BIBLIOGRAPHY
abe, Masao. “The self in Jung and Zen.” in Zen and Comparative Studies, edited by steven heine, 149–160. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1997. a characteristically clear treatment of the teachings of no-self and true self in Zen by this philosopher affiliated with the Kyoto school.
———. Zen and Western Thought. edited by William r. Lafleur. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1985. The first book by this prolific representative of the Kyoto school in the United states, who took up where D. T. suzuki left off in writing about Zen in english and in relation to Western philosophy and religion.
addiss, stephen. Zen Sourcebook: Traditional Documents from China, Korea, and Japan. edited by stanley Lombardo and Judith roitman. indianapolis: hackett Publishing, 2008. an excellent anthology of traditional Zen texts from these three countries.
———. The Art of Zen: Paintings and Calligraphy by Japanese Monks, 1600–1925. New york: harry N. abrams, inc. Publishers, 1989. Contains beautiful reproductions of representative works with an excellent accompanying text by the premier Western scholar of Japanese Zen art.
aitken, robert. Taking the Path of Zen. san francisco: North Point Press, 1982. a comprehensive introduction to Zen by a seminal american Zen master.
———. The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics. san francisco: North Point Press, 1984. a landmark work on Zen ethics by a pioneer american Zen teacher.
anderson, reb. Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts. Berkeley: rodmell Press, 2001. a thoughtful and insightful book by a contemporary sōtō Zen teacher and former abbot of san francisco Zen Center.
BBC. The Long Search: The Land of the Disappearing Buddha. a 1977 documentary film produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. in this documentary, ronald eyre interviews prominent Zen masters and Pure Land Buddhists.
Beck, Charlotte Joko. Everyday Zen: Love and Work. san francisco: harperone, 2007. an extraordinarily down-to-earth book by one of the most important female american Zen masters.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu, ed. In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pāli Canon. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2005. an excellent selection of the earliest records of the Buddha’s teachings, arranged and introduced by the foremost translator of the Pali Canon.
Buksbazen, John Daishin. Zen Meditation in Plain English. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2002. a very concise and clear introduction to zazen.
Caplow, Zenshin florence, and reigetsu susan Moon, eds.
The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2013. an eyeopening collection of recorded—yet long-marginalized—stories of enlightened women in the history of Zen, with essays by contemporary female Zen teachers.
Carter, robert. The Japanese Arts and Self-Cultivation. albany: state University of New york Press, 2008. an engaging introduction to the Japanese ways of artistic and spiritual practice.
Chang, garma C. C. The Buddhist Teaching of Totality: The Philosophy of Hwa Yen Buddhism. state College, Pa: Penn state University Press, 2001. a comprehensive introduction to the huayan school’s philosophy of the intimate interconnectedness of everything in the universe.
Cleary, Thomas. Minding Mind: A Course in Basic Meditation. Boston:
shambhala, 2009. a lucid translation of eight classical texts on meditation from the Zen tradition.
———, ed. and trans. The Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai Zen. New york: grove Press, 1978. a good selection and translation of texts by famous Japanese rinzai Zen masters from the 13th to the 18th century.
Cleary, Thomas, and J. C. Cleary, trans. The Blue Cliff Record. Boston: shambhala, 1992. an erudite translation of the complete 12thcentury text, including the verses and commentaries appended to each kōan.
Cobb, John B. Jr,. and Christopher ives, eds. The Emptying God:
A Buddhist-Jewish-Christian Conversation. Maryknoll, Ny: orbis
Books, 1990. Contains Masao abe’s seminal essay, “Kenotic god and Dynamic sunyata,” and essays written in response to it by prominent Jewish and Christian theologians.
Davis, Bret W. “Commuting Between Zen and Philosophy: in the footsteps of Kyoto school Philosophers and Psychosomatic Practitioners.” in Übergänge—Transitions—Utsuriwatari: Crossing
Boundaries in Japanese Philosophy, edited by francesa greco, Leon Krings, and yukiko Kuwayama. Nagoya: Chisokudō Publications, 2020. investigates the relation between embodied-spiritual practice of Zen and the intellectual endeavor of philosophy.
