Zen and Zen Classics, Volume One: General Introduction, From teh Upanishads to Huineng
Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press, 1974.
Nineth (sic) Printing. Hardcover.
Blyth on Zen in this work’s preface: “The reader of this book will be confused by it, but this is the destiny of man, since many are the roads, but all lead to the same conclusion, confusion. If am asked, ‘Are you for, or against Zen?’ the answer is, both, not neither. The great fault of Christians is that they never criticize (fundamentally) Christianity. No one, or almost no one, criticizes democracy or communism (fundamentally) in the countries where they are the ‘national treasure.’ No Buddhist ever calls the Buddha a bit of a fool; blasphemy laws still exist in England. Japan is perhaps the freest country in the world, and perhaps always has been, spiritually speaking, because it is the least unpoetical, and the least unhumorous. Zen is the essence of Christianity, of Buddhism, of culture, of all that is good in the daily life of ordinary people. But that does not mean that we are not to smash it flat if we get the slightest opportunity. And we are not going to attack fox (false) Zen, or the hypocrites and timeservers who support it, but Zen itself in its highest and sublimest forms. Nothing is sacred but one’s own foolish and contradictory intuitions. By ‘intuition’ is meant here that which I myself find in common with all so-called ‘great men’ without exception, and with a good many ‘little’ men. It is thus purely subjective, dangerous, and indeed variable, but the great thing is to have courage and say again and again, ‘All that can be shaken shall be shaken!’ and if nothing remains, let it be so.” (R. H. Blyth, 27 Aug. 1959).
Chapters herein:
- Preface
- What is Zen
- The History of Zen from 1000 B.C. to 715 A.D. (Death of Heineng)
- The Believing Mind (The Hsinhsinming)
- Song of the Way (The Chengtaoke)
- The Platform Sutra
- Epilogue
4-7/8 x 7-1/4”, pumpkin-colored cloth, 126pp.
Small bookseller label bottom of p. 126, a little rubbing to extreme tips of lower corners of boards, small very faint stain to top-edge of leaves, else a fine, crisp, bright and clean copy in very good dust wrapper with a bit of edge-wear and sun-fading to spine, in protective mylar.
Price: $60.00