Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings

"It has stayed with me for the last 30 years, a classic portraying Zen mind to our linear thinking." —Phil Jackson, Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls and author of Sacred Hoops

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones offers a collection of accessible, primary Zen sources so that readers can contemplate the meaning of Zen for themselves. Within the pages, readers will find:

• 101 Zen Stories, a collection of tales that recount actual experiences of Chinese and Japanese Zen teachers over a period of more than five centuries
• The Gateless Gate, the famous thirteenth-century collection of Zen koans
• Ten Bulls, a twelfth century commentary on the stages of awareness leading to enlightenment
• Centering, a 4,000 year-old teaching from India that some consider to be the roots of Zen.

When Zen Flesh, Zen Bones was published in 1957, it became an instant sensation with an entire generation of readers who were just beginning to experiment with Zen. Over the years it has inspired leading American Zen teachers, students, and practitioners. Its popularity is as high today as ever.

Paul Reps, the compiler, was an American who lived in many countries, including India, Norway, and Japan and studied many of man's efforts to find and realize his true spiritual stature. He was the author of several books of poems and prose. He once said that he felt "the equal of each grass blade and pebble and believe that it is possible to be happy though human and grown up."

Nyogen Senzaki, a Buddhist scholar of an international character to whom Reps acknowledged a deep debt of gratitude, was born in Japan. Early in life, he became a "homeless monk," wandering the land and studying from Buddhist monastery to monastery. His wanderings eventually took him to America, where for over 50 years he lived in California, with no connection with any sect, denomination, or cathedral, radiating the free and creative spirit of Zen upon all who cared to share his study, meditation, wisdom, and loving kindness.