Of all the modern works on Zen, this book is unique. Through careful pacing, D.T. Suzuki generates the state of No Mind in the reader. To read this book is to not only understand it, but to directly contact the Zen Mind. This is not a hip or facile text, but one that stands on its own next to the great Sutras of earlier ages. Read as meditation, and meditating as one reads, this book is a mighty sword. Read for information alone, it will perhaps arouse the desire to meditate and attend to the art of mindfulfness

A man comfortable in the cultures of both the east and the west, D.T. Suzuki has made a unique contribution by explaining Zen in a way that a western trained mind can grasp. Suzuki died in his 90's, and this book contains an initial essay on Zen written by him during his life time. The remainder of the book consists of a series of essays by notable Zen scholars about Suzuki, as well as the practice of Zen. This is an excellent place for the beginning student of Zen to approach this mysterious yet simple view of life.

A particularly interesting essay is by the late Trappist priest Thomas Merton. Merton, who had corresponded with Suzuki reconciles the practice of Zen with the practice of mysticism in the Roman Catholic Church.

This is a tremendous book about a wonderful and simple man who possessed a powerful intellect and a gift of understanding.

If you like me have turned corners with Zen as sign posts and have come away with less than satisfactory comprehension as to what "it is," you also may find this book helpful. In college years I read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle, etc." as well as "Zen and the Art of Archery." Both had me wanting to know more about Zen.

That said, I do not know what Zen is. I have now read Suzuki's book and I cannot explain it to my friend who asked me what "it is." It is a concept very different from the Western Philosophical dialectic tradition. I cannot tell you, the reader, what it is.

Suzuki does an exceptional job in presenting the idea framed in terms of Japanese culture. As we learn by comparison, this helps significantly. His scholarship is first rate. He addresses questions such as how Buddhism, a belief that embraces life, can be consistent with kendo, the art of swordsmanship, which obviously must deal with violent death and somehow connect with Zen and the Art of the Tea Ceremony. Moreover, he presents common allegorical tales from eastern texts to illustrate ideas about Zen. This helped me since I had read several of the same or similar tales in various books. (In fact, I suspect some of them may be the same tales, corrupted by time and telling.) One tale, about a Samurai posing as a monk to defeat a kidnapper, appears in one of the first scenes of the movie, "The Seven Samurai." I include this to answer one of the other reviewers who questioned the connection between Zen and Japanese Culture.

How pervasive Zen is in the culture, I have no idea. I am not sophisticated enough in the matter to definitively respond, but I did find, in my limited experience, a connection of significance. Moreover, I do sense that I know more now after having read Suzuki's book than before.

Finally, for those who want to know what Zen is, I would recommend they include this book in their travels. I believe--think is not the appropriate word--that understanding it is a long process. One learns techniques of thinking that inhibit knowing but are necessary. One distances oneself from the techniques for them to become natural. One appreciates the distance and the techniques and becomes entangled in pride. Finally, I believe, one loses all of oneself and is. Now that is what I do not know it is.

Be sure to read the tale of "The Swordman and the Cat" beginning on page 429.

Great book and loaded with information about Zen in Japanese culture. I especially like the little folk tales he adds to enhance the book's overall appeal. Just doesn't get much better than this folks.

This is a towering book of scholarship, born of a profound experience, from the mind of a Japanese Zen master with an almost mystical mastery of English prose. In my view, one need not be a student of Buddhism, or even particularly interested in the history of Zen and its historical impact, in order to benefit mightily from reading this book. It is a beautiful work of art. The passages (in two generous chapters) on Zen and Swordsmanship contain some of the most exquisite writing I have encountered in all of English literature. Suzuki's perspective is broad and inclusive, if entirely his own, and includes the historic and intrinsic relationship of Zen to nature, art, haiku, and even, more narrowly, to the Japanese Tea Ceremony. To my mind, Suzuki remains more a bountiful writer than a succint personal teacher; in the same way that one may not consult a work of scholarship in order to obtain practical spiritual guidance, "Zen and Japanese Culture", while providing food to the hungry, indeed spends its effort on another plane altogether, illuminating the idea of the religious and the asethetic nature of Buddhism, and ultimately of human life. It is a magnificent book that can be read again and again. A book of infinite depth and light, transparency and permanence, indeed the book of a lifetime, and one to be cherished for its sagacity and its uncommon clarity.

With an introduction from Dr. Jung, a small text in itself. To Suzuki's brilliant text. It is my understanding that this introduction by Dr. Jung is consider a classic for Zen in general. Suzuki does write this text for the beginner.

Explains the oriental mind, along with the proncipals of Zen. In such a way, that we of western thought actually have a chance to relate to what is required in our quest to understand Zen Buddhism. This book is for the lay-person and the philosophy major. This book provides a very complete outline of Zen.

