Zen Teaching, Zen Practice: Philip Kapleau and The Three Pillars of Zen

by Kenneth Kraft (Editor)

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kyle Dougherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my eye at a local used book store (Grey Matter Books, New Haven CT) so I picked it up and read it. A fairly short read, but interesting nonetheless. The book consists of a short introduction, followed by several essays about another book, "The Three Pillars of Zen", by Philip Kapleau. I was not at all familiar with Philip Kapleau or his famous book, but I am interested in zen buddhism generally. I learned that Kapleau was the first Westerner to study Zen Buddhism in Japan, and his book, "The Three Pillars of Zen" was one of the very first texts covering Eastern zen practice available in English. Because it was the first, and also due to its release in 1965 during a time of cultural upheaval, the book played a pivotal role in the development of American Zen Buddhism. The several authors in this book each have different takes on this time and its effects, and each one illuminates a different facet of Zen Buddhism generally. I enjoyed this text, even lacking the context behind it, but its relevance today seems somewhat limited. American Zen Buddhism has evolved substantially in the 20 or so years since this book was published.