Zen Sourcebook: Traditional Documents from China, Korea and Japan

Description

"Featuring a carefully selected collection of source documents, this tome includes traditional teaching tools from the Zen Buddhist traditions of China (Ch'an), Korea (Son), and Japan (Zen), including texts created by women. The selections provide both a good feel for the varieties of Zen and an experience of its common core. . . . The texts are experiential teachings and include storytelling, poetry, autobiographies, catechisms, calligraphy, paintings, and koans (paradoxical meditation questions that are intended to help aspirants transcend logical, linguistic limitations). Contextual commentary prefaces each text. Wade-Giles transliteration is used, although Pinyin, Korean, Japanese, and Sanskrit terms are linked in appendixes. An insightful introduction by Arai contributes a religious studies perspective. The bibliography references full translations of the selections. A thought-provoking discussion about the problems of translation is included. . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels." -- Choice

Stephen Addiss is Tucker-Boatwright Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Art History, University of Richmond. Stanley Lombardo is Professor of Classics, University of Kansas. Judith Roitman is Professor of Mathematics, University of Kansas. Paula Arai is Associate Professor of Religion, Louisiana State University.

"This is an excellent book for undergraduates... to be commended for its wide coverage; the Korean material is especially hard to find... The short introductions to the selections are lucid, informative and focused, providing students with a good framework through which to understand the readings. Any course that wants to work with translations of primary texts, rather than textbook summaries, will find this book the most convenient and cost-effective available." -- Brook Ziporyn, Northwestern University.