Zen Buddhism was systemically introduced to the West by Zen master Suzuki. He wrote several books on Zen in plain English and those books are still counted as basic materials to understand Zen. This book cites numerous anecdotes of the heyday of Zen Buddhism, Tang dynasty. This is the typical style of Zen primer.
Buddha attacked the Hinduist concept of atman. Atman is similar to the Platonic forms, that is, all phenomenons have their substance. This way of thought is deeply ingrained in our language. For example, ¡®I¡¯ am always ¡®I¡¯. When I was 5 years old, when I was 20 years old, and when I will be 60 years. And that, we think, with no questioning, those ¡®I¡¯s should have the same identity. And our friends should be so. But those ¡®I¡¯ and she/he could not be the same ones. What always is there is only the name we give. You could know it with no being lost in thought. Buddha taught that the object that our attention is directed lacks the substance and what we really recognize is only the name. The enlightenment, the ultimate goal of Buddhism, is just breaking through the boundaries of that kind of mundane thought. But achieving such breaking is near-impossible. We could understand what Buddha said but knowing is not doing.
Mahayana Buddhism built up heady mountain of scriptures. By the 12 c., it amounted to 160 thousands pages in total. Zen suspected that the enlightenment couldn¡¯t be achieved with reading scripts and meditation. It is best reached not by the study of scripture, the practice of good deeds, rites and ceremonies, or worship of images, but by shaking up ordinary inertia. Zen Buddhism employed Koans to do it. Koan is a brief paradoxical statement or question used as a discipline in meditation. The effort to solve a koan is designed to exhaust the analytic intellect and the will, leaving the mind open for response on an intuitive level. There are about 1,700 traditional koans, which are based on anecdotes from ancient Zen masters. They include the well-known example "When both hands are clapped a sound is produced; listen to the sound of one hand clapping." This should sound the at best illogical at worst babble. But koan is the typical way to reach to the enlightenment in Zen Buddhism. And it is inevitable to write the history of Zen Buddhism is to write the list of koans. This book is no exception. But each koan had its own situation. So each koan should be introduced with its own locale. And this determines the writing style of the Zen primers: almost all Zen primers take the form of storytelling. And Zen master Suzuki is an excellent raconteur.
But Suzuki restrains himself to storyteller, not interpreter of each koan. So you should guess the meaning of koans by yourself. This is the very tradition of Zen-related books. Suzuki could put the meaning of koans in words. But such wording can¡¯t catch the very essence of koan. You should realize it by yourself. All the cues are in this book.

D.T. Suzuki (1870 - 1966) is usually credited with introducing Zen Buddhism to America, and in AN INTRODUCTION TO ZEN BUDDHISM he covers Zen in a scholastic and erudite fashion. Suzuki's use of English is extremely complex, but his style gets information across very well.

While expounding on the basics of Zen, Suzuki is always quick to respond to questions the reader might have. He dedicates an entire chapter to countering the oft-heard argument that Zen is nihilistic. The final chapter covers daily life for Zen monks, giving Westerners a glimpse of what is common knowledge for Japanese (or was several generations ago).

The book is not perfect, however. Suzuki covers only the Rinzai school of Japanese Buddhism, leaving the Soto school out in the cold. Also, like any Japanese Zen scholar, he tends to do a little Theravada bashing, claiming that it is "primitive" and unrefined.

D.T. Suzuki was a professor of Buddhist studies, and not a Zen adept himself, so it is important to also read an account of Zen from a personal and practical angle, to complement Suzuki's scholarly approach. For that, I recommend QUESTIONS TO A ZEN MASTER with Taisen Deshimaru.

As a person who trains in a lineage descended from Shaku Soen, I can say that this book helped alot in my understanding of my own lineage. In particluar, the expositions on the Dharma-kaya, on death, and on suffering are very well presented. The sections comparing Buddhism to Christianity alone are worth the price of the book.

That said, however, some of the concepts that are presented, in my opinion, are not rendered well in English. Too often the term "monism" is used, which has implications that have been seized upon by people that would rather create a caricature of Buddhism. ("Non-duality"- not two, and not one- is a better rendering). Unfortunately, Suzuki was an early translator, and this is an early translation of Japanese Buddhist ideas.

In addition, we see in this book some of the infusion of Japanese martial spirit that was later to tarnish Japanese Buddhism, and to provide Westerners with an important koan- how to reconcile the Dharma of compassion and respect for all beings with the militant nature espoused here. There is an answer to this koan, to be sure, but you'll only find the question hinted at here.

So, I'd recommend the book heartily, but the reader should also read other works to get a fuller picture- e.g., Brian Victoria's book on Zen at War, as well as Nagarjuna, and other writers.

Don't let this book's title mislead you--this is a wonderful introductory-level book not just to Zen but to Buddhism in general, presented in terms that make it easy for the Western mind to grasp. It does so by using Western religion, philosophy, and psychology as vivid points of reference for comparison and contrast. Given the time frame in which these lectures were given (1905-1906), when Buddhism was new to virtually all of the Western hemisphere, this approach made sense then. But it still works today. The book eschews the nearly impenetrable nature of later books on Zen, instead cutting right to the heart of what it means to be a Buddhist, in practical language. Rather than dive into technical explications of individual teachings, such as the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, Mr. Shaku prefers to simply explain the spirit behind them, which (as with all basic Buddhist teachings) is to realize enlightenment and help to lead others there. Thus, this book isn't the best for those who want the minutiae--historical backgrounds, lists of doctrines, and so on--but there are plenty of other books out there that do that job superbly.

