The Zen Experience

by Thomas Hoover

Overview

“The best history of Zen ever written.”
Library Journal

The truth of Zen has always resided in individual experience rather than in theoretical writings. To give the modern reader access to understanding of this truth, THE ZEN EXPERIENCE illumines Zen as it was created and shaped by the personalities, perceptions, and actions of its masters over the centuries.
Beginning with the twin roots of Zen in Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism, we follow it through its initial flowering in China under the First Patriarch Bodhidharma; its division into schools of “gradual” and “sudden” enlightenment under Shen-hsui and Shen-hui; the ushering in of its golden age by Hui-neng; the development of “shock” enlightenment by Ma-tsu; its poetic greatness in the person of Han-shan; the perfection of the use of the koan by Ta-hui; the migration of Zen to Japan and its extraordinary growth there under a succession of towering Japanese spiritual leaders.
Rich in historical background, vivid in revealing anecdote and memorable quotation, this long-needed work succeeds admirably in taking Zen from the library shelves and restoring its living, human form.

TAGS: Zen History, Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Zen History, Bodhidharma, Lin-Chi, Rinzai, Soto, Eisai, Dogen, Hakuin

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011089237
Publisher:	Thomas Hoover
Publication date:	08/19/2010
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	53,071
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Live in New York City. Have published nine books. All available from Smashwords or my web site.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Preface to Zen xi

I The EarlyMasters 1

1 Bodhidharma: First Patriarch of Zen 5

2 Hui-K'o: Second Patriarch of Zen 18

3 Seng-Ts'an, Tao-Hsin, Fa-Jung, and Hung-Jen: Four Early

Masters 26

4 Shen-Hsiu and Shen-Hui: "Gradual" and "Sudden"Masters 39

5 Hui-Neng: The Sixth Patriarch and Father ofModern Zen 53

II The Golden Age of Zen 65

6 Ma-Tsu: Originator of "Shock" Enlightenment 69

7 Huai-Hai: Father ofMonastic Ch'an 83

8 Nan-Ch'uan and Chao-Chou:Masters of the Irrational 96

9 P'ang and Han-Shan: Layman and Poet 109

10 Huang-Po:Master of the UniversalMind 126

III Sectarianism and the Koan 141

11 Lin-Chi: Founder of Rinzai Zen 145

12 Tung-Shan and Ts'ao-Shan: Founders of Soto Zen 162

13 Kuei-Shan, Yun-Men, and Fa-Yen: ThreeMinor Houses 173

14 Ta-Hui:Master of the Koan 184

IV Zen in Japan 199

15 Eisai: The First JapaneseMaster 203

16 Dogen: Father of Japanese Soto Zen 213

17 Ikkyu: Zen Eccentric 228

18 Hakuin: JapaneseMaster of the Koan 244

19 Reflections 258

Bibliography 263

Permissions 271

Editorial Reviews

"The best history of Zen ever written." Library Journal

From the Publisher