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In BUDDHA, TAO, ZEN, "e;Father of American Beat Zen"e; Dwight Goddard reveals the history of Zen's transmission and development, from Shakyamuni Buddha's Enlightenment in India, to Bodhidharma's journey to bring the Dharma to China, through a succession of remarkable teachers, ending with Hui-neng, the Sixth Patriarch of Buddhism, whose experiential insight into traditional Chinese Taoism gave Chinese Ch'an and Japanese Zen their characteristic form and spirit. In THE GATELESS GATE, discover the 48 essential koans of Zen Buddhism, those "e;mind-puzzle"e; stories used by Zen Masters throughout the ages to unlock their students' minds, illuminated by the sometimes biting commentary of 13th Century Zen Master Mumon. Bringing two classic Zen texts together in one slim, portable volume, A POCKETFUL OF ZEN is the ultimate hip-pocket companion for modern Zen seekers traveling the path to Enlightenment.
Of the ancient Chinese Sage Laotzu, founder of Taoism, "e;Father of Beat Zen"e; Dwight Goddard writes, "e;I want you to appreciate this wise and kindly old man, and come to love him. He was perhaps the first of scholars (6th century B.C.) to have a vision of spiritual reality, and he tried so hard to explain it to others, only, in the end, to wander away into the Great Unknown in pathetic discouragement..."e; But his great work, the Tao Teh King (Tao Te Ching) lived beyond his personal disappearance to profoundly influence Chinese religion and cultural character. Through Taoism's marriage with Buddhism in the Chinese Cha'n and Japanese Zen traditions, Laotzu's vision has imprinted the spiritual understanding and practice of the entire world. Bringing two classic interpretations of his work together in one slim, portable volume, A POCKETFUL OF TAO is the ultimate hip-pocket companion for modern travelers of the Watercourse Way.
Indian Types of ethical and philosophical Buddhism did not easily find acceptance in China; it took centuries of contact before a distinctively Chinese adaptation of Buddhism was effected that proved to be congenial to Chinese soil. This Chinese type of Buddhism is called Ch'an in China, and Zen in Japan, and Zen seems to be the more familiar name for it in America and Europe. Other sects have risen and decreased but they proved to be more or less exotic, they never became indigenous as did Zen. An exception may be suspected in the case of the Pure Land Sects, but it should be remembered that the Pure Land Sects developed from Zen and not independently. To tell the story of this adaptation of the Indian type of Buddhism until it became fixed in the teachings of the Sixth Patriarch, is the purpose of this book. The main part of the book is given over to English Versions of the favorite scriptures of the Zen Sect. To this is added Historical and Literary Introductions and a few notes that seem to be called for to make certain phases of the Sutras more easily intelligible.
