. At turns spare, elegant, witty, deeply serious, and marvelously humorous, these are reflections on everything from practical meditation techniques and the tasks of daily life to death, the environment, and activism. Including a history of Zen and its practices, this is a wonderfully lucid, lively, and comprehensive venture into the enduring, evolving, and essential heart of Zen.

Library Journal

Like many Zen texts, this book begins with a mild apology for the irony of creating yet another collection of words for something that claims to exist outside the realm of words. Once this has been said, however, the compilers dig into the subject with great enthusiasm, creating an eclectic collection that draws from the most familiar classic texts to contemporary musings. How often, for instance, would you find Leonard Cohen juxtaposed with Dogen? The arrangement is often inspired, with creative chapter headings that complement the selections and sometimes cast them in a new light. This is the kind of book that you can keep nearby, open at random, and be pleasantly surprised by over and over. The equal time and attention given to the growing body of significant teaching from contemporary masters and practitioners keep the collection fresh; with its firm grounding in the classic texts, it brings Zen alive to the present moment. Highly recommended.-Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll., N.Y.