Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Zen as Chinese interpretation of the doctrine of enlightenment. 3. Enlightenment and ignorance. 4. History of Zen Buddhism from Bodhidharma to Hui-neng (Yeno). 5. On Satori--the revelation of a new truth in Zen Buddhism. 6. Practical methods of Zen instruction. 7. The meditation hall and the ideals of the Monkish discipline. 8. The ten cow-herding pictures. Index.

"The most fruitful growth of Buddhism in the Far East has resulted in the development of Zen and Shin. Zen attained its maturity in China and Shin in Japan. The vigour and vitality which Buddhism still has after more than two thousand years of history will be realized when one comes in contact with these two branches of Buddhism. The one appeals to the inmost religious consciousness of mankind, while the other touches the intellectual and practical aspects of the oriental mind which is more intuitive than discursive, more mystical than logical. If Zen is the ultra "self power" wing of Buddhism, Shin represents the other extreme wing known as the 'other power" and these two extremes are synthesized in the enlightened Buddha consciousness.

This book is a collection of essays originally published in The Eastern Buddhist except for the one on the 'History of Zen Buddhism' specially written for the volume."