Zen: Direct Pointing to Reality

by Anne Bancroft

Book Overview

An insightful look at Zen and Zen teahcings from a well-known lecturer of Zenand related subjects. Illustrated. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0500810184
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 0.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Zen as poetry, art, history

This is an extraordinary and beautiful book. It's hard to put into words how the art shown, the brief yet eloquent summaries of the lives of some of the major teachers in the tradition, and the poetic excerpts combine in a seamless way. Be sure to get the hardback.

A visual tour of Zen

This is a wonderful and visually stimulating introduction to Zen. In the opening essay, Ms. Bancroft frames her analysis of Zen as a series of mini biographies of key figures in Zen: the Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng, Lin-chi (Japanese: Rinzai), Dogen, Hakuin, and two modern masters - Shunryu Suzuki and Seung Sahn Soen-na. In fact, by special permission, the book contains the transcript of a conversation between Master Seung Sahn and a pupil. After the opening essay is a series of pictures: ancient portraits of Zen masters, ancient landscape paintings, and photographs of scenes in Zen temples today. I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about Zen, and in particular, to anyone intrigued by the relation of Zen and the arts.