———. “encounter in emptiness: The i-Thou relation in Nishitani
Keiji’s Philosophy of Zen.” in The Bloomsbury Companion to Japanese Philosophy, edited by Michiko yusa, 231–54. New york: Bloomsbury academic, 2017. elucidates and develops this Kyoto school philosopher’s Zen conception of the relationship between self and other.
———. “The enlightening Practice of Nonthinking: Unfolding
Dōgen’s Fukanzazengi.” in Engaging Dōgen’s Zen: The Philosophy of Practice as Awakening, edited by Tetsuzen Jason M. Wirth, shūdō Brian schroeder, and Kanpū Bret W. Davis, 199–224. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2017. an elucidation of Dōgen’s instructions on meditation in light of his conception of Zen practice and thought.
———. “expressing experience: Language in Ueda shizuteru’s Philosophy of Zen.” in Dao Companion to Japanese Buddhist
Philosophy, edited by gereon Kopf, 713–738. New york: springer Publishing, 2019. a philosophical treatment of the topic of Zen and language, with a focus on Ueda’s many rich and compelling works on this topic.
———. “forms of emptiness in Zen.” in A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy, edited by steven emmanuel, 190–213. West sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. introduces the basic teachings of Zen by way of focusing on six interrelated senses in which the key notion of emptiness is used.
——— “The Kyoto school.” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
summer 2019 edition. edited by edward N. Zalta. available at http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2019/entries/kyoto-school/. an introduction to the Kyoto school with an extensive annotated bibliography of works by and on the Kyoto school philosophers. ———. “Letting go of god for Nothing: Ueda shizuteru’s NonMysticism and the Question of ethics in Zen Buddhism.” in Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy 2, edited by Victor sōgen hori and Melissa anne-Marie Curley, 226–255. Nagoya: Nanzan institute for religion and Culture, 2008. a study of Ueda’s conception of the path of Zen as a path of trans-mysticism that leads us back into the midst of everyday life.
———. “Natural freedom: human/Nature Non-Dualism in Zen and Japanese Thought.” in The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, edited by Bret W. Davis, 685–715. New york: oxford University Press, 2020. explores the linguistic, philosophical, and experiential affinities between the concepts for freedom and nature/naturalness in Zen and other traditional and modern schools of Japanese thought.
———. “Naturalness in Zen and shin Buddhism: Before and Beyond self- and other-Power.” Contemporary Buddhism 15, no. 2 (July 2014): 433–447. explores the deep commonalities, as well as the more obvious differences, between Zen and shin (i.e., shinran’s True Pure Land) Buddhism.
———. “The Presencing of Truth: Dōgen’s Genjōkōan.” in Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings, edited by Jay garfield and William edelglass, 251–259. oxford University Press, 2009. a translation of and commentary on the most famous text by Zen master Dōgen.
———. “The step Back through Nihilism: The radical orientation of Nishitani Keiji’s Philosophy of Zen.” Synthesis Philosophica 37 (2004): 139–59. an elucidation of the main lines of thought of the central figure of the second generation of the Kyoto school.
———. “Zen after Zarathustra: The Problem of the Will in the
Confrontation between Nietzsche and Buddhism.” Journal of Nietzsche Studies 28 (2004): 89–138. explores both the resonances and dissonances between Nietzsche’s path and that of Zen.
———. “Zen’s Nonegocentric Perspectivism.” in Buddhist Philosophy:
A Comparative Approach, edited by steven M. emmanuel, 123–43. West sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2018. shows how Zen moved away from claims of the Buddha’s omniscience and—building on Zhuangzi’s Daoism as well as huayan Buddhist philosophy— developed a dynamic and nonegocentric perspectivism.
Dōgen, Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi (Boston: shambhala, 2012). an accessible single-volume edition of the Zen master Dōgen’s most important work.
Dumoulin, heinrich. Understanding Buddhism. New york:
Weatherhill, 1994. see Chapter 2 of this book for an account of the no-self doctrine that takes into account Zen and other Mahayana conceptions of the true self. Dumoulin, a Catholic priest as well as a renowned scholar of Zen, ends the chapter by pointing out some parallels with Christian teachings about the sinful ego and the soul as an image of god.
