Zen Texts

This volume includes four separate texts from the Ch'an/Zen tradition.

Essentials of the Transmission of Mind repeatedly espouses a single vision of religious training: one's own mind, just as it is and without any qualification whatsoever, is the Buddha. And to be a Buddha is to act in constant recognition of that fact, without ever generating any thoughts, intentions, or inclinations based on selfish dualistic conceptualization. It insists that the only task of true religious practice is to simply cease discriminating between ordinary person and sage, between sentient being and Buddha.

A Treatise on Letting Zen Flourish to Protect the State was written in defense of Zen practice during the Kamakura period. It provides one of the first introductions to Zen principles and the Chan/Zen school in the history of Japanese thought.

A Universal Recommendation for True Zazen was written by the Zen monk Dogen and offers a unique message of the essence of the Awakened Way in its utmost aspiration, profound perspective, and penetrating purity. In it he reveals the way to living one's life in harmony with the entire world through zazen, or seated meditation.

Advice on the Practice of Zazen is an instructional guide to zazen practice for monks and laymen. It stresses that a clear recognition of the meaning of impermanence is the key to attaining an enlightened discipline and complete dedication to zazen.

• John R. McRae, Translator

  John R. McRae (1947-2011) was a preeminent scholar of Chinese Buddhism who specialized in the rise of Chan (Zen) during the Tang Dynasty. He held positions at Cornell University, Indiana University, and Komazawa University and served for many years as Chair of the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai Publication Committee.

• Gishin Tokiwa, Translator

• Yoshida Osamu, Translator

• Steven Heine, Translator