Overview
""TWO ZEN CLASSICS is a product of Herculean labors, wrought with dedication and understanding."" - Philip Kapleau A new translation of The Gateless Gate and The Blue Cliff Records, two classic collections of Zen koans-or guiding 'riddles'-used in the study of Zen Buddhism The strange verbal paradoxes called koans have been used traditionally in Zen training to help students attain a direct realization of truths inexpressible in words. The two works translated in this book, Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate) and Hekiganroku (The Blue Cliff Records), both compiled during the Song dynasty in China, are the best known and most frequently studied koan collections, and are classics of Zen literature. They are still used today in a variety of practice lineages, from traditional zendos to modern Zen centers. In a completely new translation, together with original commentaries, the well-known Zen teacher Katsuki Sekida brings to these works the same fresh and pragmatic approach that made his Zen Training so successful. The insights of a lifetime of Zen practice and his familiarity with both Eastern and Western ways of thinking make him an ideal interpreter of these texts.
Full Product Details
Author: Katsuki Sekida ,
A.V. Grimstone
Publisher: Shambhala Publications Inc
Imprint: Shambhala Publications Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 15.10cm
, Height: 2.90cm
, Length: 22.80cm
Weight: 0.550kg
ISBN: 9781590302828
ISBN 10: 1590302826
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 13 September 2005
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
-Katsuki Sekida brings to these works the same fresh and pragmatic approach that made his Zen Training so popular. The insights of a lifetime of Zen practice and his familiarity with Western as well as Eastern ways of thinking make him an ideal interpreter of the texts for the people of today.---Asahi Evening News -These notes are the fullest and most intelligent that have so far appeared in English.---Japan Times -Two Zen Classics is a product of Herculean labors, wrought with dedication and understanding.---Philip Kapleau
"Katsuki Sekida brings to these works the same fresh and pragmatic approach that made his Zen Training so popular. The insights of a lifetime of Zen practice and his familiarity with Western as well as Eastern ways of thinking make him an ideal interpreter of the texts for the people of today."— Asahi Evening News <br> "These notes are the fullest and most intelligent that have so far appeared in English."— Japan Times <br>" Two Zen Classics is a product of Herculean labors, wrought with dedication and understanding."—Philip Kapleau
Author Information
Katsuki Sekida (1893-1987) was by profession a high school teacher of English until his retirement in 1945. Zen, nevertheless, was his lifelong preoccupation. He began his Zen practice in 1915 and trained at Empuku-ji in Kyoto and Ryutaki-ji in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture. He taught at the Honolulu Zendo and Maui Zendo from 1963 to 1970 and at the London Zen Society from 1970 to 1972.