———. Zen Buddhism: A History. Two volumes. Translated by James W. heisig and Paul Knitter. New york: Macmillan, 1990, 1994. a classic account of the traditional narrative of the history of Zen.
ferguson, andy. Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2000. The most comprehensive anthology of the traditional stories and teachings of the 25 generations of Chinese Zen masters from the 5th through the 13th centuries.
ford, James ishmael. Zen Master Who? A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2006. an accessible and engaging introduction to the history and current state of Zen in the United states.
foster, Nelson, and Jack shoemaker. eds. The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader. hopewell, NJ: The ecco Press, 1996. an excellent anthology of traditional Zen texts from China and Japan.
glassman, Bernie. Bearing Witness: A Zen Master’s Lessons in Making Peace. New york: Bell Tower, 1998. an inspirational and educative book by a Zen master and american pioneer of engaged Buddhism.
habito, ruben L. f. Living Zen, Loving God. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2004. an important book by a former Jesuit priest who has become an influential Zen teacher without ceasing to be a Christian.
hakuin, ekaku. The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin. Translated by Norman Waddell. Boston: shambhala, 2010. a great book with which to start one’s study of this hugely influential 17th–18th century revitalizer of Japanese rinzai Zen.
halifax, Joan. Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death. Boston: shambhala, 2009. a deeply thoughtful book by a Zen teacher, anthropologist, peace activist, and founder of the Project on Being with Dying, an organization that trains health-care professionals in the contemplative care of people who are dying.
harada, shodo. The Path of Bodhidharma. Translated by Priscilla Daichi storandt. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. an excellent collection of teachings by an influential modern rinzai Zen master.
harvey, Peter. An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History, and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. one of the best introductions to the teachings and practices of the various Buddhist traditions.
heine, steven. “Dōgen on the Language of Creative Textual hermeneutics.” in The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, edited by Bret W. Davis, 215–229. New york: oxford University Press, 2020. an illuminating interpretation of the subtle, playful, and profound treatment of language by this most prolific and philosophical of Zen masters.
———. “on the Value of speaking and Not speaking: Philosophy of Language in Zen Buddhism.” in A Companion to Buddhist Philosophy, edited by steven emmanuel, 349–365. West sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. heine shows how Zen uses language in unusual and creative ways to get us to think and experience outside the box of our accustomed everyday speech.
———. Zen Skin, Zen Marrow: Will the Real Zen Buddhism Please Stand Up? New york: oxford University Press, 2008. an excellent account, moderation, and mediation of debates between upholders of the traditional teachings and narratives of Zen and contemporary scholars who call these into question.
heisig, James W. “sufficiency and satisfaction in Zen Buddhism: recovering an ancient symbolon.” Studies in Formative Spirituality 14, no. 1 (1993): 55–74. an insightful essay on the wisdom of knowing what’s enough.
hershock, Peter D. Chan Buddhism. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2005. a lucid and concise introduction to the formative history and teachings of Chan (i.e., Chinese Zen).
hisamatsu, shin’ichi. “oriental Nothingness.” Translated by richard DeMartino. in Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook, edited by James W. heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo, 221–226. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2011. an abridged version of the most famous work by this Kyoto school philosopher and modern Zen reformer.
———. Zen and the Fine Arts. Translated by gishin Tokiwa. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1971. a classic introduction to Zen aesthetics by a lay Zen teacher and philosopher associated with the Kyoto school.
hoffmann, yoel, ed. Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and
Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death. Tokyo: Charles e. Tuttle Company, 1986. a good collection of the parting verses of dozens of Zen masters and poets.
hori, Victor sōgen. “rinzai Kōan Training: Philosophical intersections.” in The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, edited by Bret W. Davis, 231–245. New york: oxford University Press, 2020. an excellent philosophical explanation of kōan practice by a first-rate scholar who practiced for 13 years as a rinzai Zen monk in Japan.
huineng. The Platform Sutra: The Zen Teaching of Hui-neng. Translated with commentary by red Pine. emeryville, Ca: shoemaker & hoard, 2006. The only Zen text designated a sutra, this reconstructed and embellished record of the life and teachings of the sixth Chinese ancestor of Zen is one of the most influential and treasured texts in the tradition.
ives, Christopher. Zen Awakening and Society. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1992. The best scholarly book available on the ethical and social dimensions of Zen.
izutsu, Toshihiko. Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism. Boulder: Prajna Press, 1982. an intriguing philosophical interpretation of Zen by one of modern Japan’s most prominent comparative philosophers.
