Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism - softcover
Author: Toshihiko Izutsu
ISBN: 9781570626982
Publisher: Prajna Press Bolder
Year: 1982
Language: English
Pages: 259
Weight: 340 g
Zen experience defies all thinking and linguistic description and simply affirms what is evidently real: "The ordinary way- that precisely is the Way." After questioning the nature of reality, the Zen student discovers that what remains is what is. Although it seems that Zen would not lend itself to philosophical discussion, that all conceptualization would dissolve in light of this empiricism, in this volume, the author demonstrates that the "silence" of Zen is in fact pregnant with words.
A variety of topics are discussed: the experience of satori, ego and egolessness, Zen sense and nonsense, koan practice, the influence of Zen on Japanese painting and calligraphy and much more.
"Far from being just another work on Zen, Izutsu's book, original in ancient Orinetal sense of being "in direct contact with the Origins," may well become a classic and seems indispensable for those who have a more than superficial interest in Mahayan Buddhism. Izutsu's writing, disciplined as it is, contains that poetic element without which Zen seems inaccessible."
-Frederick Franck
Parabola.