Zen Past and Present (Key Issues in Asian Studies)

Zen Past and Present provides readers with a concise but comprehensive survey of the history of Zen Buddhism. Because it examines Zen from historical, religious, literary, artistic, and political standpoints, it is an ideal supplemental text for a wide variety of disciplines. Zen Past and Present covers the evolution of Zen thought and practice from the foundations of Buddhism in ancient India up to the most recent interpretations of Zen in the contemporary postmodern world. Students should find this booklet readable, entertaining, and thought-provoking. It is a perfect addition to any Asian studies reading list.

ERIC CUNNINGHAM, Associate Professor of History, has been the East Asian historian at Gonzaga University since 2003. A specialist in modern Japanese intellectual history, he received an MA in modern Japanese literature from the University of Oregon in 1999, and a PhD in history from the same institution in 2004. Cunningham’s research interests include Japanese intellectual, Zen Buddhism, Catholicism, psychedelia, and eschatology. He is the author of Hallucinating the End of History: Nishida, Zen, and the Psychedelic Eschaton (Academica Press, 2007).