Zen Flesh, Zen Bones A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings [Paperback]

WhenZen Flesh, Zen Boneswas published in 1957 it became an instant sensation with an entire generation of readers who were just beginning to experiment with Zen. Over the years it has inspired leading American Zen teachers, students, and practitioners. Its popularity is as high today as ever.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bonesis a book that offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can struggle over the meaning of Zen for themselves. It includes 101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers over a period of more than five centuries;The Gateless Gate, the famous thirteenth-century collection of Zen koans;Ten Bulls, a twelfth century commentary on the stages of awareness leading to enlightenment; andCentering, a 4,000 year-old teaching from India that some consider to be the roots of Zen. This book has been a steadfast portal through which millions in the West have peered to catch at the very least a glimpse of Zen mind at play in all its thought-shattering dialogue, humor, joy, and wisdom. —Jon Kabat-Zinn, author ofWherever You Go, There You Are It has stayed with me for the last 30 years, a classic portraying Zen mind to our linear thinking. —Phil Jackson, Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls and author ofSacred HoopsPaul Reps, the compiler, was an American who lived in many countries, including India, Norway, and Japan and studied many of man's efforts to find and realize his true spiritual stature. He was the author of several books of poems and prose. He once said that he felt the equal of each grass blade and pebble and believe that it is possible to be happy though human and grown up.

Nyogen Senzaki, a Buddhist scholar of an international character to whom Reps acknowledged a deep debt of gratitude, was born in Japan. Early in life, he became a homeless monk, wandering the land anlƒ0