Kapleau, roshi Philip. The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment. Twenty-fifth anniversary edition. New york:
Doubleday, 1989. a pivotal work in the Western reception of Zen.
Kasulis, Thomas. Zen Action/Zen Person. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1981. a concise and engaging philosophical treatment of Zen by a pioneer scholar of Japanese philosophy. also highly recommended is the treatment of Zen in Kasulis’s monumental Engaging Japanese Philosophy: A Short History.
Kennedy, robert e. Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit: The Place of Zen in Christian Life. New york: Continuum, 1995. an important book by a Jesuit priest and Zen teacher.
Kim, hee-Jin. Eihei Dōgen: Mystical Realist. somerville, Ma: Wisdom, 2004. a pioneer and now classic work on this 13th-century founder of Japanese sōtō Zen.
King, sallie B. Socially Engaged Buddhism. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2009. a clear, concise, and insightful introduction to the history of the modern movement of engaged Buddhism.
Kitarō, Nishida. “The Logic of Place and the religious Worldview.” in Last Writings: Nothingness and the Religious Worldview, translated by David a. Dilworth, 47–123. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1987. The last completed work by Nishida and his most sustained treatment of religion.
Knitter, Paul f. Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian. London: oneworld Publications, 2009. an insightful and engaging book by a Christian theologian who became a Buddhist without ceasing to be a Christian.
Kohn, sherab Chödzin. “The Life of the Buddha.” in The Buddha and His Teachings, edited by samuel Bercholz and sherab Chödzin Kohn, 3–44. Boston: shambhala, 2003. an excellent retelling of the traditional account of the life of the Buddha.
Kraft, Kenneth, ed. Zen Tradition and Transition: A Sourcebook by
Contemporary Zen Masters and Scholars. New york: grove Press, 1988. a good combination of chapters by modern Zen teachers and scholars.
Linji, yixuan. The Record of Linji. Translated with commentary by ruth fuller sasaki. edited by Thomas yūhō Kirchner. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2009. an excellent and fully annotated translation of this foundational text of the Linji school, which became the rinzai school in Japan.
Loori, John Daido, ed. The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza. second edition. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2002. an excellent collection of traditional and contemporary writings on zazen as practiced especially in the sōtō school of Zen.
———. The Eight Gates of Zen: A Program of Zen Training. Boston: shambhala, 2002. an introduction to Zen practice by the founder of the Mountains and rivers order, one of the most compelling transplantations of Japanese Zen onto american cultural soil.
———. Finding the Still Point: A Beginner’s Guide to Zen Meditation. Boston: shambhala, 2007. a very accessible and clear step-by-step set of instructions for beginning a practice of Zen meditation.
——— Riding the Ox Home: Stages on the Path of Enlightenment. Boston: shambhala, 2002. a concise and accessible interpretation of the Ten oxherding Pictures.
———, ed. Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on the Practice of Zen Koan Introspection. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2006. an excellent collection of modern (and a few traditional) writings on the rinzai Zen practice of meditating on kōans.
Low, albert. Zen and the Sutras. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2000.
illuminating interpretations of the sutras that are most important for the Zen tradition.
Loy, David r. “how to Drive your Karma.” in Money, Sex, War, Karma:
Notes for a Buddhist Revolution, 53–63. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2008. Clearly makes the case for an empowering rather than fatalistic understanding of karma.
———. The Great Awakening: A Buddhist Social Theory. somerville,
Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2003. an insightful development of the Buddhist path of personal transformation into a social critique of consumerism and corporate greed.
