ABOUT THE BOOK:
VOLUME 1 : 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.
VOLUME 2 : In this book, the chief stress has been placed on the study of “The Koan Exercise”, which at present constitutes almost the alpha and omega of Zen discipline especially as it is practised in the Rinzai School of Zen sect. The Koan technique is full of pitfalls, but its development was inevitable and without it Zen might not have survived. In this volume author has also included some Suiboku paintings by both Japanese and Chinese artists.
VOLUME 3 : In this book the author has tried to trace the relationship which exists between Zen and the two chief Mahayana Sutras the Gandavyuha and Prajnaparamita, and then the transformation, through which Indian Buddhism had to go while adapting itself to Chinese psychology. The Chinese are a practical people quite different from the Indian, who are highly endowed with the power of abstraction as well as an inexhaustible mine of imagination. It was natural that the Mahayana teachings had to be transformed as to make them appreciated by the Chinese. This meant that the Gandavyuha and Prajnaparamita were to be converted into Zen dialogues. |
