| Author/Contributor(s): | Miura, Isshu; Sasaki, Ruth Fuller |
| Publisher: | Harper Perennial |
| Date: | 10/19/1966 |
| Binding: | Paperback |
| Condition: | NEW |
Drawing upon Chinese and Japanese monastic records, the volume details the historical transmission of koan practice from early Chinese Ch‘an masters through the systematization established by Hakuin Ekaku.
Chapters by Miura Isshū Rōshi set forth the traditional curriculum of monastic training, following the student’s progress through Dharmakāya barriers, intricate kikan cases, and the secret teachings of the Five Ranks.
A concluding section provides translated excerpts from the Zenrin Kushū anthology, documenting the ritual use of capping phrases during private interviews with the master.
Foreword by Ruth Fuller Sasaki; Index; ink drawings by Hakuin Ekaku. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book.
- Meditation Practice: Details how sitting in zazen serves as the indispensable foundation for wrestling with barrier koans such as Jōshū’s "Mu" and the sound of the single hand.
- Soto and Rinzai Traditions: Explores the historic Sung dynasty controversy between Ta-hui’s koan introspection and Hung-chih’s silent-illumination sitting.
- Daily Practices: Outlines the formal rules of the monastery training hall, from chanting and begging to private sanzen interviews concluded by the strike of a bell.
- Classical Commentary: Traces how fifteenth-century compiler Tōyō Eichō assembled thousands of Chinese verses into the phrase dictionary used to select appropriate capping lines.