———. Lack and Transcendence: The Problem of Death and Life in
Psychotherapy, Existentialism, and Buddhism. New york: humanities Books, 1996. Loy, a comparative philosopher and Zen teacher, compellingly argues that underlying even our fear of death is the anxiety caused by our repressed awareness of the fact that at the core of our being there is a lack of any substantial essence.
———. Nonduality: In Buddhism and Beyond, reprint edition. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2019. The first book by this important comparative philosopher and Zen teacher; explores various indian and Chinese philosophies of nonduality.
Maezumi, Taizan, and Bernie glassman, eds. On Zen Practice: Body, Breath, Mind. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2002. a landmark collection of essays on the basics of Zen practice by leading teachers in the transmission of sōtō and rinzai Japanese Zen to america.
Magid, Barry. Ordinary Mind: Exploring the Common Ground of Zen and Psychotherapy. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2002. This practicing psychotherapist and Zen teacher brings the insights of psychotherapy and Zen Buddhism to bear on one another.
Mann, Jeffrey K. When Buddhists Attack: The Curious Relationship between Zen and the Martial Arts. rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2012. an accessible, engaging, and fair treatment of this fascinating— and at times troubling—relationship by a Christian theologian.
McMahan, David L. “repackaging Zen for the West.” in Westward
Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia, edited by Charles s. Prebish and
Martin Baumann, 218–229. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. a concise look at the problems and possibilities of adopting Zen in the West.
Mcrae, John r. Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. an engaging critical examination of the traditional Zen account of its history.
Miura, isshū and ruth fuller sasaki. The Zen Koan: Its History and Use in Rinzai Zen. New york: harcourt Brace & Company, 1965. a classic introduction to kōans as used in the rinzai school of Zen.
Moore, Meido. The Rinzai Zen Way: A Guide to Practice. Boulder: shambhala, 2018. a good introduction to the basics of rinzai Zen practice by a teacher in the lineage of Ōmori sōgen rōshi.
Nāgārjuna. The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna’s
Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Translated with commentary by Jay L. garfield. oxford: oxford University Press, 1995. an excellent translation of and commentary on this foundational text of the Madhyamaka Buddhist deconstructive philosophy.
Nhat hanh, Thich. Being Peace. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1987. a classic book by this modern Vietnamese Zen master and founder of engaged Buddhism.
———. The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1988. a very lucid and engaging introduction to basic Buddhist teachings.
———. The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the
Prajñaparamita Heart Sutra, revised edition. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2009. a wonderfully lucid commentary on the heart sutra.
———. Zen Keys: A Guide to Zen Practice. New york: Doubleday, 1995. a great book to start one’s study of the specifically Zen teachings of this most famous and beloved of modern Vietnamese masters.
Nishida, Kitarō. An Inquiry into the Good. Translated by Masao abe and Christopher ives. New haven: yale University Press, 1990. This is the maiden work of the founder of the Kyoto school and the best book with which to begin a study of their philosophies.
Nishitani, Keiji. “The i-Thou relation in Zen Buddhism.” Translated by Norman Waddell. in The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School and Its Contemporaries, revised edition. edited by frederick frank, 39–53. Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2004. a profound treatment of this topic by this premier modern Zen philosopher.
———. Religion and Nothingness. Translated by Jan Van Bragt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982. The main work by the central figure of the second generation of the Kyoto school.
———. “The standpoint of Zen.” Translated by John C. Maraldo. The Eastern Buddhist 17, no. 1 (1984): 1–26. The first half of this essay explains Zen’s “investigation into the self.” The second half examines the “direct pointing at the mind” to which Zen’s selfinvestigation leads.
okumura, shohaku. Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2012. a very engaging and insightful introduction to Zen in the form of a commentary on traditional chants.
———. The Mountains and Waters Sūtra: A Practioner’s Guide to Dōgen’s “Sansuikyo.” With contributions by Carl Bielefeldt, gary snyder, and issho fujita. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2018. a wonderful translation of and set of commentaries on Dōgen’s classic text on natural phenomena as manifestations of the Buddha.
———. Realizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen’s Shobogenzo. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2010. an illuminating commentary by one of the most important contemporary sōtō Zen masters.
omori, sogen. An Introduction to Zen Training. Translated by Dogen hosokawa and roy yoshimoto. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2001. a classic introduction to rinzai Zen by one of the most famous masters of the 20th century. still widely read in Japan.
Parallax Press, ed. True Peace Work: Essential Writings on Engaged Buddhism. second edition. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2019. an inspiring collection of brief essays by Thich Nhat hanh, the Dalai Lama, bell hooks, Joanna Macy, Bill Kibben, and other leading figures of the modern movement of engaged Buddhism.
rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. revised and expanded edition. New york: grove Press, 1974. although lately criticized for overly stressing the philosophical and psychological teachings of Buddhism and downplaying its religious rituals and popular beliefs, this book nevertheless remains a classic modern introduction to the basics of the Buddha’s teachings from a Theravada Buddhist perspective.
ray, reginald a. “rebirth in the Buddhist Tradition.” in The Buddha and His Teachings, edited by samuel Bercholz and sherab Chödzin, 301–311. Boston: shambhala, 2003. a clear explanation of momentto-moment rebirth and rebirth between lifetimes from a Tibetan Buddhist perspective.
rosenbaum, robert Meikyo, and Barry Magid, eds. What’s Wrong with Mindfulness (and What Isn’t): Zen Perspectives. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2016. a very good set of critical and sympathetic reflections on the uses and abuses of mindfulness in the United states and elsewhere in the contemporary world.
sekida, Katsuki, trans. Two Zen Classics: The Gateless Gate and The Blue Cliff Records. Boston: shambhala, 2005. a lucid translation of these two classic collections of kōans.
seung sahn. The Compass of Zen. Boston: shambhala, 1997. a lively and comprehensive introduction to Buddhist teachings.
sheng-yen. Hoofprint of the Ox: Principles of the Chan Buddhist Path as Taught by a Modern Chinese Master. New york: oxford University Press, 2001. an illuminating and comprehensive introduction to Zen Buddhism by a renowned Chinese Zen master from Taiwan.
shibayama, Zenkei. The Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan. Translated by sumiko Kudo. Boston: shambhala, 2000. an excellent translation of this classic 13th-century kōan collection with invaluable commentary by a prominent modern Japanese rinzai Zen master.
shibayama, Zenkei, and gyokusei Jikihara. Zen Oxherding Pictures. osaka: sōgensha, 1975. This wonderful yet unfortunately rare book contains renditions by a modern artist of six different classical versions of Zen oxherding pictures.
slingerland, edward. Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneity. New york: Crown Publishers, 2014. an accessible and engaging treatment of Zen and other ancient east asian teachings paired with insights from contemporary cognitive science on the paradoxical process of cultivating spontaneous naturalness.
stambaugh, Joan. Impermanence Is Buddha-Nature: Dōgen’s Understanding of Temporality (honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 1990). a philosophical exploration of the radical and liberating Zen teaching of embracing impermanence.
suzuki, D. T. Selected Works of D. T. Suzuki, Volume I: Zen. edited by richard M. Jaffe. oakland: University of California Press, 2015. an excellent selection of essays from the person who, more than anyone, is responsible for introducing Zen to the West.
———. The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind. London: rider and Company, 1958. a modern classic treatment of this topic by the pioneer interpreter and ambassador of Zen to the West.
suzuki, shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. New york: Weatherhill, 1970. a now-classic book on the beginner’s mind and other essentials of Zen by the beloved teacher who established the sōtō school in the United states.
Thera, Nyanaponika. “Karma and its fruit.” in The Buddha and His
Teachings, edited by samuel Bercholz and sherab Chödzin Kohn, 122–129. Boston: shambhala, 2003. a very good treatment of karma.
Uchiyama, Kosho. Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice. Translated and edited by Tom Wright, Jisho Warner, and shohaku okumura. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2004. an illuminating introduction to Zen meditation by one of the foremost modern sōtō Zen masters.
