Zen's Chinese Heritage - 9780861716173

Capturing the austere beauty of the Zen masters' manner of teaching---their earthy style, humor, and humanity---Zen's Chinese Heritage is an intimate and profound human portrait of the enlightened Zen ancients, and an unprecedented look into the depths of this rich cultural heritage.

In this new edition with even more valuable material, Ferguson surveys twenty-five generations of Zen masters, moving chronologically through successive generations of ancestral teachers, supplementing their core teachings with history, biography, and starkly beautiful poetry. In addition to giving the reader the engaging sense of the "family history" of Zen, this uniquely valuable book paints a clear picture of the tradition's evolution as a religious, literary, and historical force.

"Highly Recommended. This excellent book is at once a history and an anthology of this fascinating tradition and includes many koans, anecdotes, and stories. This splendid repository should give instruction and pleasure to the general reader as well as to the professed Buddhist." ---Library Journal.

"An indispensable reference. Ferguson has given us an impeccable and very readable translation."---John Daido Loori

"Clear and deep, Zen's Chinese Heritage enriches our understanding of Buddhism and Zen."---Joan Halifax