Heartfelt thanks go to Dr. Philip Yampolsky of Columbia University, who reviewed the manuscript in draft and clarified many points of fact and interpretation. I also am indebted to the works of a number of Zen interpreters for the West, including D. T. Suzuki, John Blofeld, Chang Chung-yuan, and Charles Luk. In cases where this finger pointing at the moon mistakenly aims astray, I alone am responsible. CONTENTS Preface to Zen Taoism: The Way to Zen Lao Tzu Chuang Tzu Kuo Hsiang: A Neo-Taoist The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove The Buddhist Roots of Zen The Buddha Nagarjuna Kumarajiva Seng-chao Tao-sheng The Synthesis PART I. THE EARLY MASTERS 1. Bodhidharma: First Patriarch of Zen 2. Hui-k'o: Second Patriarch of Zen 3. Seng-Ts'an, Tao-hsin, Fa-jung, and Hung-jen: Four Early Masters 4. Shen-hsiu and Shen-hui: "Gradual" and "Sudden" Masters 5. Hui-neng: Sixth Patriarch and Father of Modern Zen PART II. THE GOLDEN AGE OF ZEN 6. Ma-tsu: Originator of "Shock" Enlightenment 7. Huai-hai: Father of Monastic Ch'an 8. Nan-ch'uan and Chao-chou: Masters of the Irrational 9. P'ang and Han-shan: Layman and Poet 10. Huang-po: Master of the Universal Mind PART III. SECTARIANISM AND THE KOAN 11. Lin-chi: Founder of Rinzai Zen 12. Tung-shan and Ts'ao-shan: Founders of Soto Zen 13. Kuei-shan, Yun-men, and Fa-yen: Three Minor Houses 14. Ta-hui: Master of the Koan PART IV. ZEN IN JAPAN 15. Eisai: The First Japanese Master 16. Dogen: Father of Japanese Soto Zen 17. Ikkyu: Zen Eccentric 18. Hakuin: Japanese Master of the Koan 19. Reflections Notes Bibliography THE ZEN EXPERIENCE _The sole aim of Zen is to enable one to understand, realize, and perfect his own mind. _Garma C. C. Chang PREFACE TO ZEN _Lao Tzu, Buddha, Confucius _ Some call it "seeing," some call it "knowing," and some describe it in religious terms. Whatever the name, it is our reach for a new level of consciousness. Of the many forms this search has taken, perhaps the most intriguing is Zen. Growing out of the wisdom of China, India, and Japan, Zen became a powerful movement to explore the lesser-known reaches of the human mind. Today Zen has come westward, where we are rediscovering modern significance in its ancient insights. This book is an attempt to encounter Zen in its purest form, by returning to the greatest Zen masters. Zen teachings often appear deceptively simple. This misconception is compounded by the Zen claim that explanations are meaningless. They are, of course, but merely because genuine Zen insights can arise only from individual experience. And although our experience can be described and even analyzed, it cannot be transmitted or shared. At most, the "teachings" of Zen can only clear the way to our deeper consciousness. The rest is up to us.