Although today's committed Buddhist may be uncomfortable with the book's many allusions to "God," it's once again clear that invoking the God-concept was the most pragmatic way for Mr. Shaku to draw parallels for his audience to Buddhist metaphysical ideals that reflect similar notions of the absolute. It's for this reason that this remains an excellent book today for Americans who follow Western monotheistic traditions and need a good reference point from which to place Buddhism in the perspective of their psyches.

This is a good, all-round introduction to Mahayana Buddhism. There's no talk of Zen, but alot of Buddhist metaphysics are clearly explained. It is typical Suzuki, and contains almost no info on practice. There's alot of near sermon-like dirges, and also some interesting parallels (and criticisms) of christianity.

There's not much to say, but the book is great. It shows how the Zen Buddhist masters free the minds of their students. It will teach anybody some things about life, this cannot be denied!

Suzuki basically has written this book, which primarily about Buddhism rather than Christianity, as a way of drawing connections between the different mysticisms present in Christian tradition and how some of these mysticisms share common traits and insights with Buddhism. Not surprisingly, the mystic whom he chooses to do this with is almost exclusively Meister Eckhart. This is, thus, no comparative history but a Buddhist slant on Eckchart's thought and spirituality. It is a slant that might make some Christians uncomfortable but it is interesting nonetheless. This serves a window through which he continues to discussion Buddhist mysticism at large in the rest of the book.

Taoism started off as a way of life that was free, scientific, logic and full of Te. However, it was designed for the educated, and enlightened leader sage...not the average man. The Treatise on response & retribution is designed as a religious doctorine to give the average man an instructed guide on how to go about in society...without going corrupt. It sounds very much like the Bible in some places.

The book is divided into two parts: 1)The actual treatise and 2)Moral stories about how people are punished and rewarded for good and bad doings...already they have obscured the tao when they have identified the good & bad.

There is no mention about ruling, leadership, openminded philosophy, calming the mind thru meditation, harmonizing the body and its energies, or anything that taoism preaches. It seams to me like this treatise is 60% Confucian, 20% Buddhist, 15% misc, and 5% Taoist. In fact the text constantly mentions Buddhist gods and patron saints of China...however without mentioning the ancients (Taoist masters and the lot).

It does however give the reader a nice understanding of Chinese culture and what it values the most. However, rituals, religion and societal norms are what obscure the tao (as mention in the Chuang Tzu and Lieh Tzu)...where is the Te?

Recommend that you give this one a "pass". The L.S. is of historical interest because legend has it that Bodhidharma passed his copy to his disciple Hui-k'e as a "seal" of his dharma succession. Supposedly, Bodhidharma remarked that the L.S. was the most suitable supplementary text to his teachings, based on his evaluation of which concepts the Chinese Buddhists of his time did and did not understand.

But I digress. Like "Merry Christmas", the arcane concepts of the L.S. have since been explained "many times, many ways" by scholars and practicers more modern and more cogent than D.T. Suzuki. Suzuki's translation was done nearly 100 years ago, and it is with good reason that modern translators have not bothered themslves with the L.S., other than referring to it in passing.

Recommend that you give this one a "pass". The L.S. is of historical interest because legend has it that Bodhidharma passed his copy to his disciple Hui-k'e as a "seal" of his dharma succession. Supposedly, Bodhidharma remarked that the L.S. was the most suitable supplementary text to his teachings, based on his evaluation of which concepts the Chinese Buddhists of his time did and did not understand.

But I digress. Like "Merry Christmas", the arcane concepts of the L.S. have since been explained "many times, many ways" by scholars and practicers more modern and more cogent than D.T. Suzuki.

This Lankavatara is for those who are sincere & brave of heart. This is a sutra to be experienced in our imagined state of being. There have been countless people who have reached the core experience of the Mahayana practices from this Lankavatara sutra. If you would like to set cross-legged in the dreams of Buddhas then set aside some moments in your life have a cup of tea and get ready for a heady experiencal ride.

In reference to the 1 star review. It is advisable to ignore this review by the reviewer called "youraveragemahayanist". The Lankavatara is to be experience in the very core of consciousness not words to be simply reviewed by someone who may enjoy the externalistic view of scholastic philosophies. The reviewers belief that these concepts are arcane are simply his/her inability to experience something beyond discriminating concepts like modern. It is to be asked, is there really an individual concept known as modern separate from the truth of nothing separate? Where is this past, future, and or present to be found "youraveragemahayanist"? Is there really a finger pointing to the moon? Look deeper and enjoy!

As you read D. T. Susuki translation it is easy to understand that Susuki was a layman/monk who was not separate from the experience of the Lankavatare itself. The Lankavatara should become one of the top priority readings for those sincere bodhisattvas practicing in these illusory times where ignorance is swift to point us away from fulfilling our path's vows. Remember the path is neither easy nor difficult. Read the word and let go of them for the experience they point too.

renzai@lvcm.com