by sirg0508

Created on: October 04, 2010   Last Updated: October 06, 2010

I bought the Three Pillars of Zen in the hope to gain answers or maybe something to believe in. What I did get was more than I imagined. Before reading the book I had no real idea about what Zen involved and only the slightest insight into Buddhism as a religion from school. So really I bought the book out of personal interest to find out more about the subject and it opened my mind in an intellectual sense. The reason this book is described as being one of the best written in English on the subject is for the fact that it introduced Western people to something that was Eastern tradition but at the same time includes notes taken from private sessions and real stories about enlightenment. 

Zen is concerned with 'the process of concentration and absorption by which the mind is first tranquilized and brought to one-pointedness, and then awakened'. As someone with no knowledge of what enlightenment really was the book from the start became invaluable. 

I know everyone says that a book has not to be judged by its cover but it was the first thing that struck me. On matted card, the colour was a pearlised green/gold giving the book a very ornate and top quality feeling. The pages are each of good quality and it is presented extremely well so it is easy to read - each of the three parts divided into headings and subheadings.

The book begins at the very start with introductory lectures on Zen which for an absolute beginner with very little or no knowledge on the subject describes the fundamentals: varieties of Zen, aims, instruction, koans, private meetings with Westerners and history on the subject. Part 2 is what those undertaking Zen practice strive for… enlightenment. There are stories each from Japanese and Westerners and letters from a very special case giving hope to everyone reading it. The final part is more for those with the basic knowledge (which is gained from reading the first two parts). It gives illustrations and descriptions of the Zen process and postures when in zazen meditation as well as common problems that occur during it. 

The book is extremely heaving reading so I wouldn't recommend it for bedtime reading - when I read it at night I found myself wide awake just taking in all the information. The real detail on Zen itself is only around 400 of the 450 pages in the book so with the aid of the presentation it was easier to read a few subheadings at a time to digest it all.

This is a highly intellectual book from a Roshi with

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