Ueda, shizuteru. “emptiness and fullness: Śūnyatā in Mahāyāna Buddhism.” Translated by James W. heisig and frederick greiner. The Eastern Buddhist 15, no. 1 (1982): 9–37. Until his two Japanese books on the Ten oxherding Pictures become available in english translation, this is the best article to read for this premier Kyoto school philosopher and lay Zen master’s groundbreaking philosophical as well as practical interpretation of this classic text.
———. “Language in a Twofold World.” Translated by Bret W. Davis. in Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook, edited by James W. heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, and John C. Maraldo, 766–784. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2011. Ueda’s most comprehensive text on this topic available in english.
———. “‘Nothingness’ in Meister eckhart and Zen Buddhism: With
Particular reference to the Borderlands of Philosophy and Theology.” Translated by James W. heisig. in The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School and Its Contemporaries, edited by frederick frank, 157–169. Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2004. a good place to begin a study of Ueda’s illuminating interpretation of Zen in relation to the radical Christian mysticism of Meister eckhart.
———. “The Practice of Zen.” Translated by ron hadley and Thomas L. Kirchner. The Eastern Buddhist 27, no. 1 (1994): 10–29. Describes and philosophically interprets the experience of going back and forth between the silent practice of meditation and the verbal practice of one-on-one interviews with a teacher in a rinzai Zen monastery.
———. Wer und was bin ich? Zur Phänomenologie des Selbst im ZenBuddhismus. freiburg: Verlag Karl alber, 2011. a collection of articles written in german by this central figure of the third generation of the Kyoto school. for an overview in english, see this course’s instructor’s review in Monumenta Nipponica 68, no. 2 (2013): 321–327.
———. “Zen and Philosophy in the Thought of Nishida Kitarō.” Translated by Mark Unno. Japanese Religions 18, no. 2 (1993): 162–193. elucidates and interprets the relation between Nishida’s philosophy and his Zen practice.
———. “The Zen experience of the Truly Beautiful.” Translated by John C. Maraldo. The Eastern Buddhist 22, no. 1 (1989): 1–36. Philosophically interprets Zen by way of comparison with Western mystics such as Meister eckhart and angelus silesius, philosophers such as Martin heidegger, and poets such as reiner Maria rilke.
Victoria, Brian. Zen at War. second edition. Lanham, MD: roman & Littlefield, 2006. shows how some Japanese Zen masters misused teachings such as no-mind to support Japanese militarism leading up to and during the Pacific War. also see Brian Daizen Victoria’s Zen War Stories (New york: routledgeCurzon, 2003).
Williams, Paul. Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. New york: routledge, 1989. This is the best introduction to the most important teachings and schools in the various traditions of Mahayana Buddhism.
Williams, rev. angel Kyodo, and Lama rod owens, with Jasmine syedullah. Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Berkeley: North atlantic Press, 2016. a timely collection of writings that challenge us to root out discrimination within our Zen communities as well as in our society at large.
Wirth, Jason M. Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth: Reading
Gary Snyder and Dōgen in an Age of Ecological Crisis. albany: state University of New york Press, 2017. a philosophically rich and powerful wake-up call to rediscover our intimate relation with nature before it is too late.
Wirth, Tetsuzen Jason M. shūdō Brian schroeder, and Kanpū Bret W. Davis, eds. Engaging Dōgen’s Zen: The Philosophy of Practice as Awakening. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2017. Consists of philosophical and practical commentaries on Shūshōgi, a modern compendium of passages from Dōgen’s masterwork Shōbōgenzō, and Fukanzazengi, his instructions on Zen meditation.
Wright, Dale s. Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. a both sympathetic and critical interpretation of Zen that aims to debunk earlier “romantic” Western interpretations and to replace them with a more hermeneutically sophisticated philosophical interpretation.
yamada, Kōun. Zen: The Authentic Gate. somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2015. a lucid and engaging introduction to Zen written for lay people by a Japanese lay Zen master.
yamada, Mumon. Lectures on The Ten Oxherding Pictures. Translated by Victor sōgen hori. honolulu: University of hawaii Press, 2004.
an excellent translation of dharma talks on this classic text by one of the most famous modern rinzai Zen masters.
