First Zen Reader

by Trevor Leggett

When Zen Buddhism crossed from China to Japan in the twelfth century, it entered a phase of development that was not only to inspire a magnificent range of artistic achievement but also to exert a tremendous influence upon Japanese life itself and, eventually, to bring to the attention of the West a religious philosophy both unique and challenging in its power. 'Yet,' as one of the contributors to A First Zen Reader expresses it, 'If asked what Zen is, to reply is very difficult.' It is the purpose of this anthology to suggest an approach to such a reply.

Genres: Zen, Buddhism, Nonfiction, Religion, Philosophy

236 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1960

Reviews

[Edward Guillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to learn about another culture and to consider being more mindful in our fast paced world. It is written in lots of short parables. I probably didn’t get everything the book was trying to convey but I’d read it again in the future and talk about it with people if I ever found anyone who’s familiar with it or Buddhism in general. It makes you think and that’s what a good book does

[Devon Mobley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this intro. It was an accessible, first hand source that was wide in its survey of historical and traditional content. And it did exactly what I wanted which was to take a cursory understanding of the concepts and deepen them, in a way different than perhaps a pop-spirituality or self-help source would.

The sources included also are repetitive in nature which is helpful to contextualize oddly framed (to modern readers) parables.

Great book would recommend.

[Rahmat Romadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pertama kali baca buku ini di Perpus Fakultas Sastra UI (FIB skrg) pas pengen tau yg namanya Zen Buddhism. Isi yg paling menarik dari buku ini adalah ilustrasi2 dan teka-teki dalam Zen yg cukup menarik utk disimak. Sesuai dengan judulnya, buku ini layak menjadi pengantar bagi yg ingin mempelajari Zen.

[Lesmots · Rating 3 out of 5]

a simple, good introduction to traditional Zen thought, including Soto Zen